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Prompt
In 24 hours, find ways
to better connect long distance couples
I joined a team of four product designers in a 24-hour design-a-thon, in an effort to create an app that combats the isolation and loneliness in a long distance relationship. My responsibilities included user research, affinity mapping, journey mapping, and prototyping from low to high fidelity
Our final solution
Survey Analysis
Lack of physical presence and different time zones are biggest pain points
After surveying more than 60 people in long distance relationships, we learned how they stay communicative and connected. They mostly used platforms like Zoom, FaceTime but those are video call services and not specifically catered to a couple's needs. You'll see observations from a user interview below
feel that lack of physical touch
is hardest part of LDR
live in a different time zone as
their partner
Competitive Analysis
Similar services foster communication and planning
As a team, we looked at four different helper apps for long distance couples. All of them took a unique approach to bridge the physical gap between a couple. For example, Gottman Card Deck generates intimate questions couples could ask each other. However, we felt like there wasn't an app that was strong in both fostering communication and planning.
However, no app combined all three key features
Redefined Question
How might we plan activities for long distance couples while accounting for different time zones?
Affinity Mapping
Between three groups of ideas, planner based on synced schedules was most common
Based on the research we've done, grouping ideas into categories helped our team assess what features we'd like to implement into the app. We named our three groups, "communication", "activities", and "calendar". The ideas that fell into the intersection of groups were more likely to be implemented in our service.
Activities
Calendar
Communication
User Journey
Meet Marty, who's feeling isolated from his partner in another time zone
The best way we can map out what our service can do for a potential user, is to put ourselves in the shoes of someone who has the situation and pain points of a long distance relationship. We created the persona of Marty, who's in a 2 year relationship and his significant other is across the globe.
Marty is a 26-year old man who has been in an LDR for 2 years, and while he lives in England, his s/o lives in California.
Pain Points
1.) Different time zones make it hard to find shared activities
2.) Tired of using just FaceTime and text, wants to make things more interesting
3.) Feeling isolated, wants to communicate more frequently and with purpose
Journey Mapping
Marty's pain points are addressed within a short time of opening the app
Our team highlights how Marty interacts with our app and when exactly in the user flow his pain points are addressed. To solve his problems with different time zones, we find the best date times based on synced schedules. To address his feeling of isolation from a lack of physical touch, we connect them to SMS and communication services. Finally, to allow for spontaneity Marty and his partner can choose from a curated list of interesting date options
User Interface
Visual design supported the user journey by highlighting solutions to pain points
Our user flow informed our final prototypes, and our focus was to make the solutions of all the pain points the biggest point of emphasis for our service.
Solution #3
Randomize dates for spontaneity
A user looking for more spontaneity in date night can find a fresh date idea using the randomizer, or in any of the curated dates section
Solution #2
Use conversation and affirmations to combat isolation
A user looking for more spontaneity in date night can find a fresh date idea using the randomizer, or in any of the curated dates section
Solution #1
Connect with partner regardless of time zone
Using calendar synchronization, a user and their significant other and connect calendars with the app and find suitable times for both
Style and Components
Type and color were meant to reinforce love and trust
It's only natural that our app to support long distance relationships would emphasize red and purple, colors to emphasize love, trust, and kindness. Poppins is a sans-serif font which is easy on the eyes. Open source illustrations are from Blush.
Low Fidelity
We focused on visually displaying the various activities a user and their partner could do
Going back to user research, we knew that long distance partners always needed something to look forward to. We had various categories that virtual dates were sorted into, like a randomized date, a most popular choice, and the timed date. We wanted to make the user aware that all of those options were there.
High Fidelity
Our final mockups added a sense of fun with illustrations and colors
Our interviews and surveys revealed they want their long-distance relationships to have a sense of spontaneity and fun, so we wanted to respond to that with our color scheme and illustrations.
How Will I Improve
Optimize my work flow in a time crunch
I want to give myself design challenges where I find a prompt for a UI or UX challenge, and then set a timer for an hour, and try and produce the best quality of work I can. Unfortunately, for this project we didn't have time to get user feedback, and I know it's imperative for me to get that feedback to know how to improve under pressure
What I Learned
Budget my time and commit to an idea
When designing under a time constraint, it's imperative to budget time responsibly so we have time for all aspects of the design process. We spent too much deliberating on sticky note ideas and user journey flow, so at the very end we were rushing to put together the prototype. I will learn how and when to move on, when it's time to move on
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