This project was done as an exploratory exercise in graduate school to develop an application that solves a contemporary issue.
April - May 2021
Project Summary:
Women who love women (or WLW) and non-binary people find it more difficult to form and maintain non-platonic relationships than their cisgender heterosexual peers. The COVID-19 pandemic has made dating even more difficult for this population. We narrowed our opportunity space into a problem statement, "How can we make WLW and non-binary people feel more certain in the intent of relationships from dating apps?"
We propose to provide value to our target audience (women who love women and non-binary people) by creating a software solution that will reduce ambiguity of purpose when communicating with potential partners on dating apps.
After identifying our opportunity space and problem statement, our group brainstormed possible solutions to the problem of ambiguous dating. We split our ideas into software-based solutions and non-software based solutions. We ultimately decided on a software-based solution -- creating a dating app -- to remove the ambiguity of dating for women and non-binary folks.
To begin our research into dating apps, we created a market analysis to examine existing dating apps. We noted the examples of good UX and also the features that detracted from the various dating apps.
Personas:
Based on our problem statement and target audience, we created two personas that represented Lambda's demographic.
Low-Fidelity Wireframe
Based on our market analysis, we created a low-fidelity wireframe outlining the different 'sections' of dating. Our dating app, Lambda, is unique due to the way we differentiated relationship categories (long-term relationship, hook-ups, and friendships)
Lean Canvas:
In order to fully visualize our product, our group created a lean canvas.
Customer Journey Map:
To further develop our prototype, our group mapped out the entire customer journey for one of our personas (Kara, they/them).
High-Fidelity Prototype:
The full map of our final product prototype can be seen below, as well as our original and final logo. A more detailed photo of the final wireframe can be seen below.
Final Thoughts:
Although many dating apps have (since the time of this project) rolled out similar features to allow non-binary people to self-identify, and make it easier for LGBTQ people to date, I feel this project highlights my mobile design skills and my focus on leveraging design to improve accessibility in digital spaces.