"How might we create a dating experience that moves beyond superficial swiping and fosters meaningful connections through shared interests?
Background
Couplet is an innovative application founded by Victoria and Jan, based in Boston. Victoria, a professional at a nonprofit research and consulting firm, identified a common challenge faced by arts and culture organizations – the need to engage younger and more diverse audiences. Jan, a Northeastern alum and software engineer, recommended a partnership with Generate to bring the initial app idea to fruition.
When the client approached us, Couplet was at the conceptual stage, with plans to build the entire application from scratch. Development had yet to be undertaken, allowing for a fresh approach tailored to the specific needs and goals of the platform. The focus was to lay a solid foundation with scalable architecture and designing an intuitive user experience.
Team
Project Lead: Chirag Chadha
Design Lead: Ruchi Patel
Designers: Erin Lee, Kritika Uprety, Jyaleen Wu, Katherine Zhang
Tech Leads: Alison Ryan, Jackson Terrill
Engineers: Jonathan Chen, Dessy Dusichka, Stone Liu, Abhik Ray, Tyler Schaefer, Joey Tsai, Karyna Yen
Challenges
Traditional social and dating apps often prioritize superficial connections, leading to unsatisfactory experiences. Additionally, local events, especially those organized by nonprofits, need more visibility and engagement, particularly with younger audiences. This disconnect hampers personal connections and affects the vibrancy and financial stability of local cultural and nonprofit sectors.
Couplet is an innovative experience curator app designed to foster meaningful connections among people through shared interests in local events and activities. Couplet emphasizes a deeper, experience-based approach, unlike typical dating or social apps, connecting users who express interest in the same local happenings, from arts and culture to nonprofit events. It aims to stimulate the local economy and nonprofit sector by boosting attendance and engagement and offering a more substantive social interaction platform.
What We Accomplished
Created a Project Charter with the clients, defining the scope, goals, key milestones, and deliverables for the app.
Analyzed potential user interactions and conducted competitive research to understand existing solutions in the market.
Gathered insights and preferences, which shaped the low-fidelity designs.
Critiqued and refined designs in weekly team meetings.
Developed high-fidelity prototypes, incorporating the feedback received from potential users and stakeholders.
Presented at All Hands to a larger audience, to receive broader feedback and allow further refinement.
Ensured that each feature was user-centric and met the high standards set out in the Project Charter.
Developed comprehensive brand book to outline how elements are to be used.
Completed final handoff after the Annual Showcase, with over 300+ attendees.
01 Research
Competitor Analysis
By diving into our competitors' apps and learning what features they provided, we were able to better understand what users may expect from an app like Couplet. I assigned one app to each of the designers and they filled out one column of the above table. In the next meeting, we all shared our observations and any ideas we gained from this.
User Personas and Stories
We imagined four target users of our app, and a small background for each of them. By learning more about our audience and their goals, needs, pain points, and behaviors, we can design an app that is perfect for real people just like them. Each persona is varied in age, occupation, and goals. This helped us imagine the large variety of users that would be on our app.
Problem Statement and Proposed Solution
Traditional social and dating apps often prioritize superficial connections, leading to unsatisfactory experiences. Additionally, local events, especially those organized by nonprofits, need more visibility and engagement, particularly with younger audiences. This disconnect hampers personal connections and affects the vibrancy and financial stability of local cultural and nonprofit sectors.
Couplet proposes a dual solution: a mobile app that connects people through shared interests in events rather than superficial swipes. By integrating event data from sources like ArtsBoston into a modern, user-friendly interface, Couplet encourages users to discover and attend local events together, fostering genuine relationships and community involvement. The app will feature user and event-matching systems, creating a dynamic and engaging way to explore local culture and meet like-minded individuals.
Existing Alternatives
While current market alternatives, such as traditional dating apps and local event directories like Joyraft, Hinge, DUO, S'more, ArtsBoston, and The Boston Calendar, offer event discovery and social interaction, Couplet distinguishes itself with an integrated approach. Unlike platforms like Meetup or Eventbrite, which primarily focus on event discovery, Couplet combines event-based connections with a unique emphasis on community and cultural engagement. Joyraft and Couplet aim to connect users through experiences, but Couplet's swiping mechanism adds a dynamic layer, shifting the focus to profiles that minimize appearance emphasis. DUO and S'more involve swiping through events or date ideas. Still, Couplet stands out by fostering connections between individuals who may not know each other initially, providing opportunities for dating and friendship. In contrast, ArtsBoston and The Boston Calendar primarily serve as online event calendars, lacking the human/profile element and connection features that characterize Couplet's comprehensive approach to community building and event participation. Couplet's innovation bridges the gap between social networking and cultural engagement, creating a unique space for meaningful connections based on shared experiences.
02 Define
Design Criteria
After discussing and researching, we came to the conclusion that an effective app would hit these 5 criteria:
Seamless Onboarding: Streamlined registration process that allows users to create profiles and specify their interests and preferences easily.
Event Discovery: Provides intuitive tools for users to discover and RSVP to events based on interests, location, and availability.
Personalized Matching: Implements algorithms that prioritize matching users with similar interests and attendance at the same events.
Engaging Communication: Facilitates communication between matches through messaging features that encourage meaningful conversations and interactions.
Feedback and Iteration: Continuously gather user feedback and data to iterate on the design and improve the overall user experience.
Priority Deliverables
Given the time we had to complete the project, the engineering leads and I came up with this list of deliverables that we would plan to have done as a minimum viable product.
Brand: Define the brand identity for Couplet, encompassing visual elements, messaging, and overall tone. This brand book will serve as a comprehensive guide for maintaining a consistent and compelling brand image across all touchpoints.
User Life Cycle: Handle the core aspects of the Couplet user life cycle, including registration, login, and sign-out flow. This will be the users' first interaction with the app, setting the foundation for a secure and user-friendly experience.
Event card stack matching: Develop a feature for users to swipe through a stack of individual event cards, each representing a unique local activity or experience. This deliverable includes creating and designing each card, ensuring it contains comprehensive and engaging information about the event.
User card stack matching: Develop a feature for users to swipe through a stack of individual user cards. Each card represents a different user and showcases their interests, particularly in the context of events they like or plan to attend. This feature is designed to foster connections based on shared experiences and interests.
User profile: Implement a user profile feature where users can view and edit their personal information, preferences, and any other relevant details.
Design Timeline
As Design Lead, I came up with a feasible schedule for the design team to stay on track with deadlines and deliverables, and handoff the materials in time. I delegated tasks for each of the designers based on their current skills as well as what they wished to get more experience in. This helped us to create a stronger team and more efficient workflow. Staying on track with the timeline was crucial in order to work with the engineering team in a productive manner.
03 Branding and Identity
Client Identity
Couplet is an innovative application founded by Victoria and Jan, based in Boston. Victoria, a professional at a nonprofit research and consulting firm, identified a common challenge faced by arts and culture organizations – the need to engage younger and more diverse audiences. Jan, a Northeastern alum and software engineer, was crucial in recommending a partnership with Generate to bring the initial app idea to fruition.
Couplet aims to redefine the dating app experience by moving away from the typical swipe culture. The app focuses on creating genuine connections among users based on shared experiences rather than superficial appearances. The goal is to provide a contemporary platform for fostering authentic relationships, be it romantic or platonic.
According to TDC, a nonprofit research and consulting firm, the social sector is grappling with shifting audience dynamics, leaving organizations struggling to maintain relevance and attract younger demographics. With around half of Americans under 30 on dating apps (Pew Research Center 2023), Couplet aims to harness prolific swiping to attract new people to community events. Emerging audience trends also show that younger generations are more willing to invest in experiences, so Couplet utilizes mutually-interesting events to eliminate planning pressures and identify common passions from the start.
As an application, Couplet goes beyond the conventional dating app model. It aspires to catalyze meaningful connections while contributing to the local economy and addressing the needs of nonprofits and small businesses. Couplet is a purpose-driven platform dedicated to facilitating genuine connections and positively impacting communities.
Brand Values
The Brand Values are a list of 5-10 values the client feels define their company. Each value is a word or two accompanied by a sentence description of what that value means to the company.
Authenticity – At Couplet, the company values being genuine to itself and its users. Couplet strives to create a genuine and transparent platform, fostering real connections and embracing individuality and honesty in every interaction.
Accessibility – Accessibility is a core value for Couplet. The company is committed to making the app available and user-friendly across various platforms, ensuring everyone can easily engage and connect. The platform also aims to make new events and experiences accessible to all users.
Community – Couplet sees itself as more than an app; it's a community. The company values the sense of belonging and shared experiences from connecting with others. The platform allows users to feel part of a supportive and inclusive community while also investing in community-based organizations.
Connection – Connection is at the heart of what Couplet does. The company facilitates meaningful connections between individuals based on shared experiences, interests, and values, transcending superficial connections found in typical dating apps.
Inspiration – Couplet aims to inspire. Whether through the connections formed on the platform, an exciting experience, or the impact made on local communities, the company strives to be a source of inspiration, encouraging users to explore new connections and possibilities.
Moodboard
Creating a moodboard was vital in learning what direction to take our project in. We wanted our app to be fun and inviting for everyone to try out, but still be able to stand out against competitors. We created a moodboard with a focus on bright colors, bold text, gradients, and fluid shapes.
Typography
After trying out many different fonts, we were down to three to choose between. During our all hands check in, we tested out which font performed best. We showed the fonts in use across three different lofi wireframe screens, and then
Logos and Colors
We tested out many different logos and colors by asking people in our target demographic what they felt when they saw these visuals, and which they resonated the strongest with. Most people said they really liked the idea of the tickets forming a heart, as it accurately showed both the event and the matchmaking part of the app well. Additionally, people preferred softer colors. Many said to avoid green, as it felt like a finance app, and yellow, as it was too similar to Hinge.
04 Wireframes
Profile Creation Flow
The first important flow is creating a profile. This step is extremely important because setting up a dating profile can take a long time, due to how much information is needed to paint a picture of oneself accurately. Therefore, the length of this step is sometimes discouraging and pushes people to delete the app before even getting properly acquainted.
We looked at the onboarding of competitor apps to see what they did to help this process go more smoothly. From this data, we learned a few things:
Provide a progress bar to show how close you are to being done, and what step of the process you are one
Make it fun, colorful, and engaging so people are more interested in seeing what is next.
Combine steps when possible to shorten the amount of pages you must click through.
Use chips when asking users to select multiple things, such as hobbies.
Event Discovery Flow
With the events/home page, we wanted to help users explore and find events that match their interests, preferences, and availability, providing them opportunities to engage in shared activities with potential matches. We took inspiration from many different sources to create the perfect landing page.
We wanted to have robust filters to help users find exactly what they are looking for, similar to filters in shopping apps like Amazon.
We wanted rows of categories to quickly glance through, like genres on Netflix.
We wanted to remind users that the app is for finding dates as well as matches, so the top would have a rotating blurred image of potential matches on the app, to encourage users to swipe on user profiles.
Matchmaking Flow
The Event Discovery Flow aims to help users explore and find events that match their interests, preferences, and availability, providing them opportunities to engage in shared activities with potential matches.
In this section, we took inspiration from a variety of messaging apps, dating apps, and social media platforms. We had to be creative with how the matching would work, because Couplet doesn't allow matches to message each other due to engineering limitations. Therefore, for now, we had to create a workaround, which exchanged users' Instagrams whenever a pair matched. It would also show any events that they liked and had in common, so they would be able to plan a date much easier and smoother.
05 Final Design
Login and Registration
This process works with Google OAuth and Apple OAuth to validate if a user is an existing user in the Couplet Database. This streamlines the process of creating an app. The onboarding features a progress bar which helps speed up the feeling of setting up an account.
Onboarding
When a user signs in for the first time, they are taken through an extensive onboarding setup. The user selects their dating preferences and builds their profile, and the new user is then created upon completing the onboarding process with all their preferences.
Home (Events Page)
The home page displays by default all events, displaying each of them by what category they fit into
For each event, an image and its cost, name, and location are displayed.
Events can be liked/disliked by clicking on them from the home page or using the start swiping button.
There is a slider to display liked events so the user can view what events they’ve already liked.
When users click on an event to start liking/disliking it, they are presented with a more detailed event view.
The user can view details and be linked to the event website to get more information or share the event.
The user can like/dislike the event to be shown another event or tap the left caret in the top left to return to the home screen.
Sending likes and previous matches
Similar to events, users can like/dislike other profiles based on the information they display.
Mutually liked events are displayed on each user’s profile
Their Instagram handles are blurred out to protect their privacy
The matches page has a switch at the top left to select whether to view recent matches (the past seven days) or all matches.
Each match shows their main image and their name.
When you select a match, their complete profile is shown again but without their Instagram handle displayed
Settings and Profile
Profile page
The profile page displays various demographic information
It also shows users’ images, and they can insert their captions for each image to showcase their personality
Personal profile
There’s a switch at the top of the screen to select whether to view/edit your profile.
All profile information is customizable after onboarding, including pictures/captions besides name and age.
06 Brand Book
Brand Book
This book was a culmination of all of the branding and identity work we had done for the project. I organized the layout and instructed my designers on different ways to organize work in an informative and visually pleasing way.
07 Measuring Success
Generate Showcase 2024
Our showcase was the final presentation of our work from the term. We had an amazing turnout and everyone was very excited to see all of our progress that Couplet had made. I am so grateful to have had the chance to work on such a fun and meaningful project. I am also proud of my design team and how far they have come!
Next Steps
We have completed our handoff to the clients, and look forward to seeing what they are able to do with our work! Engineers have sent a working app, and we have sent a brand book and Figma file with all of the components, prototypes, logo files, wireframes, and more.