student project
Roles:
UX Designer
UI Designer
UX Researcher
Product Designer
Scope:
UX Design
UI Design
Benchmarking
Prototyping
Product Design
Usability Testing
Team:
Me + 4 students
(We worked together, but each was responsible for a different user flow.)
Duration:
8 months
About project:
The project was developed as part of postgraduate studies in User Experience & Product Design at SWPS University, which took place from October 2022 to June 2023. As a team, we collaboratively led the design process, starting from defining the problem and progressing through the first full iteration. We applied Design Thinking as our working methodology.
Problem to solve:
For our design project, we chose to focus on neighborhood relationships. Currently, especially in large cities, these relationships are minimal or nonexistent, with social media platforms often filling the void. On the other hand, suburbanization—the trend of moving to suburban areas—leads to the exclusion of many individuals from socio-cultural life. We decided to explore this topic and design an application that benefits both individuals and entire local communities.
Result:
We designed a social application that encourages users to step outside and spend quality, healthy time together, distinguishing itself from traditional social media platforms. The app aims to connect individuals based on shared local interests and facilitate integration through shared activities. Its event module empowers local communities to independently build their own socio-cultural life.
Exploring neighborly problems
At the beginning of our journey, we focused on exploring neighborhood relationships. Through secondary research (desk research) and netnography, we aimed to delve deeper into the nature of neighborly issues.
We discovered that most of these problems pertain to:
🔊 Noise - Noise complaints are among the most common issues in neighborhoods. They often arise from loud music, barking dogs, or late-night parties, leading to disturbances and potential conflicts.
🧽 Cleanliness - Issues related to cleanliness, such as overflowing trash bins or unkempt yards, can create unpleasant environments and contribute to neighborhood disputes.
🐶 Pets - Uncontrolled pets, especially dogs that bark excessively or roam freely, are a significant source of tension among neighbors. Responsible pet ownership is crucial to maintaining harmonious relationships.
👶🏻 Children - While children are a joy, their noise and behavior can sometimes lead to disturbances. It's important for parents to ensure their children are supervised and considerate of others.
🚘 Parking - Limited parking spaces and improper parking practices can cause frustration and disputes among neighbors.
🥳 Parties - Frequent or loud parties, especially late at night, can disrupt the peace and lead to complaints from neighbors.
Higher anonymity = more problems reported
Scientific research analyzing large-scale administrative data from Brisbane, Australia, indicates that neighborhoods with higher resident mobility (anonymity) are more likely to report a greater number of neighbor-related issues to local authorities. This trend is not associated with the affluence or social status of the neighborhoods.
Problems with Neigbours, sagepub.com, 2021
Suburbanization is our blue ocean
Suburbanization is a key social challenge in contemporary urban development. It leads to the separation of social groups that once lived side by side, weakening interpersonal bonds, creating closed communities, and diminishing traditional forms of shared leisure. Moreover, suburbs often lack rich cultural and recreational offerings for residents.
From a product design perspective, suburban residents represent an ideal group of early adopters. These individuals recognize the need for integration within their local community and actively seek alternatives to the urban cultural amenities they enjoyed before relocating.
Social media addiction lowers
self-esteem among adolescents
Regular use of social media generally has a negative impact on self-esteem, especially among teenagers. Frequent exposure to idealized images and social comparisons can lower self-esteem and lead to dissatisfaction with one's body or life. Consequently, this may contribute to social media addiction and deteriorate adolescents' mental health.
Studies have shown that excessive social media use is linked to a higher risk of developing eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, particularly among teenage girls. Constant comparisons with "ideal" bodies and lifestyles of others can cause feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction with one's appearance. Additionally, social media can promote the spread of negative comments and criticism regarding appearance, exacerbating the issue.
Self-esteem and social media addiction level in adolescents: The mediating role of body image, National Library of Medicine, 2023.
Activists and enthusiasts will create local synergy
In the initial phase of the project, we conducted desk research, based on which we developed two proto-personas: @local_activist and @enthusiast. After recruiting and interviewing individuals with similar profiles, we created detailed user personas, significantly deepening our understanding of their needs and enhancing our user-centered design approach.
Mark
Letsdoit
local activist
43 y.o. | Architect
Warsaw | married
social
empathic
responsible
open-minded
family-oriented
BIO:
Marek, a local activist and renowned architect, is known for his openness and empathy towards neighbors. He is married, has two adult children, and deeply values his role in the local community. With more free time after work, Marek is now pursuing passions he previously lacked the time and resources for. Evenings are often spent with his wife and friends, enjoying red wine and engaging in deep, meaningful conversations.
NEEDS:
He wants a better organized, integrated local community,
He feels the need to share knowledge and support others,
He is looking for activities that give meaning to his new stage of life,
He wants to counteract isolation and passivity in his area.
PAINS:
Struggles with emotions related to aging,
Feeling frustrated with lack of involvement from other residents,
Doesn't always know how to effectively initiate change in their community,
Worries about neighbors' problems but doesn't always have the tools to help.
Kathy
Chillout
enthusiast
28 y.o. | Project Manager
Tricity | single
friendly
laid back
extrovert
ambitious
entertaining
BIO:
Kasia is a young, well-educated woman who recently moved into her first apartment in a new neighborhood. Since her friends live in different parts of the city, she's looking for ways to expand her social circle. An optimistic and open-minded person, she leads an active lifestyle with hobbies including volleyball, kitesurfing, and yoga. After a long day at her corporate job, Kasia is eager to connect with people her age and participate in various social activities.
NEEDS:
Wants to expand her circle of friends in a new area,
Needs contact with people of similar age and interests,
Appreciates spontaneity and diversity – hates stagnation,
Likes to feel like she's using her time well.
PAINS:
She can't sit still - she doesn't like being idle,
She feels lonely away from her family and friends,
Working remotely limits natural opportunities for social contact,
She just moved, so she'd like to get to know the area better.
We are the same, but the wall is between us
In today's world, there is a coexistence of being connected to others and feeling lonely at the same time.
People live right next to each other, yet they know nothing about each other's passions, views, problems, or dreams.
Most people don't know about their neighbors hobbies
In in-depth interviews, users were enthusiastic about the possibility of making real friends through a mobile app. Most of the respondents (approx. 80%) had no idea about the interests of their closest neighbors. Many of them declared that such knowledge would be a good topic for starting a casual conversation and, consequently, for making closer friends.
"What's his name?"
Many respondents (approximately 70%) reported that they formed closer neighborly relationships through shared responsibilities such as walking the dog or taking children for a walk. A significant portion of these individuals know the names of their neighbors' dogs and children but not the neighbors themselves. Nevertheless, they exchange smiles, engage in conversations on various topics during walks, and sometimes, these interactions lead to genuine friendships.
"What if somebody will stalk me?"
Some respondents (particularly women) shared their experiences with social media and dating apps, expressing concerns about the possibility of fake profiles and impersonation. They noted that in applications encouraging real-life meetings, such risks are especially problematic.
To address these concerns, we explored solutions like Jumio and Onfido, which offer biometric face verification using a combination of facial selfies, identity documents, and 3D face scanning. These technologies employ advanced liveness detection to ensure the person is physically present and not using a photo or video to spoof the system. For instance, Jumio utilizes Zoom® 3D Face Login with TrueLivenessDetection, certified by iBeta for ISO Presentation Attack Detection, to create a 3D face map from a selfie and compare it with the ID photo to verify the user's identity.
We decided to integrate such biometric verification into our onboarding process to enhance security and trust. Additionally, users will be required to upload a visible and verified profile picture before accessing the application, ensuring a safer and more authentic community experience.
Product's core
Unlike other apps, this one will encourage you to step outside
and spend time in a meaningful
and healthy way.
Informations that show the product scope
Let's see what extra things can we offer
There are applications on the market that address neighborhood-related topics; however, they typically do not actively encourage social integration. Meanwhile, the most popular social media platforms somewhat reflect users' interests but lack a local, community-oriented character.
Therefore, it is worthwhile to combine the best features of both approaches and create a new platform—a next-generation social medium—that will genuinely enable users to connect with real people in their immediate surroundings. This product will facilitate the building of healthy interpersonal relationships without the pressure of gaining recognition, thanks to its limited, local character.
User flow - searching for companion
I have designed a user flow where profiles of people in the neighborhood can be filtered by specific activities. This filter would be activated for a certain period and would also indicate to other users that we are open to the selected activity.
Wireframes - concept of dual-function filter
I designed an activity filter in the form of a 24-hour countdown timer, after which the filter is automatically deactivated.
The activity filter serves two simultaneous functions:
It filters nearby profiles that have activated the same activity filter.
It activates our own filter for 24 hours, signaling to others our interest in that activity.
Mid-fi prototype
We showed it to 10 users
10 moderated usability tests were conducted, consisting of the following elements:
Verification of recruitment criteria,
In-depth preliminary interviews (IDI),
A task-based section covering 5 main user journeys.
The study was conducted both on-site and remotely. In both cases, Google Meet was used to record smartphone screens.
Based on the recordings, a grid of test observations was created in a Google Sheet. The observations were then analyzed, clustered, and classified according to the types of problems identified.
Concept is unclear - CRITICAL
Observation:
At the very beginning, users did not understand how the activity selection buttons functioned as filters for the list of people. They also assumed these activities should have been the ones selected during onboarding.
Conclusion:
In the app prototype, the content of the list did not update based on the selected activity, so users saw no reaction after clicking a button. As a result, one of the app’s core features was unclear to users, potentially undermining its perceived usefulness.
Recommendation:
The prototype should be adjusted so that the displayed content dynamically responds to the selected activity.
Additionally, the tabs dividing profiles into “Neighbors” and “Suggested” should be removed to avoid unnecessary confusion.
"I see an icon, I click it - CRITICAL
Observation:
Users attempt to invite someone to an activity by clicking on the activity icons within that person’s profile. They also misinterpret the chat button dedicated to sending invitations.
Conclusion:
When someone wants to take part in an activity, they primarily focus on icons and labels related to that activity — these are the first elements that catch their attention. Moreover, when they see an active icon (indicating interest), they feel the urge to respond directly in that same place. Familiar interaction patterns from features like Instagram Stories also influence this behavior.
Recommendation:
Add a quick-invite feature that allows users to send activity invitations by clicking on the relevant icon in a profile.
Remove the activity invitation button from the chat view.
Introduce a module for managing invitations, displaying activities in a calendar, and notifying users about upcoming activities.
"I don't understand these activities" - SERIOUS
Observation:
Users had difficulty recognizing that the activity-matching feature is intended only for one-on-one activities.
Conclusion:
The “Activities” module does not clearly indicate that it is dedicated solely to pair-based activities. Users are not informed that group activities should be found through the Events module.
Recommendation:
Revise the copy to clearly explain the purpose of this module.
Within the activity selection screen, add a tab for group activities that redirects users to the relevant Events module for that category.
Try it and click it
What later? Vision for the future
Considering trends such as hyperlocality, loneliness, and mental well-being (Trend Map 2023 – Hatalska), the product has strong potential to fill a gap in the market.
With future development of the created MVP in mind, we have outlined several key directions that could be explored going forward.
