MOBILE APP DEV
UI DESIGN
HeartStrings
Deceptively designed dating app
Role
UX/UI Designer
Project Type
Course Work
Timeline
1 Month
Skills
Figma
Usability Testing
Wireframing
Userflow
Overview
Heartstrings is a dating app concept designed from a UI design challenge of creating a stealthy interface that prompts users to spend money frivolously.
It's a swipe-based dating app with a marketing claim of finding "real connections", by blurring the faces of your potential dating partners. By leveraging UX design principles and strategies, this project investigates user behavior and UI ploys to develop a deceptive and addictive user experience.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
- Distinguish and target a common user problem that can be profitted off of.
-Design an app concept that successfully maintains the needs of its target audience and acquires money from them.
- Conceptualize a communicative branding that is easy to understand and pertains to the app’s purpose and its audience.
- Exercise UX tactics of realistic nagging, gamification, and pre-selection without users distinguishing them for successful deception.
-Design an app concept that successfully maintains the needs of its target audience and acquires money from them.
- Conceptualize a communicative branding that is easy to understand and pertains to the app’s purpose and its audience.
- Exercise UX tactics of realistic nagging, gamification, and pre-selection without users distinguishing them for successful deception.
SOLUTION
My group employed the following strategies to Heartstrings to acquire revenue:
- Pop ups
- Gamified Hearts
- Blocked Information
- Membership Plans (Pre-selected)
- Pop ups
- Gamified Hearts
- Blocked Information
- Membership Plans (Pre-selected)
Demographic Research
Age Range of Dating App Users
Obtained by the Pew Research Center
We found that the majority of users on leading dating apps such as Tinder are between the ages 18-29.
From further analysis, we found the following consistencies among the young adults who use dating apps:
Location: Urban Areas
Occupation: College students
Salary: High income
Location: Urban Areas
Occupation: College students
Salary: High income
User Persona
We developed Justin, a 22 year old NYU international student. With a comfortable upbringing and consistent dedication to his studies, Justin is now taking the time to find a serious relationship. His parents have high-income salaries and support Justin, so he is able to afford a subscription if given the chance.
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Wireframes
We then sketched out our visions for the app's navigation, distributing the core elements to develop for a real dating app experience.
Visual brainstorming for home screen, home feed, membership pop ups, profiles, and messages
User Testing
We distributed our first iteration of the app to 8 different college students. Some specific problems with HeartStrings were:
- The messages could stand out more. Looked a little plain and not interactive.
- Marketing was successful, but pricing was not agreeable to many users and could not seal the deal.
- Membership plans were not distinguishable.
- Marketing was successful, but pricing was not agreeable to many users and could not seal the deal.
- Membership plans were not distinguishable.
Results
We tested our final UI navigation with 4 applicable users. These were the following results:
User 1 fell susceptible to in-game chat purchases.
User 2 (Hinge user) felt successfully incentivized.
User 3 was inclined to pay for extra information.
User 4 was guilted by pop-up language pop-out.
Reflections
If we had more time on this project, my group discussed that we would like to move forward with the following:
User testing We would conduct additional rounds of user testing to gather more detailed insights about user behavior, pain points, and preferences- specifically amongst a wider age demographic. This could involve A/B testing different features to see which design elements are more successful at soliciting revenue for older and younger audiences.
UI color customization One critique was that the colors of the dating app were "too gendered." Users may appreciate the ability to customize the app's color themes, increasing a sense of ownership or comfort when using the app. This can lead to a more engaging experience by making the interface more visually appealing and tailored to personal preferences.
Ethical balance/Transparency Striking the right ethical balance means avoiding manipulative design tactics that could pressure users into paying money. If we had more time, we want to explore how to balance successful nudges for money without complete exploitation of emotions.