KNCT
how might we
How might we facilitate more meaningful connections between dating app users?
How might we encourage users to be more authentic in their profiles and interactions?
How might we provide users with better tools for starting and maintaining conversations/connections?
I created KNCT to answer these questions. I wanted to prioritize things that will bring us together. Ingredients for community.
INSIGHT #1 - Ideally, I would be splitting this work with a few more team members. Right now, part of this project is learning each role in the product design process.
INSIGHT#2 - Humans expend a lot of energy and time in the pursuit of companionship. From our clothing choices to how we spend our free time
CHALLENGE#1 - I spent a considerable amount of time on background research. If I had a do-over, a lot of that time gets applied to formal and informal interviews.
INSIGHT#3 - Ask better questions, get better answers.
CHALLENGE#2 - Interviewing is a skill. After an awkward start, I was able to adjust my style for each interviewee and get more information and inspiration.
From there, I applied a couple of different strategies to sort through their responses, shuffling them around in a few different buckets, before landing on three categories: things that facilitate communication, things that deepen connection, and things that create compatibility. If we are to build something from scratch, these are our flour, sugar, and eggs. My interviewees talked about a lot of friction with messaging, no protocol for meeting up, having conversations stall, etc.
INSIGHT#4 - Other areas of opportunity–safety and feedback. When I have more time, I’m really interested in testing out some safety feature user flows, particularly as an extension of meet up invites. Feedback is another important element in facilitating communication. How might we allow users to give and receive feedback on their interactions? How might we translate that information in the most compassionate and actionable way?
who & what
Now that there’s a better idea of the pain points and potential improvements, I needed to nail down who would be using KNCT and what they intend to do while using it.
I wanted to create user flows that would address key areas of interest (connection, communication, compatibility) in conjunction with the people experiencing them:
the user with a busy schedule who wants an efficient way to meet up
a user who is a little unsure of where to go for a date
a user who may need help initiating conversation
CHALLENGE#3 - Switching from research synthesis to working on the UX and UI was a nice change of pace, but I had some trouble seeing the forest for the trees. Working end to end like this, it was very easy for me to get siloed into one particular process or exercise. I frequently had to check in with my overall objectives and make sure my ideas were in alignment with them.
prototype
Although baking relies on precise measurements and proper baking temperatures, one part of learning to cook anything is tasting as you go. That was how I approached this prototype.
Some ideas follow the prototype exactly. One such solution for communication issues was KNCT Assist. How might we build on an already successful idea (Hinge’s profile prompts) and use it to help users craft thoughtful messages to each other? Through this feature, the user can get help with introductions, date invitations, and refreshing conversations that have gone stale.
This is where the work started getting fun for me again. After painstakingly combining all these ingredients–sometimes in the correct order–it's time to sample, frost, and customize. I used to call my mother for certain recipes. She would always tell me: Taste as you go. Follow your instincts. Meaning, this is a little squishy so there’s room to experiment. Trust your taste buds if something doesn’t look quite right. My vision for KNCT was something neutral, straightforward, and nothing too gender specific.
INSIGHT #5 - This is where I can also get hyperfocus and eat up a little more time than I need to. Playing with the color palette, branding, and different interactions was really where the ideas started to come alive.
Users were asked to complete the following tasks:
Match with a user
Unmatch with a user
Sending a message to your new match
Getting help to craft a message using KNCT Assist
Send a meetup invite to a connection
CHALLENGE#4 - This was my first time running usability testing, and my first session started with a Figma hiccup. For whatever reason, my link wasn’t loading on my test subject’s computer, so in a panic, I asked her to see if she could access it with her phone. This worked, but since we were conducting testing via zoom, the backlight made it hard to see precisely where she was going with certain actions. In retrospect, I should’ve just rescheduled or asked her to reboot and call back.
CHALLENGE#5 - No one got the unfollow icon right away. The purple icon just didn’t stand out enough. Having it against the user profile pic can be problematic, especially if the icon blends into whatever colors are in the picture. So I swapped the cog for some menu dots.
Post-usability testing, I spent time fleshing out the full profiles and creating some intermediary screens to clarify what is part of the profile and what is an action. I grouped the primary profile actions (like/dismiss; send a message or view overlaps) and set them slightly aside profile information.
A few users in the initial testing liked being able to send a meet up invite, but wanted to get a full confirmation screen before sending.
INSIGHT #6- I also got some ideas for potential features and other considerations for certain tasks. One user proposed a dress code call out for meet up invites. Another responded positively to KNCT Assist, and was particularly keen on the using of AI and large language models.
findings
If I could start over, I would’ve spent more time just talking to people. Not just about their dating app usage, but about how they form relationships with people, and how that’s changed over their lives.
We invest a lot of time, money, and energy into partnering up. Who and how we love, what we value, what we prioritize–these things tell us who we are. Our love and partnerships are some of the main ways humans create family and community. But because those things are so closely tied to our identity, when they go wrong, it can be devastating. It can give us purpose and also take away our identity. Love stories are so ubiquitous because they are the most human stories. The stakes feel higher when it comes to romantic partnership, making it a unique challenge among other social networking apps.
The problem with dating apps is really the problem with people. There is no perfect recipe. Tips and tricks we learn in one relationship might not translate to another. Our manner of communicating might betray our good intentions. We are flawed. We miscommunicate, we make mistakes, we argue. We can change a lot or not at all. We often think we know what we want in a relationship, only to find ourselves repeating the same mistakes. Maybe instead of dating apps, we should start shifting the focus toward relationship development tools. How might we learn to relate to other people better? How might we forge connections that are rooted in respect and understanding while also maintaining our core values? How might we talk to and about the people in our lives with dignity and candor? As I look ahead to what the user experience discipline could do for the human experience, I hope that ideas like KNCT, that center on communication, transparency, and feedback, will help us to connect with each other in a more intentional way. Maybe the best first step is just to put the phone down and start a conversation.