Mind Mix
a mobile app for making meaningful connections
Role
Independent UX Designer & Researcher
Time
5 months, 2020
Type
Concept study
Tools
Adobe XD, InVision
Problem
Never more connected never more alone
Technology remakes our world. It dazzles us with ease and convenience.. but do we feel more fulfilled? Are we becoming better people? Loneliness in our society has become an epidemic. Nearly a third of US adults live alone, 40% say their relationships are not meaningful, and 20% say they are lonely. How can technology not merely "connect" us but actually foster meaningful connection?
How can technology not merely "connect" us but actually foster meaningful connection?
Process
From user interviews to high-fidelity prototype
Talking to people
What does meaningful connection mean to you?
I spoke to 8 people, ages 25-35, 4 women, 4 men. I selected people familiar with the friction in finding friends after moving to a new place, people who showed interest in connection but have met frustrations. I wanted to know how people really feel about this, How do they describe meaningful connection? How does it arise in their lives? Are they satisfied with their social connections?
Extracting insights
What did people say?
After speaking with people, taking notes, and revisiting recordings I isolated quotations and grouped them by different affinities, perspectives, & behaviors. A number of recurring themes came to the surface.
Feeling different
People feel like they are too different to easily connect with others, and when connection does happen, it’s often a rare event where there’s a special alignment of mindset.
Chemistry
Nearly everyone I spoke to described meeting a new close friend as something of a magic moment - where there was a ‘spark’ - some unspoken connection that made them feel understood. We might call this ‘good chemistry’
Too damn busy
When asked about online relationships everyone expressed frustration. We must be intentional to keep in touch online. We tend to fall out of touch of we don't have ongoing unplanned occasions to meet and the longer we wait the greater the threshold to reaching out.
On top of all this, no one seems to have time for friendship in their busy lives. If natural friendships flow out of organic repetition of shared experience, we find ourselves in a world where they must come by deliberate action in a space where our time and attention is tied up.
The clearest voices...
“I knew from the first minute we’d be friends..”
“I often think about contacting old friends but I just don’t”
“I want to stay in touch but everyone is so busy”
Creating Personas
Who's problem are we solving?
People move to new cities where they don’t know anybody. People get busy with careers and responsibilities and are too overbooked or tired to initiate contact with friends outside their routine. They feel that good chemistry is rare or that they are socially out of place at work.
Connecting to society as a whole
Thinking about algorithms and AI
The big picture trajectory of machine learning aimed at captivating human attention for ad revenue and the powers and perils of the AI future is very present in my mind.
I thought about incentive models and feedback loops. How can we design truly human-centered behavior loops that reinforce our better selves?
Instead of using machine learning to hack our weaknesses for the most attention-grabbing content, can it be trained on feeding our innate curiosity to better know ourselves and others?
Can AI leverage human social intelligence to understand what makes us thrive as social creatures? Can algorithms be made to fundamentally align with our stated best intentions?
Formulating Problem Statements
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How might we facilitate repeat chance encounters that lead to meaningful friendship?
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How might we better predict chemistry between strangers?
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How might we effectively sustain current friendships
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How might we align AI and social algorithms in a way that reinforces meaningful connection?
Mapping Solutions
Make meaningful connections - a mobile experience
Can we create a mobile app experience that facilitates chance encounters with new people that we are highly likely to click with and support the growth and deepening of our relationships over time?
Thinking about chemistry
How do we predict chemistry between strangers? Could we base it on a model of personality and interaction? How can we build this model in a way that feels natural and engaging?
Hoping to get away from mere personality questionnaires I set out to create an interactive experience through conversational chat bots that playfully query information to build better and better models of compatibility.
Instead of viewing individual profiles that broadcast self image, can we view others in the context of our commonalities?
Experience & Information Flow
Take a moment to take in this feedback loop. The idea is to create a virtual space for chance encounters with new and old friends. In parallel, machine intelligence engages us in order to understand our compatibility , and predict chemistry with others while also sharing with us insights about ourselves.
We are encouraged to introduce our friends to others, so the predictive model can leverage human social intelligence and recommend matches with a greater chance of leading to meaningful connection.
Early sketches
Visualizing the ideal experience
At the beginning I imagined the primary experience as a “people page” where people float by like bubbles - a playful space for chance encounters. There would be a profile page, with personality stats, or some other metric of compatibility. It would be broken down into color categories. Perhaps symbolizing different personality types. At this stage I built out an interactive hand-drawn prototype and validated core functionality with users.
The discovery page
Imagine looking through the window of a phone to see floating bubbles slowly dancing past - pivoting around in space trying to discover who else is around. Each floating head a possible opportunity. Reach out or just wait - but if you wait too long, they move on. Just like real life.
Message center + Compatibility profile
Learning about ourselves
The other main leg of the app is a personal insights page. This is meant to be a place where you see insights about your personality type and habits of interpersonal relationship. The information would be gathered by interactions with “digital friends” and games played with other people. It would also be informed by the types of people you gravitate toward. It's a growing map of the mind and helps to illuminate ways to lead more meaningful friendships.
Generating a visual experience
What kind of visual aesthetic captures the delight of serendipity and the sincerity of an intentional search for meaningful friendship? What can communicate a playful sense of discovery and possibility?
I remember the delighted voices from my interviews, describing the magic moment where the chemistry just works - that “SPARK” between two strangers when you discover there’s something there. I am inspired by the idea of an alchemy of compatibility - using technology to guide us to the most enriching human relationships. Can we craft a visual experience around this?
I began collecting art that captured these moods - overlapping circles and colors, amorphous gradients - all coalescing into an aura-like infographic of calculated match-making that feels mystical yet scientific.
Circles & Colors
I wanted to get away from photos as a primary visual for social connection online. Instead I looked for a visual language of personality expression - a meaningful marker of possible chemistry between people. For this I was inspired by artwork that captures the overlap and contrast of colors. This meeting of circles and colors with a vitalic glow evokes an alchemy of compatibility. This felt like an adaptive analog for the complex and enigmatic nature of human character.
A visual language of compatibility
Humans rely on deeply evolved social intuitions that are very differently filtered through digital media than in person. I wanted to avoid numbers and personality “types” as a metric for us to latch onto when deciding whether to engage each other. Instead I wanted these metrics to cast themselves as a mixing and morphing of colors unique to each pair of people - letting our intuitions act on a colorscape of commonality rather than a percentage-point verdict on our future.
High fidelity prototype
This prototype was built in Adobe XD and tested with users in 2 rounds using InVision. For the most part users were able to understand and describe the primary functionality without guidance. There were several features and affordances that were overlooked in the first round but updated for the final round of interactive interviews. Several users described the floating bubbles and web of contacts as "fluid", "fun", and "unique"
Discovery Screen
Compatibility Profile
Web of Close Connections
Meeting by Introduction
Self Discovery
Digital
Match-maker?
User testing
What did people think?
Functionality was tested in 2 rounds with 10+ users. Refinements were made after each round. Altogether most users intuited the primary intent of each screen and function. Visual queues were understood as intended.
It was validating to discover that users understood the greater vision - one independently concluded “it’s an intuitive friend finder” and several described the experience as “fluid, fun, and playful” which aligns with intentions.
Reflecting on the future
The essential concept and UI is validated. However, a major area of development is the interface with the digital entities. This is an entire world within the experience to be carefully crafted to keep us engaged and curious. The engine of engagement is meant to be curiosity about self and others. How can we create a game or interaction that builds from our innate need to connect and reinforces this in a positive loop?
This goes hand in hand with models of personality and compatibility. What is the ideal model of compatibility prediction? More than simply personality types, are there deeper human intuitions about relationship that we can tap into for stronger social bonds and community? Is there a way that technology can engage us in conversation - be it words, games, or observing human interaction that can be leveraged toward joining us with our best other, setting us on a validating path of personal growth through supportive friendship that enriches our lives and our communities?