Bringing Trust and Fun Back to Digital Dating
Client Name:
Josh Colten, Founder of Relation Quest
Industry:
Digital Media
Services:
Mobile User Experience and User Interface Research & Design
Team:
1 UX Research and Designer (🙋🏻♀️ me)
2 Front and Back-End Developers
1 Product Owner
Project Scale:
About 120 screens and 75 user flows
Tools:
Paper & Pen, Sketch, Figma, Overflow, InVision, Zeplin, Slack, Jira
Backstory
During each Scrum meeting, the founder of Relation Quest, a slow-dating app, passionately conveys his vision to the team. Relation Quest aims to elevate the quality of connections in the digital dating world by reintroducing the beauty of slow dating. We offer two distinct settings: Single Quest and Group Quest. The concept is straightforward—prior to matching, both parties engage in several Q&A rounds, investing time and effort to truly get to know each other.
In today's dating landscape, speed dating has become the norm, with most dating apps catering to this demand. However, we recognize the inefficiency of endless swiping, which is a prevalent issue. Our solution emphasizes a quality-over-quantity approach.
Our Goal
To enhance the quality of connections in the online dating sphere
Relation Quest is reintroducing the allure of slow dating by infusing the process with gamification, making the journey of getting to know each other both enjoyable and engaging.
Defining the Problems
A clear purpose serves as our solid foundation, guiding us to continuously evaluate how effectively the app addresses its intended mission and whether our solutions align with its purpose.
When I joined the team, they had already sketched out some basic layouts (as shown below). However, feedback from both stakeholders and users has been unsatisfactory. The most common complaint is that the process of getting to know a match feels daunting and unenjoyable.
"The process of getting to know my match is daunting and not enjoyable; in fact, it is like doing the assignments."
Original sketch out
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As I examine the screens and the challenges we're encountering, it appears that our current situation is too broad and abstract to take a viable first step. To provide clear direction for the team, I aim to dive deeper into the problems. Utilizing human-centered design thinking, I focus on finding the answer to one critical question.
" What are our users trying to accomplish by hiring our product?"
Five Whys Root Cause
Starting by drilling down on one of the most common perceptions associated with dating nowadays- Online dating often feels intimidating and frequently results in disappointment for me.
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1st WHY
Why does it feel challenging and intimidating for you?
Because meeting a stranger one-on-one is daunting, especially when I know nothing about this person.
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2nd WHY
If it is often a daunting experience, why would you still agree to meet up in person?
Because online dating moves quickly, there's often pressure to meet up without investing time in getting to know each other. Additionally, many dating apps impose time restrictions, further incentivizing quick decisions.
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3rd WHY
Why do you believe people nowadays are less inclined to invest time and effort in getting to know each other?
Because the prevalent speed dating culture leads people to believe they have numerous options readily available. Consequently, they no longer feel the need to dedicate effort and time to a single individual.
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4th WHY
Why do individuals feel they have almost too many options in the digital dating world?
Because dating apps prioritize offering users a broad selection of potential matches, easily accessible with just a swipe or click.
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5th WHY
Why do you believe that meeting people with a swipe/click is making it more challenging to meet quality individuals?
The process of meeting people has become oversimplified, leading us to make snap judgments within mere seconds. This quick decision-making pattern is not conducive to forming meaningful and lasting relationships, which require time and deeper understanding.
Creating RQ Design System
UI/UX Redesign
