joinIn

Making spontaneous meetups easy.

Note from the present: this is an older project that I've kept here for nostalgia :) It was a fun pandemic-era side project.

I often face the problem of wanting to do an activity with friends, but not knowing who would want to join. Once I realized how frequently I face this problem, I decided to create a solution.

Problem: I want to do something with friends, but don't know who's available or interested in joining me.

Solution: To address this problem, I designed an app where interested and available friends come to you.

I wanted to see if others faced this problem, and to what extent. I interviewed college students and conducted research on Reddit and Twitter to learn more about user pain points.

Affinity diagramming to cluster observations into insights

Here are a few of the user insights:

1. Planning activities with friends requires a lot of effort and time. It's difficult to commit to a time that works for everyone. It can be hard to initiate, especially in group settings.


2. Availability of friends is important, but often unknown. There's no way to actually know who's available without repeatedly messaging first. Slow communication limits action, especially when there's a time constraint.


3. With fewer in-person interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is less knowledge of friends' availabilities. People are feeling a greater lack of motivation and accountability for social interactions.

I was interested in designing a solution that I could develop myself. I have some iOS app development experience, so I chose to design an app.

Brainstormed app features & design goals based on interview insights

I drew my visual design inspiration from apps that are popular among college students today, such as Venmo, Snapchat, and Instagram.

Many users were very excited about the idea and saw themselves using it!