Hobbees


Duration: 3 weeks

Tools: Figma

Skills: Prototyping, User Research

Role: UI/UX Designer & Researcher

Team: 3 students

Hobbees


Duration: 3 weeks

Tools: Figma

Skills: Prototyping, User Research

Role: UI/UX Designer & Researcher

Team: 3 students

Hobbees


Duration: 3 weeks

Tools: Figma

Skills: Prototyping, User Research

Role: UI/UX Designer & Researcher

Team: 3 students

Project Overview

Project Overview

People who move to new towns and communities often struggle to meet new people and build meaningful connections. This can lead to feelings of isolation and difficulty in integrating into their new evironment.


Hobbees aims to address this challenge by providing an intuitive platform where users can connect with others based on shared interests and hobbies, fostering opportunities for social interaction and community building.

People who move to new towns and communities often struggle to meet new people and build meaningful connections. This can lead to feelings of isolation and difficulty in integrating into their new evironment.


Hobbees aims to address this challenge by providing an intuitive platform where users can connect with others based on shared interests and hobbies, fostering opportunities for social interaction and community building.

User Interviews and Personas 👤

User Interviews and Personas 👤

  • Interviewed 50+ current college students and recent post graduate adults

  • Key Findings:

    • Much harder to make friends as an adult compared to students in school.

    • Responses from both populations indicated the way a lot of people manage to make friends is through signing up for activities and hobbies, such as pickleball or art.

  • Developed 2 personas who would interact with our app, one adult and one student

  • Interviewed 50+ current college students and recent post graduate adults

  • Key Findings:

    • Much harder to make friends as an adult compared to students in school.

    • Responses from both populations indicated the way a lot of people manage to make friends is through signing up for activities and hobbies, such as pickleball or art.

  • Developed 2 personas who would interact with our app, one adult and one student

Feature Categorization 🗂️

Feature Categorization 🗂️

Based on user insights we thought the best approach to address this problem is to create a social media application focusing on hobbies and people making connections solely through activities.


We brainstormed key features we wanted to include:

  • Creating and viewing a user profile

  • Discovering (e.g., searching and browsing for) different hobbies and skills

  • Viewing “sharer” profiles and their content

  • Attending live “classes” or taking previously-recorded classes

  • Saving classes and/or saving them to collections

  • Enabling messaging between users and sharers

  • Viewing interesting statistics/insights about your upskilling and hobby-building habits

  • App should suggest content based on the users interests and habits

  • Rewarding sharers (we are open to different models - payment, donations, or even free)

Based on user insights we thought the approach to address this problem is to create a social media application focusing on hobbies and people making connections solely through activities.


We brainstormed key features we wanted to include:

  • Creating and viewing a user profile

  • Discovering (e.g., searching and browsing for) different hobbies and skills

  • Viewing “sharer” profiles and their content

  • Attending live “classes” or taking previously-recorded classes

  • Saving classes and/or saving them to collections

  • Enabling messaging between users and sharers

  • Viewing interesting statistics/insights about your upskilling and hobby-building habits

  • App should suggest content based on the users interests and habits

  • Rewarding sharers (we are open to different models - payment, donations, or even free)

Design Concepts

Design Concepts

  1. Social Media Approach 🫂

    This approach focuses on fostering genuine social interaction through common interests and community building. It would offers a simple, pastel-colored interface that invites users to explore and engage effortlessly, and emphasize local connections, allowing individuals to meet and bond over common interests both online and in their neighborhoods. By prioritizing user-friendly design and a welcoming atmosphere, the social media approach aims to enrich social experiences and cultivate meaningful relationships.

  1. Social Media Approach 🫂

    This approach focuses on fostering genuine social interaction through common interests and community building. It would offers a simple, pastel-colored interface that invites users to explore and engage effortlessly, and emphasize local connections, allowing individuals to meet and bond over common interests both online and in their neighborhoods. By prioritizing user-friendly design and a welcoming atmosphere, the social media approach aims to enrich social experiences and cultivate meaningful relationships.

  1. Gameification Approach 👾

    This approach focuses on transforming hobby exploration into an engaging adventure. This version encourages users to earn points and rewards for the hobbies they learn and the lessons they attend, turning personal growth into a fun challenge. By integrating game mechanics, it would motivate users to expand their interests while fostering connections with others who share their passions.With every new hobby mastered, users unlock opportunities for community engagement and collaboration, creating a vibrant ecosystem of learners and enthusiasts.

  1. Gameification Approach 👾

    This approach focuses on transforming hobby exploration into an engaging adventure. This version encourages users to earn points and rewards for the hobbies they learn and the lessons they attend, turning personal growth into a fun challenge. By integrating game mechanics, it would motivate users to expand their interests while fostering connections with others who share their passions.With every new hobby mastered, users unlock opportunities for community engagement and collaboration, creating a vibrant ecosystem of learners and enthusiasts.

Moodboards 🎨

Moodboards 🎨

Based on the two design concepts we brainstormed we developed two potential moodboards that we could use.

Based on the two design concepts we brainstormed we developed two potential moodboards that we could use.

Low-Fidelity Wireframes 📝

Low-Fidelity Wireframes 📝

Utilizing the two moodboards we developed low-fidelity wireframes for each design concept.

Utilizing the two moodboards we developed low-fidelity wireframes for each design concept.

Gamification Approach 👾

Gamification Approach 👾

Social Media Approach 🫂

High Fidelity Mockups 📱

High Fidelity Mockups 📱

After receiving user feedback based on both of our wireframes from the same students we originally interviewed, we decided to develop our high-fidelity mockups using the Social Media Approach.

After receiving user feedback based on both of our wireframes from the same students we originally interviewed, we decided to develop our high-fidelity mockups using the Social Media Approach.

Final Protoype