POD

Problem

A specific group of users is having difficulty navigating the dating scene on dating platforms

User Goal

The user group is made up of people who practice a vegan centered lifestyle who are seeking platonic and intimate connections with others who practice a similar lifestyle

Solution

It’s tough trying to navigate the dating scene when utilizing the current dating applications because these applications don’t have anything implemented on the specificity of niche areas that might be a driving force in one's lifestyle.

The intent of this Vegan dating app is to provide humans who practice veganism in their life, a platform to find a love interest with a similar lifestyle. People practice veganism for different reasons, including health reasons, environmental impact, and/or ethical views. Finding a mate who operates the world similarly, can be important to an individual. So I wanted to create a different experience for those people!

This application also includes a “find a friend” feature within the application. This portion of the platform would be utilized for vegans who aren’t necessarily looking to date, but might want to try a new restaurant in the area but don’t have many/any vegan friends, attend an event that is vegan oriented or even just find a new friend with similar interests.

Competitive Audit

First, to gain an understanding of the platform's users might be familiar with, I conducted a competitive analysis of dating applications (vegan/vegetarian, and others)

To extract the data needed, I personally downloaded each application and walked through the process of creating accounts. This also helped me understand the process the user experiences, which impacted my designing

User Interviews

Love / Breakup Letter

At the end of each User Interview, the users were given a choice to write a Love Letter or a Breakup Letter to either a specific dating application they had used in the present/past or to all dating applications in general. Three of the users participated. This method was used to give the users a moment by themselves and reflect on how the dating applications they’ve interacted with, have made them feel, whether that’s a pain point or a positive experience.

User Stories

User stories were created to showcase the "who", "what", and "why" of the user & their needs.

Synthesizing

Secondary Research

For a form of secondary research, I posted in multiple facebook groups such as: Vegan Date, Vegan Singles, NYC Vegans, Vegan Minnesota, Vegans of New York, Compassionate Vegan MN, and Vegan Minneapolis MN, Vegans of Minnesota

I tried to post in Vegan groups that were specific to the dating scene. The reason I posted in a few Minnesota and New York groups was because I was already a part of those groups so I could easily post. Some other groups take a few days to approve you before being able to post in group. For time purposes, I posted in the groups I had previously joined.

stating: Hi all! I'm working on a research project and I'd love to get any feedback you may have about your dating experience as a vegan!

This can be in general or related to Vegan dating apps (what you've experienced, what you would like to see implemented that isn't, etc).. welcoming all feedback! Thanks so much in advance!

Prototype

Presentation

Next Steps

• Build out one entire flow (currently, I built out different featured areas based on the user interviews pain points)

  • Conduct a cognitive walkthrough myself

• Usability Interviews & Testing using Think-Aloud Protocol (flow, language, instruction etc..)

  • Adjust prototype according to feedback

• Build out the entire flow of navigation, including the “Plant Pal” feature

  • Conduct usability testing again with the updated features/flow from the second round of interviews

Final Thoughts

This solo passion project was really fun and I learned a lot! I would love to expand on this project in the future as the background research I’ve done within this niche area, supports the space for this new dating application.