The app for meaningful relationships amongst millennials
Problem Statement
Addressing loneliness and the need for real-life connections
In today’s fast-paced world, 53% of Millennials feel lonely, disconnected, and crave meaningful, real-life relationships. This challenge is amplified by their busy schedules, which often uproot them from their social roots and limit opportunities for organic connections. Existing meeting services focus on digital interactions rather than fostering real-world connections tied to shared activities.
Role
Leading the design of noow.world
- Conducted analysis of the target audience, with a focus on Millennials and their pain points around loneliness and the need for meaningful connections.
- Studied competitors to identify gaps and opportunities that set Noow.world apart, particularly its unique approach to using nearby activities as a matching criterion.
- Defined usage scenarios grounded in product positioning, translating them into intuitive user flows.
- Engaged in user interviews and surveys to uncover behaviors, preferences, and frustrations related to meeting new people on-the-go.
- Synthesized findings into actionable insights to inform the design strategy and ensure alignment with user needs.
- Created user flows, wireframes, and prototypes to define the app’s core functionalities and ensure an intuitive, engaging experience.
- Designed the interface focusing on clarity and ease of use, while emphasising the app’s unique feature of integrating nearby activities for real-time matching.
- Conducted usability testing sessions with potential users to validate designs, identify pain points, and refine the app’s interaction flow.
- Iterated on feedback to ensure the final product met both functional and emotional needs.
Step 1: Market research
Millennials are lonely and want more relationships in real life
Problem
Removed from their roots, juggling work and personal life, 53% of the Millennials are lonely and want more meaningful relationships in real life.
Pain points
30% use dating and meeting apps but 40% are unsatisfied with the experience:
- 60% say that they want to share ‘similar interests’. Indeed, they are not into hook-ups, they are the least sexual generation since 1920s. There is a disconnect between online profiles and what they find attractive in real life makes the experience disappointing.
- They are spontaneous and don’t want to plan ahead.
Goal
To develop a service to meet around personal interests on-the-go.
We aim to get 60,000 users by month 7 after the soft launch.
Step 2: User research
People settling in new locations, single travellers, people with flexible schedules (freelancers,…), and people who want to experience their surroundings differently.
Based on desk research and guerrilla interviews, we identified our target audience and created proto-personas to cover the range of approaches, as well as, to stay anchored in users’ needs.
Julie, the newcomer
Julie, 24, recently moved from New Zealand to London for a start-up job. She loves the city’s cultural scene and wants to explore exhibitions, events, and nightlife while making new friends.
Goals
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Discover the city’s cultural scene, including international exhibitions, events, and gigs.
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Meet people who share her passion for the arts.
Hobbies
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Art, literature, fashion, coffee shops, chatting, partying.
Problems
- Feeling lonely and missing home.
- Struggling to build a social circle.
- Difficulty turning work connections into friendships.
Ben and his fragmented schedule
Ben, 27, is a longtime Londoner and a freelancer with an unpredictable work schedule. When he’s not contracting, he enjoys socializing and meeting new people.
Goals
- Make the most of his free time.
- Build a wide social circle.
- New experiences.
Hobbies
- Music, skateboarding, art, coffee shops, partying.
Problems
- Feeling bored or isolated on free days.
- Meetups too inflexible.
- Prefers social connections over dating apps.
Step 3: Positioning
The instantaneity of a dating app combined with a meetup approach.
Current offer
On-the-go meeting solutions based on ‘one interest’: Dating apps
Their unique purpose, often dating (Bumble, Tinder, Happn,…) makes them responsive to Millennials’ mobility and fragmented schedule.
Planned meeting solutions based on ‘multiple interests’: Meetups
The diversity of the activities resonates with Millennials’ eclectic interests but implies planning delays (unfrequent events and events’ dates far ahead).
Strategy
To bring an instantaneous quality to ‘multiple interests’ services by replacing the user-generated offer (activities organised and proposed by users) with existing nearby activities (events and evergreens).
Unique Value Proposition
The first meeting service using surrounding ‘things to do’ to match people on-the-go.
Guiding principles
To be about friending and not dating/hooking up:
- No profile piles to swipe.
- Matches based on interests – not on pictures.
To be efficient:
- Contextual and personalised content.
- On-the-go
Step 4: Scenarios
Key moments in the experience of our two personas
‘As a newcomer, I want to meet people sharing common interests so that I can create meaningful relationships.’
‘As a person with a fragmented schedule, I want to meet people sharing common interests so that I have a +1 to do the things I like.’
Want to meet new people
“I would like to do something but don’t know many people in London. I could use Tinder to find a date but hookups are not my thing.”
Select reason(s) to meet on the app
“I really fancy going to an exhibition. Let’s see if I can find someone willing to join this afternoon.”
Journey 1: Find places of interest and see who wants to go
“I love the Tate Gallery, let’s see who is looking for a +1 to go there.”
Journey 2: Find like-minded people and their places of interest
“Great, there are also five people who are into exhibitions. Let’s check which exhibitions they are interested in.”
Chat with like-minded people
“Let’s ask him if he fancies joining: Hey, I saw that you want to go to the Tate Gallery. I am free to go this afternoon!”
Meet in real life to share interests
“Hi, I am so happy to meet you at this exhibition! It is always nice to chit-chat about art.”
Step 5: User flow & concept testing
Places of interest as reasons for connecting, chatting, and meeting
User flow helped us to identify key actions within the app and the screens to focus on first:
- Users enter their interests to discover like-minded people and things-to-do.
- Like-minded people’s profiles show their interests and places of interest. The things-to-do profiles show people interested in going there.
- Everybody and everything is around, so users can get in touch to meet on-the-go.
User profile
Select your interests
Search results
See people and places with common interests around you
Other users’ profiles
& things to do profiles
View Other user’s interests
View who is interested in things to do
Chat
Get in touch and organise to meet
Step 6: Product highlights
The first on-the-go meeting service using surrounding ‘things to do’ to match people.
The first platform to aggregate content from city guides.
Noow.world helps users discover who and what is around them based on shared interests.
- Tailored: Matches users with like-minded people and relevant activities.
- Versatile: Find people to connect with and things to do.
- Real-time & local: People and ‘things to do’ are nearby and located in real-time.
- Ice-breaker: Suggested activities serve as natural conversation starters and meeting spots.
- Effortless: Quick setup, simple search, and instant access to chat or event details.
Step 7: Concept testing
People settled for less than one to two years, or in town for a limited period, warmly welcomed the idea.
Fifteen individuals aged 20 to 30 were interviewed about their social habits before being introduced to the concept.
- 90% of newcomers said they saw a need for this type of app.
- 50% had already thought of similar app ideas.
- Locals could see themselves using the app when travelling abroad.
- People who had been in the city for less than one to two years or stayed for a limited time embraced the idea enthusiastically.
Key questions asked:
- Do you use social media?
- Do you use city guides?
- How long have you been in London?
- Are you looking to meet new people? If so, how do you do it? When was the last time?
- Do you use apps to meet people? If so, what do you think of them?
- What do you think of this concept? (Participants were shown visuals.)
Step 8: Architecture
See around to be on-the-go
We designed the main screen with a map and geolocation to emphasise nearby people and places, helping users discover their surroundings and navigate towards them.
Step 9: Wireframes
Users are defined by their interests and by the ‘things to do’ that they like.
& ‘things to do’ are defined by their interests and by the users who liked them.
Step 10: UI
Interface
Sign up / login
Home
User profile
Other user profile
Thing to do profile
Event profile
Step 11: Usability testing
The prototype received good feedback.
Future users tested the prototype, and the majority appreciated the design and found the app easy to use.
However, older millennials expressed concerns about sharing their location.
During testing, key questions included:
- How would you describe the interface?
- Can you send a message to another user?
- Can you navigate to your profile page? How would you describe it? Are you comfortable sharing that information?
- (Back to the map) Can you click on a pin? What does the page show? Do you see a use for it?
- What are your thoughts on the app’s interface? Would you change anything?
- What are your main concerns?
Confidentiality and real-time feedback.
User location
The user’s exact location remains hidden.
Up-to-date information
Only active users appear in the search, and ‘Things to Do’ profiles stay up-to-date with current opening hours.