Company
Linc

Expertise
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Branding, Mobile app

Year
2023

Linc is an AI-driven social media dating app that empowers you to communicate with confidence and charisma.

A scenic view of the ocean with rocky cliffs and a cloudy sky.
Screenshots of a dating app interface featuring profile pictures, chat conversations, and match options, with a yellow and black theme.

Overview & Challenge

For my senior thesis project, I chose to address a fundamental challenge in the digital age: bridging the gap between digital connection and meaningful in-person human interaction. Linc was a social dating application designed to tackle this issue. In an era of digital oversaturation, the challenge was to create a platform that not only connected users online but also motivated them to build confidence and have genuine conversations in the real world.

My Role & Responsibilities

As the sole designer and student on this thesis project, I was responsible for the end-to-end user experience, from initial research and strategy to the final visual design. My key responsibilities included conducting competitive analysis, developing user personas, defining core features, and designing a cohesive brand identity and user interface.

How can we utilize technology as a tool to build self confidence and encourage non-digital relationships?

Our Approach: A Strategic UX Framework

To solve this human-centered problem, I adopted a comprehensive UX framework that focused on understanding the user, the market, and the brand. My approach involved three key phases:

  • Market Research & Competitive Analysis: I began by researching the current online dating landscape to identify key trends, best practices, and gaps in the market.

  • Persona & User Journey Development: I defined key user personas and mapped out their journeys to understand their pain points and motivations for seeking real-world connections.

  • Strategic Design & Visual Identity: Using the insights from my research, I moved into the design phase, focusing on a strategic user flow and a cohesive brand identity that would resonate with my target audience.

Profile overview of Zara, a makeup artist, including summary, about, pain points, motivations, and dating preferences.
A digital profile card for Zeke, a 20-year-old male university student from Philadelphia, with a black background, blue and white text, and a stylized icon of a snake, showing summary, pain points, motivations, and wants.

Phase 1: Research & Discovery

I began with a literature review and a deep dive into the online dating market, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of popular competitors like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble. This analysis revealed a key opportunity: while many apps focused on the swipe-and-match model, there was a clear user desire for features that led to more authentic, in-person experiences. My research validated the need for a solution that moved beyond the screen.

Phase 2: Ideation & Design

Based on my research, I developed a strategic user flow and journey map that guided users from a simple profile setup to a successful real-world interaction. Using Crazy 8s and iterative wireframing, I explored numerous design solutions for key features. This rapid ideation process helped me refine the app’s navigation and functionality, ensuring a seamless user experience that was both intuitive and engaging.

Phase 3: Visual Identity & Final Designs

The brand identity was designed to be social, playful, and innovative. I developed a visual system that included a vibrant color palette, a friendly typeface, and a suite of icons to reflect this core brand trait. The final designs provided a clean and intuitive user interface with clear navigation, an inviting homepage, and a strong visual aesthetic that differentiated Linc from its competitors.

A digital organizational flowchart with icons representing a mobile app at the top, branching into sections labeled Activity, New Post, DM/Matches, and Profile, each with subsections for different features and functions, all in shades of yellow, oran
A flowchart with steps for creating, engaging, and returning users on a website, including onboarding, reaching out, and post-date activities, with yellow arrow-shaped labels.
A line graph showing happiness levels with points labeled on a timeline.

Key Outcomes & Impact

This project successfully resulted in a cohesive and user-centered application that provided a clear path for users to find authentic, real-world connections. By leveraging a strategic UX process, the final designs addressed the key user pain points identified in my research, culminating in a successful and comprehensive thesis project that demonstrated my end-to-end design capabilities.

A vertical list of four words and phrases with colored backgrounds: 'sociable' in white text on an orange background, 'playful' in black text on a cream background, 'logical' in white text on an orange background, and 'innovative' in black text on a cream background, set against a yellow background.
A collage of various colorful graphic design projects, including infographics, branding materials, digital graphics, and templates.
A sea scene with kayaker, mountains, trees, and sailboats at sunset.
Design guide for a logo with the word 'linc,' showing font samples, icons, color palette, and typographic hierarchy for branding.

Homepage

Consider our homepage a hybrid of Twitter, Instagram, and Headspace. Users can view their following’s posts, suggested trainings, and upcoming events.

A smartphone screen displays a social media app with a yellow and black color theme. The top features a row of profile pictures labeled Zara, Dane, Charlie, and Tom. A notification shows Zara is 2 meters away. Below, a post from James H includes a comment and a landscape photo of an industrial building by a river under a cloudy sky. The bottom menu bar contains icons for home, favorites, add new, messaging, and profile.

Direct Messaging

When starting a chat with someone new, a callout prompts the user to kickstart the convo by trying our special features

Smartphone screen displaying a dating app with profile icons, recent matches, and message conversations.

ChatGPT

Our built in AI helps encourages users to communicate confidently with their matches

A smartphone screen displays a chat interface with a user named James H. engaged in a conversation with ChatGPT. The chat window shows a message with the word 'Icebreakers' and an input field at the bottom labeled 'Ask me anything!' with an orange send button.

Profile

Your profile has two primary interfaces: posts & trainings. Users are provided with suggested trainings based on AI conversation analysis from previous dates.

A mobile app profile page showing a user named Jessie Dame from Philadelphia, PA, with a profile picture, and sections labeled Profile, Trainings, and In Progress with a Tone Training activity. The page has a yellow and black color scheme.

Profiles

When viewing profiles, we can see posts to get a feel for who they truly are. Trainings remain invisible for privacy concerns.

Mobile phone screen showing a social media app with a yellow theme, profile pictures of friends at the top, and a post from James H with a photo of a factory near a river.
Three smartphone screens displaying social media app interfaces against an orange background. The first screen shows a group chat list with user profile pictures and messages, the second shows a tone training app with a percentage complete, and the third shows an event promotion for an open bar event with a 'Learn More' button.

Creative Direction: Soonduk Krebs & Abby Guido
Design: Lexi Birzes
Duration: 15 weeks
Institution: Tyler School of Art & Architecture

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