Design an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students
Neesh (formerly Shoutout) is an iOS app that devoted to provide an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students in Canada.
Product trailer
In this project, I took the roles of both UX researcher and UX designer. Our team conceptualized and developed the mobile app, taking it from its initial stages to a functional app (testflight version). What began as a student project has since transitioned into a product owned by Qrated Studio, a company established by one of our former team members.
♦︎ Summary
Our mission was to address the needs of LGBTQ2+ college students in North America, who often seek online peer support and lived experiences from fellow queer individuals to find acceptance and belonging. However, we observed a scarcity of apps allowing users to share or discover LGBTQ2+ stories, as most existing apps are primarily focused on romantic or physical relationships.
What makes this project important?
Inclusive Design
Comprehensive user research
Start from scratch
Challenges
User recruitment for research purpose
Building connections with local communities
Developer team recruitment
♦︎ Discover
Secondary research and early prototyping
Our journey began with series of secondary research towards our target audience, LGBTQ2+ college students in North America.
As we collected information and data, we initiated the brainstorming of product ideas through paper prototyping and conducted a bull's-eye value assessment. Our original idea was forming: creating a mobile app to empower LGBTQ2+ college students through live vocal storytelling.
check out how we ran paper prototype activity
An early paper prototype: virtual local room app
Meanwhile, knowing what others have done is critical. We researched most products with the similar goals in the market, including TrevorSpace, Q Chat Space, Soulmate, weBelong, Spaces, Hornet and Lext. By comparison,
Our competitors have NOT done a great job because they
Contain too many suicidal postings and swearing.
Only provide vulnerable safety protocols.
Lack of content discoverability.
Have clunky UI that won't interest young generations.
Have inadequate regulation of sexually explicit content
Have too many scammers and spam
User Interviews
As our project unfolded, we recognized the paramount importance of conducting primary research to gain a deeper understanding of our target audience. To achieve this, we embarked on a journey of user interviews, persona creation, and mapping the queer experience, culminating in a clearer problem statement.
A few interviews with several local LGBT+ community leaders
We endeavored to connect with our audience by leveraging various methods. Our approach included reaching out to local organizations, university queer societies, and even personal networks. By engaging with these communities and actively participating in queer events, we were able to collect vital user insights. The invaluable data we gathered from these interactions allowed us to craft personas and understand the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ2+ community.
Concerns from the view of community leaders,
How to protect community members from cyber stalking and harassment
Their current community platform is NOT under the protection from school
The significantly increasing needs for online activities
Concerns from the view of community members,
Feelings of unfamiliarity as international LGBTQ2+ students
Lack of sense of belongings
Difficult to connect with people with similar minds or past experiences
After 8 rounds of user insight interviews and 6 rounds of community leader interviews, we created personas and queer journey map based on the research, as well as the oral stories told by our target users.
A journey map that demonstrates 5 typical stages of being a queer
♦︎ Define
Target Audience
LGBTQ2+ college and university students in North America need to alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society, and the ones who want to support them.
The Problems
Queer college students are looking for a positive affirming space to gain peer support for the sense of belonging and advice from lived experiences of other queer individuals and alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society. However, there are few apps that let users share queer-specific stories or easily find others’ stories in the LGBTQ2+ community. Plus, LGBTQ2+ social apps are geared toward romantic and/or physical relationships.
Product Goals
Safe and Affirming
Provide a safe and affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ students.
Resourceful
Offer access to relevant information, tips, and peer support
Sense of belonging
Create a community that gives a sense of belonging.
Now equipped with a thorough understanding of our audience and the problem we aimed to solve, we ventured into the next phase—the prototype.
♦︎ Develop
Art & Design Exploration
Art board by our team member Jisoo Shinn
After brainstorming 3 art directions, we took great care in selecting the best elements and combining them into one. The app includes subtle visual motifs such as a soft rainbow gradient and 3 accent lines inspired by the work of queer artist Keith Haring. Hand-drawn animal avatars also add a friendly face to users while protecting their identity. All design choices were made to live up to our pillars — a queer-specific space that puts safety foremost and creates a sense of belonging.
Test and iterations
Informed by personas, the queer journey map, and the identified problem, we embarked on an iterative journey. The most significant pivot from our initial concept was the shift from live vocal rooms to text-based threads. While text may not be the flashiest medium, it proved more user-friendly for search, discovery, and story immersion than audio tracks.
A screen shot of our low-fi prototype for test #1
Test 1
Test tag (recommendation) system (low-fi)
Our first prototype focused on a critical element, the tag system. We realized that users needed a smoother way to discover relevant topics.
To tackle this, we introduced a card sorting activity during the Figma prototype testing session, allowing users to actively shape the tag category system.
check out our test 1 documentations
A screen shot of the user experience map
Test 2
Usability test (mid-fi)
After incorporating feedback, enhancing visuals, refining user flows, and adding vital features, we ran a secondary round of test for the new prototype.
This time, we also included a qualitative usability testing method, the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire, along with a product reaction cards activity with our users to capture their sentiments.
A user experience map was created to synthesize feedback, highlighting the aspects that brought joy, frustration, and even abandonment.
check out our test 2 documentations
Reading experience in different font sizes
Test 3
Legibility Test
As accessibility became paramount, we conducted 18 legibility tests to ensure the product catered to users with vision impairments.
Surprisingly, 77.8% of our testers had shortsighted vision loss, emphasizing the need for font size adjustments. This phase unearthed intriguing insights, including user preferences linked to primary language font size and the impact of font size on perceived vision health.
check out our legibility test documentations
snapshots of our research
Test 4
Final Usability Test (hi-fi)
Our final comprehensive test encompassed user feedback on Neesh app usage, the app's overall look and feel, issues encountered, and desired improvements. This holistic approach aimed to enhance onboarding, moderation systems, and notifications for a seamless user experience.
check out our test 3 documentations
♦︎ Deliver
Key Design
After 4 rounds of usability test and design iterations, we finalized our design. Here are a quick look of key features.
Anonymity
With a few taps, Neesh will assign cute avatars with different colors and spiritual animals to the users.
Stay anonymous
with fun
Spirit animal
Users will be assigned to a random spirit animal during the onboarding process to create the variety user names and avatars, meanwhile stay anonymous. Not like it? Just tap the random button to find another one.
Customizations
Users can change the color, personality, or spirit animal type to customize their identity in the community.
Pronouns
Users can choose a pronoun that they are comfortable with.
Try mousing over
Feed
Not only finding the similar-minded people, but also browser without trigger-warning content.
Browse the feed
in a safe environment
Trigger warning alert
The feed reminds users when a post contains trigger warning content.
Convo
Users could create and browse convos (aka. posts) in a safe environment where moderation has been carefully implemented with our community guideline.
Explore
Find relatable content by subscribing more topics.
Resources
Following the community guideline and improve it with us. Suicide prevention and other crisis support is also provided to people in need.
Protect the community
with caution
Community guidelines
We created a comprehensive community guideline to ensure Neesh a safe and queer-affirming space.
Report system
Users can report a convo if it does not comply with our community guideline to keep the space safe and sound.
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention resources will be provided when a relevant post has been found and reported.
Live demo
The app is still in the review process of App Store. Here is the Figma prototype to the main features.
Design an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students
Neesh (formerly Shoutout) is an iOS app that devoted to provide an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students in Canada.
Product trailer
In this project, I took the roles of both UX researcher and UX designer. Our team conceptualized and developed the mobile app, taking it from its initial stages to a functional app (testflight version). What began as a student project has since transitioned into a product owned by Qrated Studio, a company established by one of our former team members.
♦︎ Summary
Our mission was to address the needs of LGBTQ2+ college students in North America, who often seek online peer support and lived experiences from fellow queer individuals to find acceptance and belonging. However, we observed a scarcity of apps allowing users to share or discover LGBTQ2+ stories, as most existing apps are primarily focused on romantic or physical relationships.
What makes this project important?
Inclusive Design
Comprehensive user research
Start from scratch
Challenges
User recruitment for research purpose
Building connections with local communities
Developer team recruitment
♦︎ Discover
Secondary research and early prototyping
Our journey began with series of secondary research towards our target audience, LGBTQ2+ college students in North America.
As we collected information and data, we initiated the brainstorming of product ideas through paper prototyping and conducted a bull's-eye value assessment. Our original idea was forming: creating a mobile app to empower LGBTQ2+ college students through live vocal storytelling.
check out how we ran paper prototype activity
An early paper prototype: virtual local room app
Meanwhile, knowing what others have done is critical. We researched most products with the similar goals in the market, including TrevorSpace, Q Chat Space, Soulmate, weBelong, Spaces, Hornet and Lext. By comparison,
Our competitors have NOT done a great job because they
Contain too many suicidal postings and swearing.
Only provide vulnerable safety protocols.
Lack of content discoverability.
Have clunky UI that won't interest young generations.
Have inadequate regulation of sexually explicit content
Have too many scammers and spam
User Interviews
As our project unfolded, we recognized the paramount importance of conducting primary research to gain a deeper understanding of our target audience. To achieve this, we embarked on a journey of user interviews, persona creation, and mapping the queer experience, culminating in a clearer problem statement.
A few interviews with several local LGBT+ community leaders
We endeavored to connect with our audience by leveraging various methods. Our approach included reaching out to local organizations, university queer societies, and even personal networks. By engaging with these communities and actively participating in queer events, we were able to collect vital user insights. The invaluable data we gathered from these interactions allowed us to craft personas and understand the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ2+ community.
Concerns from the view of community leaders,
How to protect community members from cyber stalking and harassment
Their current community platform is NOT under the protection from school
The significantly increasing needs for online activities
Concerns from the view of community members,
Feelings of unfamiliarity as international LGBTQ2+ students
Lack of sense of belongings
Difficult to connect with people with similar minds or past experiences
After 8 rounds of user insight interviews and 6 rounds of community leader interviews, we created personas and queer journey map based on the research, as well as the oral stories told by our target users.
A journey map that demonstrates 5 typical stages of being a queer
♦︎ Define
Target Audience
LGBTQ2+ college and university students in North America need to alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society, and the ones who want to support them.
The Problems
Queer college students are looking for a positive affirming space to gain peer support for the sense of belonging and advice from lived experiences of other queer individuals and alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society. However, there are few apps that let users share queer-specific stories or easily find others’ stories in the LGBTQ2+ community. Plus, LGBTQ2+ social apps are geared toward romantic and/or physical relationships.
Product Goals
Safe and Affirming
Provide a safe and affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ students.
Resourceful
Offer access to relevant information, tips, and peer support
Sense of belonging
Create a community that gives a sense of belonging.
Now equipped with a thorough understanding of our audience and the problem we aimed to solve, we ventured into the next phase—the prototype.
♦︎ Develop
Art & Design Exploration
Art board by our team member Jisoo Shinn
After brainstorming 3 art directions, we took great care in selecting the best elements and combining them into one. The app includes subtle visual motifs such as a soft rainbow gradient and 3 accent lines inspired by the work of queer artist Keith Haring. Hand-drawn animal avatars also add a friendly face to users while protecting their identity. All design choices were made to live up to our pillars — a queer-specific space that puts safety foremost and creates a sense of belonging.
Test and iterations
Informed by personas, the queer journey map, and the identified problem, we embarked on an iterative journey. The most significant pivot from our initial concept was the shift from live vocal rooms to text-based threads. While text may not be the flashiest medium, it proved more user-friendly for search, discovery, and story immersion than audio tracks.
A screen shot of our low-fi prototype for test #1
Test 1
Test tag (recommendation) system (low-fi)
Our first prototype focused on a critical element, the tag system. We realized that users needed a smoother way to discover relevant topics.
To tackle this, we introduced a card sorting activity during the Figma prototype testing session, allowing users to actively shape the tag category system.
check out our test 1 documentations
A screen shot of the user experience map
Test 2
Usability test (mid-fi)
After incorporating feedback, enhancing visuals, refining user flows, and adding vital features, we ran a secondary round of test for the new prototype.
This time, we also included a qualitative usability testing method, the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire, along with a product reaction cards activity with our users to capture their sentiments.
A user experience map was created to synthesize feedback, highlighting the aspects that brought joy, frustration, and even abandonment.
check out our test 2 documentations
Reading experience in different font sizes
Test 3
Legibility Test
As accessibility became paramount, we conducted 18 legibility tests to ensure the product catered to users with vision impairments.
Surprisingly, 77.8% of our testers had shortsighted vision loss, emphasizing the need for font size adjustments. This phase unearthed intriguing insights, including user preferences linked to primary language font size and the impact of font size on perceived vision health.
check out our legibility test documentations
snapshots of our research
Test 4
Final Usability Test (hi-fi)
Our final comprehensive test encompassed user feedback on Neesh app usage, the app's overall look and feel, issues encountered, and desired improvements. This holistic approach aimed to enhance onboarding, moderation systems, and notifications for a seamless user experience.
check out our test 3 documentations
♦︎ Deliver
Key Design
After 4 rounds of usability test and design iterations, we finalized our design. Here are a quick look of key features.
Anonymity
With a few taps, Neesh will assign cute avatars with different colors and spiritual animals to the users.
Stay anonymous
with fun
Spirit animal
Users will be assigned to a random spirit animal during the onboarding process to create the variety user names and avatars, meanwhile stay anonymous. Not like it? Just tap the random button to find another one.
Customizations
Users can change the color, personality, or spirit animal type to customize their identity in the community.
Pronouns
Users can choose a pronoun that they are comfortable with.
Try mousing over
Feed
Not only finding the similar-minded people, but also browser without trigger-warning content.
Browse the feed
in a safe environment
Trigger warning alert
The feed reminds users when a post contains trigger warning content.
Convo
Users could create and browse convos (aka. posts) in a safe environment where moderation has been carefully implemented with our community guideline.
Explore
Find relatable content by subscribing more topics.
Resources
Following the community guideline and improve it with us. Suicide prevention and other crisis support is also provided to people in need.
Protect the community
with caution
Community guidelines
We created a comprehensive community guideline to ensure Neesh a safe and queer-affirming space.
Report system
Users can report a convo if it does not comply with our community guideline to keep the space safe and sound.
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention resources will be provided when a relevant post has been found and reported.
Live demo
The app is still in the review process of App Store. Here is the Figma prototype to the main features.
Design an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students
Neesh (formerly Shoutout) is an iOS app that devoted to provide an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students in Canada.
Product trailer
In this project, I took the roles of both UX researcher and UX designer. Our team conceptualized and developed the mobile app, taking it from its initial stages to a functional app (testflight version). What began as a student project has since transitioned into a product owned by Qrated Studio, a company established by one of our former team members.
♦︎ Summary
Our mission was to address the needs of LGBTQ2+ college students in North America, who often seek online peer support and lived experiences from fellow queer individuals to find acceptance and belonging. However, we observed a scarcity of apps allowing users to share or discover LGBTQ2+ stories, as most existing apps are primarily focused on romantic or physical relationships.
What makes this project important?
Inclusive Design
Comprehensive user research
Start from scratch
Challenges
User recruitment for research purpose
Building connections with local communities
Developer team recruitment
♦︎ Discover
Secondary research and early prototyping
Our journey began with series of secondary research towards our target audience, LGBTQ2+ college students in North America.
As we collected information and data, we initiated the brainstorming of product ideas through paper prototyping and conducted a bull's-eye value assessment. Our original idea was forming: creating a mobile app to empower LGBTQ2+ college students through live vocal storytelling.
check out how we ran paper prototype activity
An early paper prototype: virtual local room app
Meanwhile, knowing what others have done is critical. We researched most products with the similar goals in the market, including TrevorSpace, Q Chat Space, Soulmate, weBelong, Spaces, Hornet and Lext. By comparison,
Our competitors have NOT done a great job because they
Contain too many suicidal postings and swearing.
Only provide vulnerable safety protocols.
Lack of content discoverability.
Have clunky UI that won't interest young generations.
Have inadequate regulation of sexually explicit content
Have too many scammers and spam
User Interviews
As our project unfolded, we recognized the paramount importance of conducting primary research to gain a deeper understanding of our target audience. To achieve this, we embarked on a journey of user interviews, persona creation, and mapping the queer experience, culminating in a clearer problem statement.
A few interviews with several local LGBT+ community leaders
We endeavored to connect with our audience by leveraging various methods. Our approach included reaching out to local organizations, university queer societies, and even personal networks. By engaging with these communities and actively participating in queer events, we were able to collect vital user insights. The invaluable data we gathered from these interactions allowed us to craft personas and understand the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ2+ community.
Concerns from the view of community leaders,
How to protect community members from cyber stalking and harassment
Their current community platform is NOT under the protection from school
The significantly increasing needs for online activities
Concerns from the view of community members,
Feelings of unfamiliarity as international LGBTQ2+ students
Lack of sense of belongings
Difficult to connect with people with similar minds or past experiences
After 8 rounds of user insight interviews and 6 rounds of community leader interviews, we created personas and queer journey map based on the research, as well as the oral stories told by our target users.
A journey map that demonstrates 5 typical stages of being a queer
♦︎ Define
Target Audience
LGBTQ2+ college and university students in North America need to alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society, and the ones who want to support them.
The Problems
Queer college students are looking for a positive affirming space to gain peer support for the sense of belonging and advice from lived experiences of other queer individuals and alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society. However, there are few apps that let users share queer-specific stories or easily find others’ stories in the LGBTQ2+ community. Plus, LGBTQ2+ social apps are geared toward romantic and/or physical relationships.
Product Goals
Safe and Affirming
Provide a safe and affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ students.
Resourceful
Offer access to relevant information, tips, and peer support
Sense of belonging
Create a community that gives a sense of belonging.
Now equipped with a thorough understanding of our audience and the problem we aimed to solve, we ventured into the next phase—the prototype.
♦︎ Develop
Art & Design Exploration
Art board by our team member Jisoo Shinn
After brainstorming 3 art directions, we took great care in selecting the best elements and combining them into one. The app includes subtle visual motifs such as a soft rainbow gradient and 3 accent lines inspired by the work of queer artist Keith Haring. Hand-drawn animal avatars also add a friendly face to users while protecting their identity. All design choices were made to live up to our pillars — a queer-specific space that puts safety foremost and creates a sense of belonging.
Test and iterations
Informed by personas, the queer journey map, and the identified problem, we embarked on an iterative journey. The most significant pivot from our initial concept was the shift from live vocal rooms to text-based threads. While text may not be the flashiest medium, it proved more user-friendly for search, discovery, and story immersion than audio tracks.
A screen shot of our low-fi prototype for test #1
Test 1
Test tag (recommendation) system (low-fi)
Our first prototype focused on a critical element, the tag system. We realized that users needed a smoother way to discover relevant topics.
To tackle this, we introduced a card sorting activity during the Figma prototype testing session, allowing users to actively shape the tag category system.
check out our test 1 documentations
A screen shot of the user experience map
Test 2
Usability test (mid-fi)
After incorporating feedback, enhancing visuals, refining user flows, and adding vital features, we ran a secondary round of test for the new prototype.
This time, we also included a qualitative usability testing method, the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire, along with a product reaction cards activity with our users to capture their sentiments.
A user experience map was created to synthesize feedback, highlighting the aspects that brought joy, frustration, and even abandonment.
check out our test 2 documentations
Reading experience in different font sizes
Test 3
Legibility Test
As accessibility became paramount, we conducted 18 legibility tests to ensure the product catered to users with vision impairments.
Surprisingly, 77.8% of our testers had shortsighted vision loss, emphasizing the need for font size adjustments. This phase unearthed intriguing insights, including user preferences linked to primary language font size and the impact of font size on perceived vision health.
check out our legibility test documentations
snapshots of our research
Test 4
Final Usability Test (hi-fi)
Our final comprehensive test encompassed user feedback on Neesh app usage, the app's overall look and feel, issues encountered, and desired improvements. This holistic approach aimed to enhance onboarding, moderation systems, and notifications for a seamless user experience.
check out our test 3 documentations
♦︎ Deliver
Key Design
After 4 rounds of usability test and design iterations, we finalized our design. Here are a quick look of key features.
Anonymity
With a few taps, Neesh will assign cute avatars with different colors and spiritual animals to the users.
Stay anonymous
with fun
Spirit animal
Users will be assigned to a random spirit animal during the onboarding process to create the variety user names and avatars, meanwhile stay anonymous. Not like it? Just tap the random button to find another one.
Customizations
Users can change the color, personality, or spirit animal type to customize their identity in the community.
Pronouns
Users can choose a pronoun that they are comfortable with.
Try mousing over
Feed
Not only finding the similar-minded people, but also browser without trigger-warning content.
Browse the feed
in a safe environment
Trigger warning alert
The feed reminds users when a post contains trigger warning content.
Convo
Users could create and browse convos (aka. posts) in a safe environment where moderation has been carefully implemented with our community guideline.
Explore
Find relatable content by subscribing more topics.
Resources
Following the community guideline and improve it with us. Suicide prevention and other crisis support is also provided to people in need.
Protect the community
with caution
Community guidelines
We created a comprehensive community guideline to ensure Neesh a safe and queer-affirming space.
Report system
Users can report a convo if it does not comply with our community guideline to keep the space safe and sound.
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention resources will be provided when a relevant post has been found and reported.
Live demo
The app is still in the review process of App Store. Here is the Figma prototype to the main features.
Design an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students
Neesh (formerly Shoutout) is an iOS app that devoted to provide an affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ college students in Canada.
Product trailer
In this project, I took the roles of both UX researcher and UX designer. Our team conceptualized and developed the mobile app, taking it from its initial stages to a functional app (testflight version). What began as a student project has since transitioned into a product owned by Qrated Studio, a company established by one of our former team members.
♦︎ Summary
Our mission was to address the needs of LGBTQ2+ college students in North America, who often seek online peer support and lived experiences from fellow queer individuals to find acceptance and belonging. However, we observed a scarcity of apps allowing users to share or discover LGBTQ2+ stories, as most existing apps are primarily focused on romantic or physical relationships.
What makes this project important?
Inclusive Design
Comprehensive user research
Start from scratch
Challenges
User recruitment for research purpose
Building connections with local communities
Developer team recruitment
♦︎ Discover
Secondary research and early prototyping
Our journey began with series of secondary research towards our target audience, LGBTQ2+ college students in North America.
As we collected information and data, we initiated the brainstorming of product ideas through paper prototyping and conducted a bull's-eye value assessment. Our original idea was forming: creating a mobile app to empower LGBTQ2+ college students through live vocal storytelling.
check out how we ran paper prototype activity
An early paper prototype: virtual local room app
Meanwhile, knowing what others have done is critical. We researched most products with the similar goals in the market, including TrevorSpace, Q Chat Space, Soulmate, weBelong, Spaces, Hornet and Lext. By comparison,
Our competitors have NOT done a great job because they
Contain too many suicidal postings and swearing.
Only provide vulnerable safety protocols.
Lack of content discoverability.
Have clunky UI that won't interest young generations.
Have inadequate regulation of sexually explicit content
Have too many scammers and spam
User Interviews
As our project unfolded, we recognized the paramount importance of conducting primary research to gain a deeper understanding of our target audience. To achieve this, we embarked on a journey of user interviews, persona creation, and mapping the queer experience, culminating in a clearer problem statement.
A few interviews with several local LGBT+ community leaders
We endeavored to connect with our audience by leveraging various methods. Our approach included reaching out to local organizations, university queer societies, and even personal networks. By engaging with these communities and actively participating in queer events, we were able to collect vital user insights. The invaluable data we gathered from these interactions allowed us to craft personas and understand the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ2+ community.
Concerns from the view of community leaders,
How to protect community members from cyber stalking and harassment
Their current community platform is NOT under the protection from school
The significantly increasing needs for online activities
Concerns from the view of community members,
Feelings of unfamiliarity as international LGBTQ2+ students
Lack of sense of belongings
Difficult to connect with people with similar minds or past experiences
After 8 rounds of user insight interviews and 6 rounds of community leader interviews, we created personas and queer journey map based on the research, as well as the oral stories told by our target users.
A journey map that demonstrates 5 typical stages of being a queer
♦︎ Define
Target Audience
LGBTQ2+ college and university students in North America need to alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society, and the ones who want to support them.
The Problems
Queer college students are looking for a positive affirming space to gain peer support for the sense of belonging and advice from lived experiences of other queer individuals and alleviate their anxiety about finding acceptance in themselves and in society. However, there are few apps that let users share queer-specific stories or easily find others’ stories in the LGBTQ2+ community. Plus, LGBTQ2+ social apps are geared toward romantic and/or physical relationships.
Product Goals
Safe and Affirming
Provide a safe and affirming digital space for LGBTQ2+ students.
Resourceful
Offer access to relevant information, tips, and peer support
Sense of belonging
Create a community that gives a sense of belonging.
Now equipped with a thorough understanding of our audience and the problem we aimed to solve, we ventured into the next phase—the prototype.
♦︎ Develop
Art & Design Exploration
Art board by our team member Jisoo Shinn
After brainstorming 3 art directions, we took great care in selecting the best elements and combining them into one. The app includes subtle visual motifs such as a soft rainbow gradient and 3 accent lines inspired by the work of queer artist Keith Haring. Hand-drawn animal avatars also add a friendly face to users while protecting their identity. All design choices were made to live up to our pillars — a queer-specific space that puts safety foremost and creates a sense of belonging.
Test and iterations
Informed by personas, the queer journey map, and the identified problem, we embarked on an iterative journey. The most significant pivot from our initial concept was the shift from live vocal rooms to text-based threads. While text may not be the flashiest medium, it proved more user-friendly for search, discovery, and story immersion than audio tracks.
A screen shot of our low-fi prototype for test #1
Test 1
Test tag (recommendation) system (low-fi)
Our first prototype focused on a critical element, the tag system. We realized that users needed a smoother way to discover relevant topics.
To tackle this, we introduced a card sorting activity during the Figma prototype testing session, allowing users to actively shape the tag category system.
check out our test 1 documentations
A screen shot of the user experience map
Test 2
Usability test (mid-fi)
After incorporating feedback, enhancing visuals, refining user flows, and adding vital features, we ran a secondary round of test for the new prototype.
This time, we also included a qualitative usability testing method, the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire, along with a product reaction cards activity with our users to capture their sentiments.
A user experience map was created to synthesize feedback, highlighting the aspects that brought joy, frustration, and even abandonment.
check out our test 2 documentations
Reading experience in different font sizes
Test 3
Legibility Test
As accessibility became paramount, we conducted 18 legibility tests to ensure the product catered to users with vision impairments.
Surprisingly, 77.8% of our testers had shortsighted vision loss, emphasizing the need for font size adjustments. This phase unearthed intriguing insights, including user preferences linked to primary language font size and the impact of font size on perceived vision health.
check out our legibility test documentations
snapshots of our research
Test 4
Final Usability Test (hi-fi)
Our final comprehensive test encompassed user feedback on Neesh app usage, the app's overall look and feel, issues encountered, and desired improvements. This holistic approach aimed to enhance onboarding, moderation systems, and notifications for a seamless user experience.
check out our test 3 documentations
♦︎ Deliver
Key Design
After 4 rounds of usability test and design iterations, we finalized our design. Here are a quick look of key features.
Anonymity
With a few taps, Neesh will assign cute avatars with different colors and spiritual animals to the users.
Stay anonymous
with fun
Spirit animal
Users will be assigned to a random spirit animal during the onboarding process to create the variety user names and avatars, meanwhile stay anonymous. Not like it? Just tap the random button to find another one.
Customizations
Users can change the color, personality, or spirit animal type to customize their identity in the community.
Pronouns
Users can choose a pronoun that they are comfortable with.
Try mousing over
Feed
Not only finding the similar-minded people, but also browser without trigger-warning content.
Browse the feed
in a safe environment
Trigger warning alert
The feed reminds users when a post contains trigger warning content.
Convo
Users could create and browse convos (aka. posts) in a safe environment where moderation has been carefully implemented with our community guideline.
Explore
Find relatable content by subscribing more topics.
Resources
Following the community guideline and improve it with us. Suicide prevention and other crisis support is also provided to people in need.
Protect the community
with caution
Community guidelines
We created a comprehensive community guideline to ensure Neesh a safe and queer-affirming space.
Report system
Users can report a convo if it does not comply with our community guideline to keep the space safe and sound.
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention resources will be provided when a relevant post has been found and reported.
Live demo
The app is still in the review process of App Store. Here is the Figma prototype to the main features.
