Project: MyKind: Social Network
Embedded Files
Role: Lead Designer
Duration: Four Months
Watch a Screen Recording
Watch a Screen Recording
Project Vision
Project Vision
MyKind is a design for a social networking platform that encourages people to share an act of kindness every day.
Challenges
Challenges
Create a soft & friendly design to imply the notion of kindness
Provide core social networing features in the native app for iOS
Include the ability for people to view their User Analytics on website versions
Kickoff
Kickoff
Following a proven technique, I once againg took a goal-directed design approach. Qualitative research methods were used, such as a competitive analysis and a user persona construction. Some of the initial questions for consideration were;
"What is the product and who is it for?"
"What challenges could we face as we progress?"
"Which users are the most important to the business?"
"What do our main users require most?"
"Who are our main competitors?"
"What research do we need to conduct?"
My user research yielded valuable insights. To make sense of this data, I employed an affinity diagram. This technique helped me to organize and categorize the information into user groups with shared needs. By understanding these distinct needs, I was able to pinpoint user goals and how those goals aligned with the overall business objectives.
Meet The Users
Meet The Users
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Analysis
MyKind competes in a competitive environment against some very prominent brands like Facebook and X. It also has to compete against direct competitors like:
BeKind: Acts of Kindness Ideas
App of Kindness
Kindly
Aidbees
Nobly
Random Acts of Kindness
LiveDifferent: Digital Kindness
Therefore, designing/developing a social networking platform that places an emphasis on kindness is not a new idea. However, most of the direct competitores mentioned above, apart from BeKind, lack appealing features. They also have very unattractive, bland UIs.
MyKind will allow users to develop the daily habit of performing and sharing acts of kindness... in a beautiful, soft UI.
Preparing the Journey
Preparing the Journey
A user flow was constructed to show the journey that a user follows when logging in, completing the days suggestion for kindness, and sharing that act with other users as a social post.
Paper Wireframes
Paper Wireframes
Wireflow
Wireflow
Low-fidelity wireframes and user flow exploration helped solidify the design direction. This process revealed the core functionalities of the app while weeding out potential distractions. While a little painstaking, this initial phase was crucial before diving into the visual design.
Iteration
Iteration
After creating the low-fidelity wireframes, five people were asked to try out the prototype and give feedback. Some of the consistent feedback that was garnered includes;
The application has no obvious homescreen. Therefore, the MyKind logo should link back to the Today's Challenge screen as it acts as the homescreen.
Navigating the application/website was difficult. Main sections with corresponding subsections would improve navigability.
The UI is excellent. The soft colour palette is very apt and the overall experience of using the app is very welcoming.
Challenge 1
Challenge 1
Entice People
Entice People
Similar concepts to MyKind already exist. However, they either lack engaging features, are woefully lacking in creative design, or both. A fundamental challenge when designing MyKind was to communicate a sense of friendly kindness throughout the design. This was achieved by creating a soft pastel colour palette with gradient background blends. Cheerful illustrations also help to communicate a sense of friendliness.
Challenge 2
Challenge 2
Maintain Cohesion & Accessibility
Maintain Cohesion & Accessibility
MyKind was designed to work on a variety of different devices, including desktop, mobile Android devices, and iOS. As such, the layout of the design changes from one device to another. To maintain cohesion and accessibility, a consistent UI was applied in all cases to the greatest extent possible. Material Design icons and components were used for the desktop and Android versions of the website, while Apple's Human Interface Guidelines were used to design the iOS version of the app. This helps to give users a feeling of familiarity, regardless of how they access the design.
Challenge 3
Challenge 3
Core Features
Core Features
MyKind was designed as both a responsive website and a corresponding native application for iOS. This required some consideration as to the seperation of features. It was decided that the native application should focus on providing users with the core features of the service, namely, offering users with a suggestion for kindness everyday and providing them with the means to engage with one another via a social network. The website has the added non-core feature of providing users with the ability to view their user analytics.
Style Guide
Style Guide
MyKind was designed with the concepts of kindness and friendliness in mind. Soft pastel colours were used to convey these concepts. Blending these colours together as background gradients further conveyed the soft, friendly feel of the design.
To give users on different devices a sense of familiarity, Material Design was used for the responsive website. Apple's Human Interface Guidelines were used for the native iOS app.
Where possible, simple flat illustrations of happy, friendly characters were used to further enhance the sense of kindness and friendliness throughout the design.
Stickersheet
Stickersheet
Takeaways
Takeaways
The internet has enhanced people's lives in countless ways. However, it can also be a cruel place, full of vitriol. And social media can be the cruelest place of all.
That is why a platform like MyKind can be so beneficial. It offers all of the benefits of social media, but with an emphasis on spreading kindness.
While other companies have already produced such applications, none have done so very successfully. Their features are limited and their designs are uninspired.
MyKind is the solution for a kinder internet.
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