Explore

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  Welcome Screen

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  Sign Up Screen 1

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  Sign Up Screen 2 (choosing topics)

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  Home Screen (Chatrooms list)

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  Pre-Chatroom Requirement

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  Entering a Chatroom

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  Adding a Friend

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  Leaving Chatroom

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  Friends Screen

Inspiration

Being raised by an older mother and having a sister 15 years older than me, I've had my fair share of intergenerational relationships. I find that current social media platforms tend to create echo chambers where people are exposed to the same views, interacting with the same sort of people, and not being exposed to contrasting opinions. Intergenerational as well as cross-cultural conversations tend to be avoided as both sides are often stubborn and reluctant to listen to each other’s contrasting views. As a young woman of colour, I wanted to design a platform that bridges these divides and empowers inquisitive people to explore different viewpoints and connect with people that they wouldn’t usually get the opportunity to encounter.

What it does

Explore is a social network that allows people from around the world and different generations to expand their knowledge and share their opinions with each other. People can spontaneously join a chatroom labelled with a specific question about a certain topic (e.g. philosophy) and jump straight into meaningful conversations with a small and diverse group of people. Though users are limited to joining one chatroom at a time to prevent congestion and improve focus, they can add people that they get along with to their friends list so that they can connect with them even after they leave the chatroom.

How I built it

I used figma to design high-fidelity wireframes before connecting them to create a prototype. The prototype demonstrates the sign-up process for a new user, the path they take to join a chatroom, and the friends screen.

Challenges I ran into

It was difficult to create a fully functioning prototype due to time constraints and the fact I was working as an individual. Thus, the prototype focuses more on the core user flow. I was also unable to find time to add profile images to each of the example users in the chatrooms.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm incredibly proud to have completed the following:

• Brainstormed to come up with an innovative concept that would be incredibly beneficial in this post-COVID era where people are gravitating more towards the virtual world.
• Created high-fidelity wireframes and a prototype.
• Came up with an aesthetically pleasing UI design

What I learned

I felt that this project really encouraged me to think outside of the box in terms of ideating and to consider the world around me and the more underrated issues in society. I also learned that I’m capable of working effectively under time pressure to bring the ideas in my head to life digitally. I’ve become much more confident in using figma to create wireframes and prototype. Most of all, I feel that my confidence as an entry level UX/UI designer has significantly increased so that I feel less intimidated to join a team in future hackathons.

What's next for Explore

Next, I would want to move Explore over to the web so that users have the option to use Explore on a larger screen. This would also appeal more to an older audience and remote workers. Adding an 'Discovery' screen where users are recommended a variety of content such as podcasts, blogs and books is also something I would consider. I would also want to work with developers to come up with the following features:

• Allowing UI customisation so that users can choose a colour they prefer for chatrooms and have a dark/light mode option.
• A form of moderation for the chatrooms using AI which can quickly identify and block offensive and extreme language. This would keep the community safe and increase their confidence in using Explore.
• Adding elements of gamification where users can participate in team debates and earn points.

Built With

• figma