Lunch Buddies is an app that helps you find friends to eat with during mealtimes! Many undergraduates struggle with making connections in university, especially at larger schools, so Lunch Buddies helps you find a friend to eat with! You can meet up with people, chat with your peers, and meet new friends along the way!
We initially thought user research could be achieved with a Google Form survey, but it seemed infeasible given the amount of time we had to complete this project. As such, we decided to personally ask other undergraduates around us. Although the sample population was skewed, as we asked friends and coworkers, we were able to obtain more personal, honest responses. A common response we received from students that tended to consider themselves more introverted was that they had more difficulty finding people to eat meals with, particularly having to resort to texting friends to see if they were free or not during mealtimes. In response to what newly matriculated students had the most difficulty with in the transition to college, common answers included: academics, living independently, and most importantly, finding a good group of friends. Following this sentiment, we decided to develop an app that helped such students find people to sit with during mealtimes. This app could be particularly effective for students who attend large universities- after all, if even Rice students (with an undergrad population of 4k) have trouble finding good people to eat with, students who attend large state schools must struggle even more.
We wanted to make the app interface easy to use and understand, especially for students who are using the app on the go. As such, we decided to stick with simple colors and designs. When creating an account, students are prompted to create one through their university, which immediately loads in any university information- including maps, other students of that university, and main dining hall locations. In the app itself, the design is similar to how social media apps are designed. There are a few key options, but a key focus is clear and concise communication. This includes the assumption of the user's knowledge of status updates. There are also chat and personalization options, which cater to a young student's interests.
Built With
- figma
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