Second Circle

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  Splash

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  Onboarding

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  Connect Socials

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  Home

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  Message

Inspiration

In today’s fast-paced digital world, I often think about how we lose touch with people who once mattered - old friends, mentors, or collaborators. Social media feeds are cluttered, and reaching out feels awkward without context. The UCI Design-a-thon 2026 theme, "Lost & Found," inspired me to create a solution that helps people rediscover and reconnect with meaningful relationships in a thoughtful, low-pressure way.

What I Learned

Through this project, I discovered:

• User Psychology: People hesitate to reconnect because they fear awkwardness or lack a "reason" to reach out.
• AI’s Potential: AI can bridge emotional gaps by providing context-aware suggestions, making reconnection feel natural.
• Design Flexibility: Light/dark themes aren’t just aesthetic - they enhance accessibility and user comfort.

How I Built It

I designed Second Choice using:

• Figma: Created the UI/UX, including onboarding, AI message prompts, and chat interfaces.
• Prototyping: Simulated the design using Figma’s interactive components.
• Iterative Testing: Refined the flow through user feedback to ensure intuitiveness.

Here’s a glimpse into my technical process:

• AI Integration: For example, AI analyzes old photos/DMs to suggest messages like "Remember when we…?"
• Theme Switching: Used Figma’s Auto-Layout to dynamically adjust UI elements for light/dark themes.

Challenges I Faced

AI Personalization: Making AI suggestions feel genuine and not robotic.

• Solution: Focused on nostalgic prompts and allowed user edits. User Onboarding: Simplifying the process of connecting socials/gallery.
• Solution: Added a clear, step-by-step tutorial. Balancing Nostalgia & Usability: Keeping the app nostalgic without overwhelming users.
• Solution: Used clean, intuitive layouts with subtle nostalgic touches (e.g., faded photo backgrounds).

What’s Next

I envision Second Choice evolving into:

• A cross-platform app (iOS, Android, web) for seamless reconnection.
• Group Time Capsules: Reuniting old groups (e.g., college friends, coworkers).
• AI Mood Detection: Analyzing old interactions to suggest the right tone (e.g., funny, professional).

Why Second Choice?

I believe everyone deserves a second chance to reconnect with the people who shaped their lives. With AI-powered messages and a nostalgic design, Second Choice makes rekindling lost relationships as easy as sending a text.

Built With

• figma