SparkMate
Designing the Science of Friendship
A solution that combines interactive wearable tech and a smart social app to address the loneliness epidemic among university students.
University Project
3 months
2024
Role: UX Design, 3D Modeling, Graphic Design, UX Research
Remember your first day on campus?
That hollow feeling in a crowded hallway where everyone seems to belong except you. The RSVP to an event you never attended because walking in alone felt worse than staying home.
You’re not imagining it! Loneliness is the silent epidemic of our campuses
hey mom, I couldn’t make any friends, everyone already has their own group...
How was your first day honey? x
It can’t be that bad, just go meet new people!
PROBLEM
The Loneliness Epidemic
According to our survey on student loneliness:
49%
of respondents frequently feel lonely in university
72%
felt most lonely when surrounded by people but not engaged
53%
perceived cliques or social groups that are hard to join
INSIGHT
“Just Go Meet New People”
Through interviews and focus groups, we investigated the reason behind this epidemic and identified 4 key findings:
Fear of the unknown
Perception of unfamiliarity and exclusion in new settings discourages individuals from initiating friendships
Compatibility is key
Students consider shared interests and compatible personalities to be strong indicators of long-lasting friendships
In-person > Online
In-person interactions and shared activities in group settings are effective in fostering meaningful connections
“Maybe I’m the problem”
Students feel personally responsible for being proactive in building connections
“I matched with 10+ people on Bumble BFF,,, actually met ZERO!”
MARKET ANALYSIS
Why Current Solutions Keep Failing Students?
Our team conducted market research on potential competitors of SparkMate (university initiatives, event apps, etc.) to better understand how current solutions miss the mark.
#1 Key Finding
The Activity-Social Divide
Either activity-based, which reduces conversational pressure, or social-based, allowing for deeper conversation, but rarely combine both.
#2 Key Finding
Issue with Following up
Lacks long-term support for sustained engagement, providing initial opportunities to meet but not to maintain connections.
#3 Key Finding
The Activity-Social Divide
Digital platforms, though highly accessible, often result in shallow or low-effort connections, whereas in-person programs provide more meaningful engagement but lack accessibility for all students due to limited availability and flexibility.
How to address this?
This is where SparkMate comes into play!
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM AREA
PROBLEM STATEMENT
"Many university students struggle to form meaningful friendships when entering new social environments. Social anxiety and unfamiliarity often prevent them from attending events, while existing campus programs fail to create lasting connections. Students still feel the need to build their networks independently but often lack the support to create long-lasting friendships."
Let’s begin the design process!
FINDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE GAP
OUR DESIGN GOAL IS…
To create a solution that fosters meaningful connections for students by offering a mix of activity-based and social options tailored to different comfort levels, with interest-based recommendations and group features to ease social anxiety, while encouraging long-term friendships through regular follow-ups.
HOW THE SOLUTION ADDRESSES THE GAP
Introducing SparkMate
Sparkmate combines a mobile app with wearable technology to address the three critical gaps in student socialization: shallow digital interactions, lack of follow-through, and the activity-social divide. Here's how:
Onboarding Journey
Discover Communities
Quick sign-up with university email verification. Pick your interests to get personalized event recommendations. Customize your profile icon—it syncs to your bracelet for easy recognition at events.
Achievements
Celebrate Every Social Milestone
Earn badges for milestones (e.g., first event, 5+ connections). Highlights showcase meaningful meetups.
Explore Page
Find Your People Before You Even Arrive
Browse events on a map or list view. Filter by interests, time, and "newbie-friendly" tags. See who’s going, join groups before arriving, and get a unique bracelet color for each event.
My Events
Nurture Connections Over Time
Manage upcoming events, check past meetups, and create your own hangouts. Set connection goals to stay motivated.
HOW IT WORKS
Making Connections Effortless
Sparkmate turns introductions into a fun, natural experience through interactive bracelet features.
Icebreakers
💬 A Conversation Starter, Just for You
Breaking the ice can be tough. A simple, personalized question removes awkwardness and encourages natural interaction
Achievements
🤝 A Connection You Can Feel
Tapping bracelets instantly displays each user’s unique icon, confirming the new connection. This small interaction makes introductions fun and interactive.
DESIGN PROCESS
How we got to the solution after doing research
To understand users and their needs more, 2 user personas were created to represent the diverse concerns and circumstances of potential users, reflecting different cultural backgrounds and needs.
Goals & Motivations
Meet more people and participate in more social events
Form genuine and meaningful connections
Ease her transition into a new culture and environment
Needs & Expectations
A comfortable environment that makes social interactions easier and feels low-pressure
Stay informed on university events
Opportunities to meet like-minded people in a new environment.
Pain points & Frustrations
Exchanging contact details but never actually going out together
Never talking to peers outside of the classroom
Feeling excluded because everyone seems to have already formed friend groups that’s hard to break in
Goals & Motivations
Maintain existing friendships
Develop deeper connections with new friendships made during university
Find others who share his willingness to hangout
Needs & Expectations
A way to consistently engage with new connections that lead to long lasting friendships
A system or method to remind him to reach out to friends
Way to easily organize hangouts
Pain points & Frustrations
Living far from campus makes it harder to attend in social events on campus.
The process of meeting new people and starting new relationships feels daunting
Minimal interactions with friends due to busy and conflicting schedules
USER JOURNEY MAP
How users could navigate through the app
The SparkMate user flow chart visually represents the journey a user takes from onboarding to long-term engagement. It maps out key interactions between the app and bracelet, ensuring a seamless social experience at campus events.
Stages
Actions
Thoughts
Pain
Points
Touch
points
Onboarding
User installs the app, signs up, and pairs the bracelet.
Excited but also unsure
Uncertainty about how to pair the bracelet
App, Bracelet
Discovery
User browses upcoming events and RSVPs for one.
Eager to meet new people
Overwhelmed by too many events
Event Dashboard, Browse Events
Attendance
User attends the event, checks in using the app.
Nervous but hopeful about meeting new people
Anxiety about attending alone
Event check-in, App Notification
Connection
User taps their bracelet to connect with others at the event.
Excited and curious to make connections
Fear of awkward interactions
Bracelet, App
Achievement
User earns badges or achievements for participation.
A sense of motivation to engage further.
Feeling that achievements are unearned.
App, Notifications
Follow up
User receives prompts to reconnect with contacts post-event.
Grateful and hopeful
Lack of motivation to reconnect.
App, Notifications
FUTURE USE
User continues to maintain relationships.
Fulfilled, supported, and more confident
Difficulty in keeping up engagement over time
Bracelet, App
😕
😟
😄
😎
😄
😊
😌
Time to pick up my pen and do some sketching :)
IDEATION
Visualizing the SparkMate Experience
These sketches were developed to examine user interaction with events and the hybrid app-bracelet system. Initial sketches explored different ways to visualize event participation and user engagement, laying the foundation for the digital prototype.
Why these main flows?
They tackle core student struggles: finding events (Explore), joining comfortably (Onboarding), staying engaged (My Events), and maintaining connections (Achievements). Each step removes barriers to real friendships.
App Interface
Onboarding
User Profile
Achievements
Explore
Group Request
Event dashboard
IDEATION
Initial Bracelet Sketches
The initial sketch of the SparkMate bracelet featured a continuous LED screen wrapping around the entire bracelet for a dynamic display. It had a 5cm width, an adjustable strap for a comfortable fit, and a Bluetooth button for easy pairing with the SparkMate app.
Why pair with bracelet?
Tapping bracelets creates instant in-person connections (something apps alone can't do). The app plans, the bracelet breaks the ice, then the app helps sustain the relationship. Best of both worlds!
Adding a connection
Group Identification
Achievement Tracking
Early Bracelet Design
Displaying Event Color
WIREFRAMES
Mid-Fidelity Mobile Prototype
The mid-fidelity prototype aimed to test the structural flow and core functionalities of the platform, particularly how users interact with events and the hybrid app-bracelet system. This version focused on streamlining the experience by removing personality-based matching, simplifying the interface to event-focused colors, and introducing group previews to enhance decision-making before events.
Customize Your Icon & Explore Events
Request to join groups before the event
A new group preview feature allowed users to see potential participants before joining an event → Helps address fear of attending alone
Explore Events on Campus
I designed these icons which are to be assigned to users at events. These were meant to be displayed on the bracelet at the event for people to identify their group members.
Request to join groups before the event
WIREFRAMES
Mid-Fidelity Bracelet Prototype
The mid-fidelity prototype refined the bracelet’s interaction system, ensuring that it effectively complemented the app in facilitating social connections. This stage focused on testing how users received and responded to haptic feedback (vibrations/taps) and how well the bracelet integrated with the event experience.
Bracelet displays icons to help user identify group members
Number of connections made through tapping bracelets
Success message after users reach connection goals
The bracelet’s feedback was now more synchronized with the app interface, ensuring that physical cues like icons and achievements aligned with on-screen actions for a seamless experience.
ITERATIONS
High-Fidelity Prototype
In this phase, we refined SparkMate to address key usability issues identified during testing. By improving feature terminology, enhancing navigation cues, and simplifying event registration, we aimed to create a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. The result is a polished design that aligns with user expectations and reduces cognitive load, proven by a higher SUS score through Usability Testing.
Made visual cues more visible to address previous usability issue and improve error prevention for Group Requests.
Bracelet and app alignment is enhanced with bracelet previews reflecting group/event colors and names. These elements update in real-time as users modify information in the app, ensuring better visual feedback.
Event achievements are now reflected on the bracelet, reinforcing engagement and motivating users to reconnect with past connections, helping sustain friendships.
FINAL DESIGN
Bracelet 3D Model Design
I created this 3D model to enhance usability and integration while maintaining the original bracelet design. Due to time constraints, we kept the existing form, as user testing and SUS scores confirmed its clarity and effectiveness.
Before Event
During Event
After Event
Event Reminder
Group Identification
Bracelet Tap
Ice Breaker
Connection Goals
Reunion Effects
Reflecting back
Developing SparkMate was both challenging and rewarding. I enjoyed every part of the process, from ideation to prototyping, despite the difficulties of juggling multiple tasks. I’m incredibly proud that our Capstone project was shortlisted for the ADP University of Sydney Industry Award, a testament to our hard work and dedication. While there’s always room for improvement, the final outcome reflects our commitment to creating meaningful and impactful designs.
Key Takeaways
Teamwork is essential: Working in a team of diverse designers taught me the importance of clear communication and collaboration to align on goals and overcome challenges.
User testing is critical: Limited testing in early iterations showed how crucial it is to involve users throughout the design process to ensure solutions meet their needs.
Next steps
Expanded Testing Across Campuses: Conduct additional testing across diverse universities campuses to gather feedback and optimize features for varying student needs.
Integration with Campus Services: Collaborate with university support services to integrate Sparkmate with existing wellness and event platforms, streamlining access for students.
Have a question, some feedback, or an idea? Let’s talk about it over matcha!
Let’s connect!
Portfolio v0.2
Designed by Lan Hoang!