ChatBowl

Background

Image: It's April 2020. You quit your job in January to pursue a career in UX design. You're fresh out of UX boot camp, and again, it’s 2020. So, my fellow UX friends made our own projects to showcase our skills.

Now it’s 2024, and you have sharper skills, so you take a few weekends to redesign a passion project. You revise the UI and UX to align with the feedback you’ve gathered over the years from pitching the concept to dozens of people.

Timeline

6 week sprint

Team

2 UX Designers

My role

Project Manager

Business Plan

UX Research

Conceptual Design

UI Design

Sales Strategy

Copywriter

UX Design

Tools

Sketch

Figma

Jira

Google Suite

Photoshop

Miro

Dating Game Show App

Inspired by reality TV, ChatBowl will bring the thrill of dating shows to the palm of your hand. Couples, matched by their dating preferences, would chat and FaceTime while the audience watched and voted. The excitement of live interactions combined with the power of audience participation will redefine the dating game show experience.

2020 Mockups

2024 Mockups

Project Summary

Conceptualization

Idea Generation
Themed Multi-Topic Chat Generator
Pivot to Dating Focus
Game Show Aspect
Prototyping and User Flows

Research and Refinement

Initial Research and Testing
Pivot to Voting System
Comprehensive Research
Wireframes and Style Guide

Implementation and Marketing

Branding and Logo
Website Development
User Journey Map and Personas
Final Research and Insights

Concept Creation

I've always been fascinated by dating apps, but one thing bugged me: there's no clear guide for best practices in fostering meaningful connections. It felt like a missed opportunity. So, I created an app inspired by reality dating shows, turning passive viewers into active participants. ChatBowl allows users to engage, influence outcomes, and learn by watching others' conversations in real-time, fostering a more dynamic and interactive dating experience.

Solution

That's how ChatBowl was born. I envisioned it as a fusion of reality TV's excitement with interactive elements, where viewers could watch real-time interactions and vote for their favorite couples. Chatbowl wasn't just about entertainment; it was about making the audience a crucial part of the experience.

UX Design

I connected with a fellow UX designer to develop the idea further. We decided that strangers needed a reason to connect. After brainstorming possible themes and scenarios, such as political debates, tutoring sessions, and matchmaking, we decided to focus on romance. ChatBowl officially became a dating app—with a twist.

We drew inspiration for ChatBowl from reality dating shows. However, there was one aspect of dating shows we didn’t like: They’re one-sided. We decided to make ChatBowl more interactive.

Like most dating apps, ChatBowl would match singles based on their dating preferences, and the couples would chat and FaceTime. The difference with our app was that viewers could watch their interactions and donate money to their favorite couples. The couples who received the most donations would win that money to spend on their first in-person date.

Pivot

In 2024, I revisited this passion project and evolved it in a couple of ways. First, I reached out to peers who fit the profiles of the target users, including reality TV fans and people who were disillusioned with dating apps, for feedback. Their responses led to the insight that users would be unlikely to donate money to couples without getting anything in return for themselves. I pivoted the interactive element from donating to voting. ChatBowl users would now vote for their favorite couples, and the winning couples would receive a prize from a sponsor.

Another lesson I uncovered was that people are curious to see how others behave while dating. They’re interested in seeing how people flirt or strike up conversation and maybe even pick up some tips for their own love lives. This insight led me to broaden the scope of who could use ChatBowl to encourage users from more backgrounds to participate. I redesigned the app to add map features showing where participants are from, encouraging international participation and allowing interaction between users from different countries and communities.

Challenges

User Engagement

Convincing users to actively participate as daters was challenging. Many were hesitant about being watched by an audience, which limited the pool of participants and affected the dynamic of the app.

Privacy Concerns

Ensuring daters felt safe from negative comments and protecting their privacy was crucial. Designing a system to filter out harmful language without compromising user interaction was a significant hurdle.

International Scaling

Adapting the app to be culturally inclusive and appealing to users from diverse backgrounds required extensive research and thoughtful design adjustments, making international scalability a complex task.

Monetization Strategy

Transitioning from a donation-based model to a sponsorship and voting system required careful planning. A key challenge was balancing user engagement with sustainable revenue generation while maintaining the app’s integrity.

Pain Points

User Engagement Challenges

Users hesitated to donate money to support couples, indicating a need for alternative engagement mechanisms.
There was limited interest from users in participating as daters for the audience.

Protecting Participants

Shielding daters from harmful comments from the audience to ensure a safe and positive experience.
Ensuring daters are not influenced by the audience's conversations and opinions during their interactions.

Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusivity

Designing the app to be culturally inclusive and sensitive to different dating practices.
Considering cultural norms and behaviors for successful international scalability and broad appeal.

UI Mobile

I began by drafting ideas for a redesign of Chatbowl, focusing on simplicity and intuitive navigation. I then moved to Figma to build wireframes, drawing inspiration from dating apps. With feedback from peers, I refined the design into high-fidelity screens, ensuring the interface was visually appealing and functional. The final UI reflected the fun and engaging nature of Chatbowl while maintaining ease of use through Jakob's Law, which focused on familiar UX to guide users through the Chatbowl experience.

User Flow

I mapped out the user flow—from discovering ChatBowl to signing up, watching couples interact, and casting their votes. Each step was designed to be intuitive and engaging, ensuring users felt connected and involved throughout their experience.

User Journey Map

The user journey map served as a roadmap for the ChatBowl experience. Every step from discovery to active participation was outlined to highlight key interactions and touch points. This map guided the design process, ensuring a cohesive and engaging experience.

Branding and Logo

The branding and logo for ChatBowl were designed to reflect the app’s fun and interactive nature, with playful colors and elements chosen to attract users and capture the essence of a dating game show. The concept originated from the idea of feeling "like a fish in a bowl," representing the daters being observed by an audience while chatting. To bring this vision to life, I hired a logo designer from Fiverr who provided several options, including one that creatively interpreted the bowl as a symbol of rich soup. I particularly liked the aesthetics of the green and black color scheme, combined with a chat bubble, which effectively embodied the playful yet engaging spirit of ChatBowl. The result was a brand identity that is both memorable and instantly recognizable, perfectly aligning with the app’s interactive experience.

Style Guide and Typography

A style guide was created to ensure consistency across all platforms. Every design element, from typography to colors, was detailed, forming the backbone of ChatBowl's visual identity and maintaining a polished appearance that resonated with users.

Wireframes

Wireframes brought ChatBowl's vision to life. Each screen was carefully crafted for easy navigation and a user-friendly interface. The voting mechanism was central, designed to be straightforward yet exciting, ensuring every interaction contributed to an immersive experience.

2020 Wireframes

2024 Wireframes

2020 Marketing Mockups

Wireframe User Flow

Website

I designed a captivating marketing website to showcase the concept and funnel leads. I used modern design themes to create a site that showcased ChatBowl's features and benefits. The Illustrative Flat Design was visually appealing and functional, drawing users in and encouraging them to join the ChatBowl waitlist.

Website Link