Onion

Onion

Onion provides a pleasant experience to users that have been bothered by the superficiality of other dating apps. It also has features that focus on intentionality and assist users in the fast-paced world of online dating. Onion switches typical dating app culture from a shopping experience to an intentional search.

Onion was my first ever UX design project, and it’s currently being revamped. (Please keep this in mind while viewing the old design.) I’m exploring new ways to improve the interface of Onion and overall experience, without removing the goal and message. Please look forward to it!

  • Overview

    A dating app that encourages users to be intentional with their romantic search and to see people as onions.

  • Problem

    The typical dating app experience consists of quickly flipping through numerous profiles, focusing on the superficiality and getting ghosted in the end. The fast-paced and shallow world of online dating is causing users to become “dating app fatigued.”

  • Goal

    1. Help users to look past the surface level of a person

    2. Encourage users to be intentional during the whole dating process

  • Research

    I surveyed active dating app users and asked them which dating apps they didn’t like and why. I also created my own profile on multiple dating apps and logged my experience.

  • Target Users

    Dating app users that are tired of having shallow interactions and swiping through hundreds of profiles.

  • Process

    1. Gather research

    2. Determine which features from current dating apps are negatively impacting users

    3. Draft the overall message

    4. Plan features, create visual identity and sketch wireframes

    5. Create prototype and present for feedback

    6. Finalize prototype

Final Design

 

Walkthrough video of the final prototype

Key Features

Pre-Match: Not all of the person’s information will be revealed before matching with them. Only their name, age, distance (miles), likes, statement, and one obscured photo of them will be shown.

Post-Match: All of the information that the user provided when making their profile will be revealed. (This includes their job/occupation, religion, ethnicity, height, desired relationship, and photos.)

Double-Swipe: When looking at someone's profile during the pre-match stage, the user can swipe left ("SURE") or right ("OK") anywhere on the screen if they are interested in the person. If that person has already done the same to them, they will get be notified immediately that it's a match.

Onion-Tap: If the user is currently viewing someone's profile during the pre-match stage and decides that they are not interested in them, they must tap the onion in the middle of the screen. The user must tap the onion ten times if they want to move on to the next person. However, each time the onion is tapped, a fact about the person is revealed. (These facts were shared when the user created their profile.)

Good-bye: At any time you are allowed to say “good-bye” to the person (that you already matched with). This notifies the other person that you are no longer interested.

 

Preview of Redesign

 

The birth of Onion came from my own unpleasant, short-lived journey with dating apps. Therefore, the research collected came from first-hand experience and the feedback of active dating app users. The goal was to create a new experience for users that were dissatisfied with already existing platforms.