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Hinge: Dates Feature Addition
Project Overview
Challenge
The Dating App industry is not always the best place to meet your soulmate. The mission of Hinge brings about deeper questions and user profiles in order for users to get to know their matches as quickly as possible. The app’s goal is to be deleted, but what happens when it goes beyond the app?
The first in-person meeting is left up to the user to create a great experience, when most people are just worried about being able to get out if the date goes badly.
To address this problem, our team built in the “Dates” feature to allow users to explore date ideas by location and event around them. They can plan the perfect first rock climbing date with their adventurous match and land the second date....
Team
Timeline
4 Designers
2 week Sprint
My Role
Project Manager, User Research, Sketching, Iteration, Wireframing, Hi-fi Prototype
Tools
How might we give users a way to go on more meaningful and memorable dates with their Hinge matches?
Research
User Interviews
Tasked to seamlessly fit a new feature within the existing Dating App, Hinge. The app is basic in terms of the experience, and my group identified it as needing more.
Key Findings
Hinge is used for people wanting a more serious online dating experience
Users would use clues from Photos and Prompts on Matches profiles to guess what things people liked to do.
Most first in-person dates were planned out of ease and location for both people. Not much effort put in.
Competitive Analysis
We looked at both other Dating Apps on the market to understand the features. Hinge offers most of the same features as the other apps. Tinder featured a Calendar to track users dates, which was unique among the apps.
Online Dating Sites
Online Dating sites offered a wider range of input fields for users profiles. These are much more in-depth than most current dating apps on the market. They are more established than dating apps and users are willing to put in more time.
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Most sites included Matching percentages, deeper profile questions, but also came with monthly subscription fees.
Comparative Analysis
The app Meetup was a way for people to meet in-person based on common interests. We used this model to understand how they showcased events, social groups, and locations for meeting up.
Popular or trending events highlighted
Users input their interests in like tags
Users can join groups and receive updates on their events
Search events by location
Events are saved based on their status
Checking Assumptions
The team blasted out a Feature Survey asking what features users would be most interested in seeing in a dating app. We included 10 features of varying ratings.
1-Not Interested at all 4-Very Interested
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We noted that users seemed drawn to "Activity Interests" and "Being recommended Dates based on Shared Interests".
Other highly rated new features were based in security, but Hinge has recently incorporated heightened security to deter fake accounts.
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The Hopeless Romantic
Primary Persona
Wants
To meet their soulmate
Real connections with people
Quality and different Dates
To get to the second date
Scenario
It’s Tuesday evening and The Hopeless Romantic is continuing several conversations with potential dates. There is one front-runner that could be a great match. They are looking to set up a date for this weekend and are looking for date ideas from their match’s profile. Hopefully this date will have a follow-up….
Goals
Long-relationship/marriage
Needs
To see other people's interests
To show their interests in profile
Better dates than coffee or dinner...
We designed the "Dates" feature in order for The Hopeless Romantic to get out of the app and into real life dating with their matches.
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Problem Statement
The Hopeless Romantic needs a way to access other people’s profile interests in new activities and experiences so that they can use them as a jumping off point to plan dates and tailor their first in-person meetings.
Ideation
User Flows
The team created 2 new flows. The first for adding "Activities" to the users profile, and applying them to the Feed preferences. Users would have to set these like any other profile/filter setting.
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The second flow focuses on the "Dates" feature, and allows users to send date ideas to their matches.
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Tab System
Map
Upcoming Events
Categorizing dates
Planning Dates
Early Sketching
Myself and another team member tackled sketching ideas for the new date flow and adding the activities into profiles. To the left are the sketches completed.
We explored using tabs to divide dates by location, events, and ideas. We explored giving dates “parameters” and being able to send to matches for acceptance.
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We asked ourselves the following questions:
How do we define a "date"? How specific should it be?
How do we categorize "Dates"?
How can users come back to saved "Dates"?
How rigid should a sent date be? Is it a suggestion?
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Refined Flow-Dates Tab
Location or
Event Overview
Categorizing dates
See Compatible
Activities for Matches
Design Studio Brainstorm
We came together and went through 3 Design Studio sketch sessions.
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We concluded that "Dates" would be defined by location or event. "Dates" would be recommended to users based off of users inputted profile activities.
Wireframes
First wireframes were made to explore how our new feature would fit into the current application.​
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We decided to combine the "Likes" and "Matches" Tabs in the Bottom Navigation Bar to give more weight and space for the new "Dates" icon.
Tabs between Map and Events
Saved Icon
Sending Date to Match
Usability Testing
We did 3 rounds of Usability Testing with Hinge users.
Test #1: Testing new navigation and whether users could complete the 3 flows. Adding activities to their profile, saving date ideas for later, and sending date ideas to matches.
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Test #2: Testing to see how users filtered the match results, either on the feed page or through the profile. Are users scrolling and engaging with new content?
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Test #3: Testing for understanding of the "Dates" page through introduction of tutorial pop-ups on new feature.
Added "Edit Profile"
Tags for "Activities"
"Match Activities" to "Match Interests" and "Preferences" to "Match Filters"
Dates Icon Progression
Final Prototype Frames
"Dates" Page Pop-up
Dates-Map
Saving an Event
Date Overview Page
Dates-Events
Dates-Saved
Send Date options
Sent Date!
Final Prototype
Solution
Our final solution allows users to explore, save, and send date ideas to matches.
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Secondarily, users can add "Activity Tags" to their profiles to make it straightforward for matches to know what they like to do. In turn, this will help people to search for matches with the same interests quicker and filter out incompatible people.
We are confident this solution could be used by current Hinge users and get them closer to deleting the App for good.
Where to Next?
Build out the add "Activities" feature to allow for more suggested tags for activities.
Allow users to send specifications for a date, including exact date, time, and location.
Show recommended date options in the Conversation Page based on both matches loaded activities and saved date options.
Thinking Larger
The "Dates" feature could expand the user market for Hinge. This feature could be offered to people in committed relationships in order to get them to try new date options and make it easier to see new things to do within their own town/city. It could offer up unconventional dates to help couples rediscover their own romance.
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