3RD SPACE
In today's world, so many people are lonely and want connection. In sociology, term third place refers to the spaces where Americans used to convene solely for community. Those 3rd places used to be churches, cafes in public libraries. In today’s world, 3rd places are disappearing. People no longer have places to meet that don’t center around commerce. With this app, users have the opportunity for real life connection with locals looking for friends too based on their mutual interests.
Independent Project
UX Designer and Project Manager
Tracey Turner - Software Engineer
3rd Space aggregates connections for users with common interests and based on past activities. We keep profiles spare to remove implicit bias from making friends.
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Users are not able to be look up other users based on age, race, gender, sexual orientation or job titles. This way, users can create organic friendship based on the things that they enjoy and decreases the chance of exclusion of particular groups. Everyone has a fair chance at friendship on 3rd Space!
Design an app for users to connect with each other based on their interests.
Create an inviting, minimal design to engage users to use the app as a tool, not a social media platform.
To distinguish 3rd Space, we added dynamic color to a clear cut design.
ORANGE
#E27511
BLACK
#000000
WHITE
#FFFFFF
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
TITLE
Inter
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COPY
Inter
LOGO
3rd Space went through 2 major iterations.
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Replaced Icons
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Optimized layout
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Color scheme change
Iteration 1
Iteration 2
3 major features define 3rd Space.
3rd Space is a tool, not a social media app. It has a simple and sleek design including opting for icons over text. Its design was inspired loosely by the Airbnb and Bumble mobile apps.
The algorithm we use to suggest activities for users is based on activities users explicitly indicate interest in, ratings on past activities and other activities with matched friends. Through this algorithm, we believe we are giving users the best activity suggestions possible.
We opted to keep user profiles limited to decrease personal bias as much as possible and allow people to connect based on what actually matters, what they like to do. We also require that users have a conversation with each other before matching and giving specific information for activities together. This way, users feel safe before meeting someone new.
Through usability studies, we were able to get feedback on 3rd Space from potential users.
"The colors are really good, I like the orange"
"Having conversations before going on a conversation with someone to vet them before going somehwere with them makes me feel safe"
"A very solid user experince"
"It's (the app) super easy to navigate"
"It has a really clean and simple look"