SHIP: A virtual dating and
VR traveling app
Instructor: Abby Guido
Designers:
Philip Lee
Alyssa Chambers
Kaitlyn Gross (me)
SHIP is a dating and VR travel app that allows you to meet people with similar interests, all from the safety of your home. This service will provide you with a virtual dating and traveling experience with authentic food delivered right to you. Our concept for SHIP was developed after brainstorming ways to reimagine the in-home dining experience due to the recent difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic.
SHIP was a collaborative project between myself and two other classmates. We collaborated on the ideation, research, and steps of the UX process. We each developed our own brand and interface design for SHIP.
These are key screens in the SHIP app. The login screen, SHIP introduction screen, home feed, potential dates profile, and trips planned screen.
Our Process
Research & Ideation
Our process as a team started with researching what in-home dining already looked like and what problems were arising because of Covid-19. We began with formative research about new in-home dining innovations and new challenges in the restaurant industry caused by the pandemic.
With this baseline research, we discovered problems that were created with the in-home dining experiences during the pandemic. Some of the main ones were the inability to socialize as desired, the boredom that comes with staying at home for extended periods, and the travel restrictions that prevented you from going somewhere new and trying new things. Restaurants were also facing challenges adjusting to the new way of serving their customers and maintaining their business.
As a group and individually, we began brainstorming multiple ideas of how we can redefine the in-home dining experience. We eventually decided on a combination of a travel night idea and a date night idea. We wanted to solve some of the problems that we discovered by transporting you to another place through food and technology. Our approach was to create a dating app and experience that revolves around making new relationships, traveling, and trying new foods from local restaurants.This also helps existing restaurants that may be struggling during the pandemic and allows our users to try food from their local restaurants.
Survey
We conducted a survey about dating app usage, in order to get more information about our possible demographics. We were wondering if people would use a dating app with travel aspects and what they would use it for (serious relationships, hookups, friends).
Since conducting this survey, I realized there are some flaws in it. One of the biggest flaws is the small number of responses we collected. Another flaw was the small age range that was surveyed. I don’t think that we received enough results from a wide enough range of people to take much valuable information from this survey.
User Personas
We concluded that the average user for SHIP is age 25 - 39. They are technologically savvy, have a high disposable income, and are looking for a serious relationship. They would enjoy adventure and trying new things. Their pain points consist of not being able to travel due to the travel restrictions, inability to socialize like normal, and boredom.
Three user personas for SHIPMy team and I created these three user personas to establish some of the possible users for the SHIP app. We developed our user persona with evidence from research and statistics we found about dating and travel.
We wanted to create a positive dating experience with SHIP because studies have talked about how users who have used dating apps say that they left them feeling more frustrated than hopeful. We wanted to make SHIP’s experience stand out by connecting users while on a date with activities such as VR.
We also researched the spending habits of Americans on dating. We found that millennials typically spent more money on dating than Gen Z. Therefore, we concluded that our user persona’s age would be in the millennial range because they would likely have a steady job and more disposable income to spend on dating. They would likely be more willing and capable to pay for SHIP’s date services.
To support further and link between dating and travel, we also did research on travel habits. We found that millennials are very interested in travel and are commonly choose a destination with cultural or historical significance. This all supports the idea of a dating app that incorporates aspects of travel as a unique and attractive venture.
Name Generation
After solidifying our concept, as a team and individually, we started the name generation process. My team decided on the name SHIP because we felt it combined the travel aspect of our app and the relation “ship” aspect. It is also a fun name that plays with the popular phrase of shipping couples together.
After we decided on a name, we started to decide on what deliverable we needed. We knew we wanted to create an app that had a dating and food ordering system, but we also needed a branded bag for the meals to come in, an instruction card, and VR headset that would come in the bag along with the food, and advertisements for Instagram to get more people interested in SHIP.
UX Process
As a group, we started planning out the UX/UI for our app. To do this we started by doing a card sorting activity to work out what we need in our app that would make it fully functioning as a dating app and food ordering app. We referenced existing dating apps and food ordering and delivery apps.
Next, we created a site map that allowed us to visualize where all the aspects of our app from the card sorting, would live and how the app would be organized. We needed to think about the UX and how we want a user to go through our app and if it would be intuitive.
After finalizing the site map, we created low-fidelity wireframes of the user journey. We wanted to show the user creating an account, matching with someone, and the planning a date process.
Branding
Design Approach
After my team and I collaborated on the idea and research of SHIP, we each took different design approaches for SHIP’s branding.
My design approach was to create something fresh and new. I chose unique and fun colors and incorporated playful aspects that reflected the nautical feel of the name SHIP. I chose my design approach based on research my team and I did about existing dating apps and users. I wanted to make my interface different from what was already out there, but still intuitive for our user personas.
Logo
While creating the logo, I struggled with encompassing the nautical aspect and the relationship aspect into a simple icon that was fresh and playful. I did many sketches and landed on the idea of combing the image of a ship and the iconography of a heart. I decided to overlap two hearts to create a rowboat. I thought a rowboat would be better than a traditional ship because it felt more romantic and intimate.
SHIP’s final and responsive logoStyle Tile
Along with designing a logo, I started working on the rest of SHIP’s branding. I picked a typeface for the header and body text, a color palette, and some buttons and icons. I wanted to connect the traveling and nautical aspects of the idea to the brand by having elements like a porthole, compass, oars, and waves. I also chose to use one heart on its side through my branding to connect it with the logo.
Style tile for SHIP’s branding 
Interface design
I used XD as my prototyping tool and created a full-screen flow for the SHIP app. The full user journey is creating an account, browsing your feed, finding a potential date, and planning and going on that date.
The app flow for SHIP starts with the user logging in. If the user doesn’t have an account to log in to, then their next steps are to create one. I wanted to make creating an account fast and easy and in corporate a function that allows you to add more detail to your profile later after you experience the app.
Creating an Account
Creating an account starts with choosing your main profile picture. Next, you can choose other photos to showcase on your profile so that other users get a sense of who you are. After that, SHIP will ask a few questions to get to know you and your perferences.
Planning a Date
Planning a date or “Trip,” which is how it is referenced in the app, is a very important feature. You can start to plan a trip, by either going to the “Plan a Trip” section in the menu bar or directly from a potential date’s profile. Step 1 is picking who you want to go on a date with. You can choose from your “shipmates” who are people you have mutually matched with. Once you choose who, you can choose where you would like the date to be based on. After that you select an attraction you would like to tour and learn more about during the trip. Then you choose authentic food from a selected menu from a local restaurant that you would like to try on your date. Finally, you select a date and time that you want to go on the trip and send off the date request.
Some of the main screens for “Planning a Trip”Once the date request is sent, you have to wait for it to be accepted. If it is accepted, the next step is to go on the date. At the time and day of the date, you can go into the app and review the details of the trip. You can click “Go on Trip” to get an email sent to you with a link to the virtual date that you can access on your computer. After clicking on the link, you will see a “Trip Itinerary” and a place where you can start your video call with your date.
Computer screens of email, trip itinerary, and video call. Extending the Brand
Along with creating an app for SHIP, I also created a reusable tote bag that your food, VR headset, and instruction card will be delivered in. Using a reusable tote bag, cuts back on the waste that we learn is created and impacting our environment due to the rise in takeout because of the pandemic. A customized VR headset is included for the Virtual reality part of the date and there are instructions written on the side for how to use it. There is also a brief instruction card for the trip. It is designed like a postcard to play up the travel aspect of the brand. Each of these deliverables have unique branding for the specific country your trip is in, but they still relate back to the SHIP brand with the type locks ups and graphic, colorful style.
I also extended the brand to a social media presence on Instagram. Most users of a dating app would also be users of social media making it the best place to advertise for SHIP. I designed an advertisement post that the SHIP account would post and I also designed SHIP’s profile with unique story highlight icons and a curated feed.
Conclusion
Throughout the process of our project, as a team and individually, we learned many new things and faced some challenges. This was my first full UX/UI project. This is the project that made me interested in doing this for a career. I enjoyed collaborating with a team on research and ideation. This was the first time I worked in a group for a design project and I was surprised by the success of it. I enjoyed all the aspects of this project, but my favorite part was designing the user interface. I loved establishing a fun and unique brand and thinking about creative ways to incorporate it into the interface design.
