Hinge
A dating app case study
Issues researched:
User goals, needs, & pain points when they use dating Apps
Product:
A new version of Hinge with features to increase user success rates in finding romantic partners
UX Research:
• Competitive Analysis, • User Interviews, • Affinity Mapping, • User Persona, • HMW's
Tasks:
UX Design & Writing:
• Hi-Fi wireframes, • Prototype, • Original copy tailored to users
The Issue: How to Improve the Dating App Experience
Hinge is one of the dominant dating Apps. It promises relationship success with the tagline, 'Designed to be deleted.' And while many have found romantic partners by using it, others complain that it's overpriced & ineffective. I researched usage of the App to get insight on how it can more effectively serve its users.
The Research:
Understanding Hinge's Users
Competitive Analysis:
First, I took inventory of the top dating Apps to note the kinds of features users currently enjoy.
Hinge
(19% market share)
bumble
(26% market share)
THE league
(1% market share)
Jswipe
(.3% market share)
Features:
• Lets users search for:
• standard critera*
• specific criteria** ($)
• Lets users state 'fun facts'
• Offers travel mode ($)
• Lets users see who liked them ($)
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• Sends conversation starters
• Lets users send voice messages ($)
• Lets users extend chats
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• Lets users attend meetups
• Lets users 'video chat'
• Lets users record video intros
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*Standard info includes photos, sex, ethnicity, age, height, location, short bio
**More specific info includes, religion, education, relationship goals, family plans, kids
($) indicates for a fee
How did I gather these insights?
An Affinity Map shows the bits of feedback I got -clustered as insights.
User Persona:
Meet Lauren, a typical user
Creating a persona with typical traits helped bring into focus the user I'm designing for. *This is useful because Hinge tends to cater to a certain demographic with similar romantic goals.
About
"Life is the journey... not the destination."
Lauren is a 37 year old speech coach. She recently moved to Los Angeles & she loves the culture & weather. She has a few good friends here & she's extroverted -she's quickly adapted. Lauren has met a lot of people on the Apps, but she has dating fatigue & she feels disillusioned. The right person has proven to be elusive.
Goals
• Make business contacts & build her social network;
• Find a husband & settle down
Motivations
• Desire to be more settled in life;
• Desire to have the physical & emotional intimacy of a partner
Needs
• Tools that will help her connect with men she can relate to;
• Dates that let her get to know people in an organic way
Frustrations
• Searching for matches & chatting on dating Apps is exhausting -it takes effort to match, start chatting, & try to connect;
• She feels discouraged each time she meets someone she doesn't click with
HMW's:
How might Hinge better Lauren?
Asking how I might help a user like Lauren generated ideas for improving the App by adding new features and changing its interface.
1. HMW encourage users to create profiles that are more personalized & engaging?
2. HMW encourage users to share personal facts that spark conversation?
3. HMW encourage users to send messages that get their match's attention?
4. HMW help make the process of matching/chatting more enjoyable & less of a chore?
My focus is on improving copy.
Poor dialogue, driven by digital awkwardness & limited profile data, is major frustration among users. These copy suggestions aim to help them form stronger connections & engage in better dialogue with their matches.
Here are some ideas...
1. Prompt users to share more meaningful facts.
Many users complain that they feel awkward filling out profiles. Most write brief bio's or they leave sections blank. Profiles often reflect basic demographical data & seem bland.
Hinge asks users ice breaker questions intended to elicit engaging content. The questions are clever, but users can still give trite answers. Here's a profile with prompts like, 'This year I really want to...' & 'Typical Sunday.'
Hinge's version of a profile asks general questions:
* Names of actual users are changed & faces blurred.
Research suggests that when asked emotionally provocative questions, people tend to give more thoughtful responses. Hinge could try this approach.
A newer version of the profile asks more meaningful questions (& imagines answers):
2. Offer users some suggested dialogue openers.
My users complained that they would often match with someone appealing, only to be put off by a glib message. The dreaded "How are you?" was cited as the quintessential bad opener. ​​Some dating Apps offer suggested openers, but the questions tend to be equally glib.
This suggested feature uses AI-driven to suggest openers that are unique & customized to profiles.
With this new feature, an AI coach scans matching profiles & suggests personalized openers.
Lauren matches with Doug & views his profile under 'Profile'
Under 'Chat', Lauren clicks on the AI Dating Coach...
And gets some suggested openers.
Lauren picks an opener
And hits send...
The prototype brings the changes to life:
