Halfway optimizes social planning in New York City through its innovative AI-powered mobile application. Seamlessly integrating live location tracking and personal calendar data, the app efficiently calculates optimal meeting points and times for users to connect with friends and potentially forge new connections. In its initial phase, Halfway curates ideal meeting spots tailored to users' diverse preferences, availability, and locations to ensure every in-person encounter is seamlessly orchestrated to perfection.
2024
Studio Plus, Mohamadreza
Moradi & Mina Sakhaee
Co-founder, UX Lead, Product Manager
In 2019, my partner and I founded Halfway. As immigrants, we understood the difficulty of leaving our support communities behind upon relocating to the US. Continuously seeking new friendships to fill the void, we conceived the idea of an app. Utilizing my product design expertise and my partner's development skills, we aimed to simplify friendship maintenance and facilitate new connections.
In the past five years, we've pivoted twice, undergone three different iterations, conducted numerous usability tests, and consulted with countless mentors and experts.
During the initial phase of the app's launch, our primary focus is on simplifying connections between existing friends. Utilizing advanced AI technology, Halfway operates as an intuitive smart assistant, dynamically adjusting to user preferences over time. By analyzing factors such as interests, location, and even dietary preferences, the app recommends optimal meeting times and locations, thereby streamlining the planning process for a personalized and seamless social experience.
We utilized various tools to design and test the user interface for the Halfway mobile application, including Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Milanote, and Notion.
In 2023, we had the chance to participate in the I-Corps regional program, honing in on customer discovery through user interviews. This phase was pivotal as we sought to validate the existence of the problem we aimed to solve. Throughout the program, we conducted thorough interviews with 44 individuals aged 18-45 from dynamic metropolitan centers like New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Our objective was to identify the hurdles busy individuals encounter in maintaining vibrant social lives and organizing gatherings with friends. Explore the interviews here.
100% of participants expressed frustration with the fragmented communication across multiple messaging platforms when coordinating with friends.
95% highlighted the challenge of scheduling meetings involving more than two individuals, struggling to find a suitable time that meets everyone's availability.
90% of interviewees expressed difficulty in finding a venue that satisfies the diverse preferences of all attendees for social gatherings.
Throughout interviews, we discovered that users from diverse demographics face common challenges, including difficulties in organizing social gatherings, managing busy schedules, and navigating fragmented communication methods. They express a clear preference for a unified solution like Halfway, which streamlines planning and enhances communication by optimizing meeting times and locations. More on our User Personas.
Once we confirmed that the problem we're addressing is genuine, we delved into analyzing our competitors' solutions. Our goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of their approaches and pinpoint any areas where their solutions might be lacking or in need of improvement. In conducting our competitive analysis, we explored five platforms: Meetup, Yelp, Eventbrite, Doodle, and Calendly. Common challenges across these platforms include the absence of personalized venue recommendations and integrated communication tools tailored for organizing casual social gatherings among friends. Notably, these platforms prioritize event management and organization, often overlooking the critical aspect of facilitating seamless communication and messaging for users. See full analysis here.
In crafting the Halfway app experience, we've carefully outlined user flows, ensuring a seamless journey. Through customer discovery, we noted the importance of user trust in AI-generated suggestions. To address this, we prioritize user autonomy, allowing them to manually select meeting spots and times. This empowers users, providing them with control over their social engagements and enhancing their confidence in the Halfway app.
Our team conducted collaborative brainstorming sessions to refine the app's wireframe based on our user journey map. Through iterative design, we crafted and tested prototypes to address user pain points. Utilizing low-fidelity prototypes, we identified areas for improvement, resulting in a more intuitive interface and increased user satisfaction.
During user testing, we discovered a significant pain point: the app's algorithm relied solely on the user's current location to determine the optimal meeting spot. However, since many users were scheduling meetings for later, their current location didn't always align with where they'd be attending the meeting from. To address this, we introduced an option for users to input their intended meeting location, providing a more accurate basis for the algorithm's calculations.
The UI team collaborated closely with the UX team on refining Halfway's brand identity, undertaking tasks such as color palette selection, creating the logo marks, and illustrations. Through multiple user testing sessions, we diligently assessed how well the brand identity conveyed Halfway's mission and tone, ensuring alignment with the company's core values and objectives.
After crafting the initial version of the Halfway logo mark, which drew inspiration from Jens Rasmussen's iconic location pin design for Google Maps, our team conducted thorough user testing involving five diverse participants. Surprisingly, feedback revealed a significant misinterpretation among users, with many associating the logo more closely with dating apps, engagement, and romance rather than its intended purpose. This critical insight led us to recognize the necessity of revising the logo to better align with our brand identity and user expectations.
The current Halfway Logo Mark embodies the metaphorical concept of a bridge, symbolizing the notion of bringing people together.
For the design system of the Halfway app, we began by conducting extensive research into user preferences, behaviors, and expectations through user interviews. This data guided the creation of a comprehensive style guide encompassing color palettes, typography, iconography, Illustrations and UI components, ensuring consistency across the app. We then iteratively refined the design system based on user feedback and usability testing, prioritizing simplicity, clarity, and accessibility.
Through an iterative process of user research, wireframing, and user testing we developed the app's high-fid prototype. By incorporating feedback from target users and refining design elements, our team crafted a polished prototype that effectively addresses the needs and desires of Halfway users. Click on the image below to interact with Halfway Prototype in Figma.
