WingMate is a dating app designed to bring back the art of matchmaking by connecting users with friends of friends. With WingMate, you can swipe through potential matches, message them, suggest matches for a friend, and even write personal recommendations that appear on your friends’ profiles! It’s online dating backed by community.
Goal
While online dating offers convenience, many people still struggle to form meaningful connections. In the past, introductions from friends and family helped foster deeper connections and led to more genuine relationships. I created WingMate to explore how the comfort and trust of personal matchmaking could translate into a modern dating app experience.
What do people really think about dating apps?
To help WingMate stand out in an oversaturated dating app market, I conducted a competitive analysis of leading platforms. I noticed a gap, none of the main apps focused on leveraging mutual friends or allowed users to advocate for their friends through features like match suggestions or recommendations. This analysis helped me define WingMate’s unique niche and sparked several key feature ideas.
To better understand why people use dating apps, what features they value, and how branding influences their choices, I conducted four user interviews and distributed a survey that received 12 responses. Participants shared fascinating stories about their dating experiences and voiced how a platform like WingMate could be beneficial. This feedback confirmed that meaningful connections matter deeply to users and highlighted WingMate’s potential to fill a space by offering a more personal, socially connected dating experience.
Understanding the needs of dating app users
Meet Amy and Wyatt, two new WingMate users with distinct motivations. Amy recently moved to New York and is eager to build new connections, romantic and platonic. She’s excited to explore the city with locals who can introduce her to hidden gems and authentic experiences. Wyatt, a bartender and seasoned dater, joined WingMate to explore his sexuality. Confident in his extensive network, he sees WingMate as a way to meet new people through trusted connections. Knowing why users like Amy and Wyatt join WingMate helped me shape the app to meet different needs.
What will WingMate offer?
I created a site map and feature roadmap to outline the app’s core sections and user actions. Since WingMate centers on connections through friends, I proposed a feature allowing users to write positive recommendations for their friends to appear on their profiles for matches to read. Insights from my competitive analysis helped identify features such as that one that would differentiate WingMate from other dating apps.
I then developed task flows and user flows to visualize how users would navigate the app. Interview feedback revealed that simple, intuitive navigation was a top priority, so I kept that front and center throughout the design process.
Imagining the look and feel of WingMate
From the start, I had a clear vision for WingMate’s visual design. Users I interviewed shared that they value the familiar structure of dating apps, which helps them navigate new platforms with ease. I took this feedback and opted for a simple, recognizable layout while expressing creativity through the app’s aesthetic. The brand identity I envisioned was sleek, inviting, bold, fun, and enjoyable.
I chose a vibrant color palette, a catchy name, and modern typography while keeping accessibility and simplicity in mind. I noticed that Bumble uses bright yellow and Hinge uses a classic black-and-white palette, so I wanted WingMate to have a look that felt fresh and recognizable at a glance.
Would people seeking relationships use WingMate?
WingMate is designed to connect users with friends of friends, so its success depends on strong user engagement. After finalizing the design and prototype, I conducted usability testing with dating app users who were open to trying something new. Eighteen participants completed four key tasks: signing up, adding a friend, sending a wink, and writing a stamp of approval.
Based on the usability test feedback, I implemented a few changes. Here are 2 of them.
The purpose of WingMate
WingMate’s goal is to foster meaningful connections through mutual friends. The design combines a familiar, user-friendly interface with unique features like friend endorsements and match recommendations. Usability testing showed that WingMate successfully meets this goal, offering an exciting and modern take on online dating that brings back the spirit of traditional matchmaking.
