Pride Places is an online directory connecting LGBTQ+ businesses with customers.
At Pride Places, I helped enhance community engagement while maintaining business promotion.
Concept testing to hi-fi mockups
11 months
Trello, ClickUp, FigJam, Figma, Zoom, Google Suite
Product Designer
Through extensive concept testing, we designed a mobile MVP social media platform aimed at achieving key goals for the company.
Encouraging user generated content to boost engagement and connection.
Opportunities for monetization and growth for the company.
Access to much-needed resources for the LGBTQ+ community.
Pride Places set out to bridge the gap between LGBTQ+ consumers and businesses.
At this early stage, growth depended on increasing revenue, users, and content, giving us the opportunity to explore new ways to best serve the community.
We uncovered main pain points that contributed to the issue.
Limited business listings and lack of user content (reviews, ratings) reduced user engagement.
Small amount of reviews on existing listings discouraged users from visiting and interacting.
User research uncovered main patterns of user pain points and experiences. The LGBTQ+ community struggled to find reliable resources and a safe social space.
Our path forward combined aspects of each concept that users valued most:
I designed creative prompts for account creation and proposed content limits to incentivize sign-ups.
It was important to create avenues for businesses to connect with potential consumers. I designed an option for businesses to create business accounts.
To promote UGC, I designed a flow for users to share their experiences publicly. Users can engage with this anytime after finalizing their account creation.
I iterated on homepage design structure, shifting from text-heavy cards to image-focused layouts for greater impact.
I explored card designs from text-only to media-rich posts, aiming for clarity without overwhelming users.
We designed a mobile MVP social media platform aimed at achieving key goals for the company.
By encouraging user-generated content creation, it's projected to boost engagement and connection in-app and within the community.
This platform pivot is projected to create better opportunities for monetization and revenue growth for Pride Places.
By prioritizing resource access, it's projected to bring more value to the LGBTQ+ community compared to the previous site.
Check out my case study to view the full design process.