Enhancing resource access and community connection for the LGBTQ+ community

Designing an entirely new social media platform to boost user activity, revenue, and community value.

Background

Pride Places is an online directory connecting LGBTQ+ businesses with customers.

At Pride Places, I helped enhance community engagement while maintaining business promotion.

Scope & Time

Concept testing to hi-fi mockups

11 months

Tools

Trello, ClickUp, FigJam, Figma, Zoom, Google Suite

This project in a netshell:

My Role

Product Designer

  1. Concept testing and UX strategy for a new platform
  2. Design ideations, UI explorations

Results & Projected Impact

Through extensive concept testing, we designed a mobile MVP social media platform aimed at achieving key goals for the company.

User Engagement

Encouraging user generated content to boost engagement and connection.

Financial Value

Opportunities for monetization and growth for the company.

Value to Users

Access to much-needed resources for the LGBTQ+ community.

Context

Trying to grow as a mission-driven startup

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.

Issue #1: Low User Activity

We conducted a platform audit to uncover opportunities for increasing activity.

We uncovered main pain points that contributed to the issue.

Issue #2: Not Addressing User Needs

Platform audit findings guided our research into user pain points.

User research uncovered main patterns of user pain points and experiences. The LGBTQ+ community struggled to find reliable resources and a safe social space.

Reframing the Problem

The original platform didn’t solve the community’s core problems, so we decided to build one that did.

The Approach

Concept testing led us to create a platform that strengthened connections between users and businesses.

Our path forward combined aspects of each concept that users valued most:

Main Theme

User Feedback

Personalization & Customization

Social groups & resources specific to how users identify

“Resources for a cisgender queer person would be very different from a trans queer person.”

Participant CT2.2

Community Engagement

Welcome opportunities to find and learn more from other perspectives within the community.

“I would like to participate in social dialogues; it’s part of being in the community. We need more opportunities to hear/learn from one another, especially BIPOC.”

Participant JS1

Online Engagement

People are more likely to passively participate through likes, shares and comments.

“Not interested in sharing my opinion, I'm a pretty passive person on social media. I just like seeing content. I'm not a creator.”

Participant DEG

Wireframes

I focused on user and business account creation while enabling story sharing.

Account Creation Prompts

I designed creative prompts for account creation and proposed content limits to incentivize sign-ups.

Integrating Business Accounts

It was important to create avenues for businesses to connect with potential consumers. I designed an option for businesses to create business accounts.

Importance of User Generated Content (UGC)

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.

Homepage UI Ideations

I iterated on homepage design structure, shifting from text-heavy cards to image-focused layouts for greater impact.

Variations on topic cards

I explored card designs from text-only to media-rich posts, aiming for clarity without overwhelming users.

Projected Impact

Projected Impact

We designed a mobile MVP social media platform aimed at achieving key goals for the company.

Increased User Engagement

By encouraging user-generated content creation, it's projected to boost engagement and connection in-app and within the community.

Increased Financial Value

This platform pivot is projected to create better opportunities for monetization and revenue growth for Pride Places.

Increased Value for Users

By prioritizing resource access, it's projected to bring more value to the LGBTQ+ community compared to the previous site.

Interested in learning more about this project?

Check out my case study to view the full design process.

Read Full Case Study   north_east

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Last updated September 2025 by Chloe Chow
Made with lots of coffee, matcha, Chipotle, poke bowls and love