Intro

During the pandemic, I lost touch with friends due to the absence of social events, and I found it challenging to rekindle those friendships. When I discussed this difficulty with friends, I discovered that they had similar experiences, though for different reasons. It became evident that losing contact with friends, family, and professional connections is a common issue.

Determined to find a solution to this widespread problem, I decided to investigate further.

Duration

3 Weeks

Methods & Tools

User research, journey mapping, wireframing, high-fidelity mockups (Figma & FigJam

Role

Sole Product Designer, Personal Project

Problem

In our fast-paced, digitally connected world, maintaining meaningful relationships can often fall by the wayside. Many people find it challenging to keep up with friends, family, and professional contacts due to busy schedules and the lack of a system to remind them to reach out. This can lead to weakened connections and missed opportunities both personally and professionally.

Key Challenges:

• People often forget to reach out to contacts due to busy schedules.

• Lack of organization in managing personal and professional relationships.

• Difficulty in rekindling connections after losing touch.

Solution

A simple contact reminder mobile app that can effectively help users maintain and nurture their important relationships, ensuring they never lose touch with the people who matter most.

1. Customizable Reminders: Users can set specific reminders for each contact, whether it’s weekly calls, monthly check-ins, or annual greetings.

2. Interaction Logging: A “Note” feature allows users to log details about their interactions, such as a funny inside joke, a contact’s children’s names, or upcoming important dates.

3. Color-Coded Notes: Notes can be categorized by color for easy organization and quick reference.

4. Dark Mode: The app is designed with a dark mode to reduce eye strain, using white as the primary color for contrast and accent colors for badges and notes.

User Research: Validating the Problem

I knew how I felt about losing touch with friends, family, and professional contacts, but I wanted to delve deeper to understand why and how potential users experienced this issue. To gain insights, I conducted a small survey and received 26 responses.

Despite the increasing availability of communication tools, many people still experience a gradual drift in their relationships due to various factors such as busy schedules, life changes, and digital fatigue.

This loss of connection can lead to feelings of loneliness, regret, and decreased social support, ultimately affecting overall life satisfaction and mental health. Additionally, the erosion of professional relationships can result in missed opportunities for career advancement and networking.

Key Takeaways

1. Users communicate with their contacts using different methods with call, text and email being the most frequent. Users didn’t use social media to keep in touch. Users wanted a feature that allows users to directly call, text, or email from the app.

2. 26% of respondents mentioned that they forgot to contact someone. The app would address forgetfulness.

3. 90% of respondents felt a negative effect to losing touch with friends, family, and professional contacts. Respondents want to speak with some people more often than others. They want to choose the frequency of contact.

4. The app should address the 27% of people that feel overwhelmed trying to stay in touch with their contacts. A simple straightforward and easy to navigate app should be a priority.

5. Most of the respondents would be open to using an app with a contact reminder system.

Based on the user research I brainstormed features and prioritized them based on how and where they would fit into the app.

User Journey

I mapped out key user touchpoints aligned with user goals to visualize a streamlined experience. In doing so, I identified two primary user interactions to prioritize:

1. Onboarding Goal: Make setting up contact reminders as easy as possible.

2. Engagement Goal: Encourage users to log interactions with their contacts.

Low-Fidelity Wireframes: Onboarding

With the user journey mapped out, I had a good idea of the primary user actions that would be required and was able to quickly put together low fidelity wireframes. I envisioned two primary tasks during onboarding.

1. Account Creation (Onboarding): Importing or manually creating contacts

2. Setting Up Reminders (Onboarding): Selecting a date of next contact and frequency of contact

Low Fidelity Wireframes: Engagement

After a user interacts with a contact, I envisioned a feature that allows them to log the interaction using a “Note” feature. This helps the user maintain an accurate record of what was discussed, ensuring that important details aren't forgotten and enabling more informed and meaningful interactions in the future. (For example, remembering a funny inside joke, a contact’s children's names, or an upcoming important date.)

High Fidelity Wireframes

Design System

I designed the app in dark mode to minimize eye strain, using white as the primary color for strong contrast. This approach allowed for the effective use of accent colors for badges and notes.

Impact & Next Steps

Hello Again successfully addressed the common problem of losing touch with important contacts by providing a simple, intuitive tool for managing relationships. The app’s focus on customization, ease of use, and thoughtful design elements like dark mode and color-coded notes made it a valuable tool for users looking to enhance their personal and professional connections.

If I wanted to further develop this app I’d focus on building out the prototype and testing it with potential users.

Potential Future Enhancements:

• An analytics feature to offer more detailed insights into user communication patterns.

• Test integrating with other platforms (e.g., social media) to provide even more seamless reminders and follow-ups.