SOCIAL EXPERIENCE CONCEPT · Know You+

Turning surface-level interactions into meaningful connections

Know You+ is a multi-device social game that helps people move beyond small talk through guided questions, shared challenges and gradual levels of intimacy. In testing, all 8 participants said the experience helped them get to know others better and made social moments feel more engaging.

Duration 4 Months
Platforms Mobile & Desktop
My Role
UX Research UX/UI Designer Usability Testing
Overview

From small talk to shared discovery

People often want to know each other better, but social interactions can stay superficial when there is no context, gradual vulnerability, or safe structure to begin. Know You+ uses a maritime metaphor to frame connection as a shared journey, inviting people to become sailors and explore questions, games, and challenges that gradually reveal personality, values, habits, and goals. This gave the platform a stronger emotional identity while making the experience feel more playful, immersive, and meaningful across mobile and desktop.

Know You+ mockups showing multi-device interaction

To avoid forcing every interaction into the same level of depth, the experience was divided into three modes, each supporting a different kind of social moment, from light icebreakers to more reflective discovery.

Three modes, one shared journey

The concept comes to life through three experience modes, each designed to support a different social dynamic, from light play to more intimate one-to-one connection.

Floating mode button Light play

Floating

Designed for duos, families, friends, and teams, Floating supports casual social moments that feel easy to join and playful.

Ideal for Friends, coworkers, first meetings
Format Duo or multiplayer mode

How it works

Floating drifts through first impressions and light discoveries, helping conversation begin naturally without pressure.

Deep Dive mode button Intimate exchange

Deep Dive

Built for more intimate interaction, Deep Dive creates space for two people to explore questions and shared reflection in a more focused way.

Ideal for Couples, dates, close bonds
Format Intimate exploration for two

How it works

Deep Dive moves into deeper layers of compatibility, encouraging more meaningful exchange through questions and reflection.

Splash Time mode button Energetic play

Splash Time

A more dynamic mode for friends, families and teams, Splash Time brings faster-paced challenges and collaboration into the experience.

Ideal for Families, friends, teams
Format Multiplayer fun to connect

How it works

Splash Time adds momentum to the experience through faster interaction, shared energy, and more playful collaboration.

What happens after choosing a mode

After selecting a mode, players move through a clear shared path, from invitation and group alignment to play and recap.

1

Send invitation

Invite anyone who is online directly or share an invitation link through another channel (Email, SMS or WhatsApp).

2

Crew Lobby

Once everyone joins, participants gather in the Crew Lobby to align the group on a shared screen. Each player is identified with a uniquely coloured pointer tag, with voice enabled by default and optional real-time video.

3

Choose a connection category

The group selects one of the 8 connection categories. These are available across all three modes and shape the theme of the interaction.

4

Select intimacy level

Players then choose the depth of the exchange. Each mode includes the same 3 intimacy levels: Open Waters (light), Under Current (moderate), and Into the Depths (deep).

5

Choose camera preference

Before starting, players decide whether they want to keep the camera on during the session.

6

Sail

The experience begins and the group enters the selected game flow.

7

Game

The shared screen adapts dynamically to the selected mode, category, and intimacy level, shaping the interaction and pacing.

8

Voyage Recap

At the end of the session, players receive a short game summary featuring the group connection, Recap Highlights, unlocked badges, and progress towards the next milestone, then choose to return to the Crew Lobby, save a moment, or leave the experience.

Design Process

From insight to experience

Users wanted social interaction to feel more natural, playful, and emotionally meaningful. Guided by that insight, the design process followed a structured, user-centered approach grounded in design thinking. The overview below introduces the main stages of the process, each of which is explored in more detail in the next sections.

Design Stage Scope of Work
Empathize
  • Desk Research
  • Competitive Analysis
  • User Research
Define
  • User Persona
  • Empathy Map
  • Detected Problems
Ideate
  • User Flow
  • Information Architecture
  • Wireframes
Design
  • Style Guide
  • Mockups
  • Prototype
Test
  • Usability Testing
Empathize

Understanding needs, emotions & context

Desk research and user research, conducted through focus groups, revealed the motivations, emotional drivers, and friction points behind everyday interactions, highlighting how play can transform small moments into more authentic and meaningful connection.

DESK RESEARCH, KEY INSIGHTS

Modern relationships
  • Risk of superficiality
  • Lasting bonds need maturity, trust, and vulnerability
Games & connection
  • Games build connection, boost social skills, and sharpen teamwork
  • Gamification boosts engagement and collaboration
  • Multiplayer and community games create shared experiences that boost well-being
Digital relationships
  • Online dating widens access to partners, supporting diverse and authentic connections
  • Matchmaking and personalization connect compatible people across distance and social divides
  • Emotional compatibility and shared interests are core to lasting relationships
Play and personal development
  • Play supports cognitive, emotional and social growth
  • Improves problem-solving, regulation and resilience
  • Play fosters friendships and inspires social change
Bonds & well-being
  • Strong bonds correlate with happiness, resilience and longevity
  • Shared experiences, communication and rewards deepen connections
  • Quality interactions reduce stress

USER RESEARCH, KEY INSIGHTS

What strengthens connection
  • Shared interests & common goals
  • Sincerity & honesty
  • Empathy, kindness & genuine curiosity
  • Natural, effortless moments together
Barriers to connection
  • Lack of conversation, effort or time
  • Different personalities
  • Few shared interests or goals
  • Lack of attraction
Digital interaction, pros and cons
  • + Great alternative when meeting in person isn’t possible
  • + Offers convenient, easy access and overcomes time and distance barriers
  • − Can reduce closeness without video and be disrupted by tech failures
  • − Authenticity concerns without video due to missing nonverbal cues
What enables authentic sharing
  • Feeling comfortable makes sharing easier
  • Familiarity and trust increase openness
  • Icebreaker games boost engagement
  • Time together deepens connections
How games can support connection
  • Create bonding moments with friends, family, and partners
  • Help people feel more connected
  • Preferences: competitive (n=6; excitement & challenge) and collaborative (n=7; team spirit & unity)
  • Most participants enjoy both styles (competitive & collaborative)
Opportunity areas for Know You+
  • Best moments: social gatherings; getting to know someone (e.g., a date); connecting remotely; passing time (travel/waiting); team-building at work
  • Desired features: mutual Q&A; dilemmas & challenges; “Truth or Dare” & “Never Have I Ever”; objects reflecting personality & tastes; hangman-style game
  • Platform preference: 6 prefer Desktop & Mobile; 1 prefers Mobile only
Word cloud with themes like complicity, games, laughter, friendship and joy

Competitive analysis

A focused comparison of existing social and relationship-based platforms helped identify recurring product patterns, competitive strengths, and differentiation opportunities for Know You+.

Compared Platforms
Bunch Plato WePlay PlayJoy

Features

Pattern

Multiplayer support and game customization are common across the category.

Gap

Most platforms prioritize activity volume over deeper social discovery.

UX/UI

Pattern

Interfaces are generally clear, playful, and profile-led.

Gap

Few products create a distinctive emotional identity through the experience.

Social engagement

Pattern

Chat, reactions, and lightweight interactions support casual engagement.

Gap

Interaction often remains surface-level and does not consistently build emotional closeness.

Monetization

Pattern

Freemium models and paid feature access are widely used.

Gap

Paid features rarely strengthen the quality of the relationship experience.

Connectivity

Pattern

Sharing tools and integrations help users bring others into the platform.

Gap

Competitors rarely offer a seamless shared journey that evolves over time.

Overall, the competitive analysis showed that the opportunity for Know You+ is not to compete by adding more games, but by creating a more intentional shared experience where play, personalization, and emotional depth work together to strengthen connection.

Define

Who it’s designed for

Using persona and empathy maps centers the user’s perspective, ensuring solutions align with real needs and fit their realities.

User Persona

Needs

  • Team bonding activities
  • Exciting group experiences
  • Interactive multiplayer games
  • Meaningful social interactions
  • Variety in daily life

Goals

  • Healthy digital-life balance
  • Attend engaging events
  • Play more with friends
  • Stay active
  • Improve work relationships
  • Name: Tim Davis
  • Age: 28
  • Status: In a relationship
  • Profession: Developer
  • Location: London

Frustrations

  • Boring social experiences
  • Shallow conversations
  • Hard to make time for others
  • Wants more travel
  • Too much sedentary time

Interests

  • Games
  • Photography
  • Quality time with loved ones
  • Working out
  • Travel

Biography

Tim is outgoing and dynamic, valuing authentic connections with family, friends, and his partner. Passionate about competitive and collaborative games, fun interactions, travel, and staying active, he enjoys life’s small moments.

Personality — ESTP

  • Extraverted (E)
    Introverted (I)
  • Sensing (S)
    Intuitive (N)
  • Thinking (T)
    Feeling (F)
  • Perceiving (P)
    Judging (J)

Together, the persona and empathy map revealed a clear design direction: people are looking for playful and easy-to-join social experiences that can evolve into more meaningful connection, something current digital interactions rarely support.

Turning challenges into opportunities

📍 Problem
Impact
Opportunity
Games do not encourage genuine social connections
Lack of personalization and emotional depth in in-game interactions
Redesign games to serve as catalysts for meaningful relationships
Lack of engaging and varied social experiences
Leisure activities feel predictable and do not strengthen relationships
Diversify entertainment with meaningful interactions beyond casual play
Lack of integrated solutions in the market
Current offerings do not facilitate genuine social interaction
Unified solution blending entertainment, personalization, and connection
Lack of social life due to time constraints
Difficulty gathering people and maintaining relationships
Flexible social activities that fit busy lives and connect anywhere
Shallow connections and lack of meaningful interactions
Many interactions remain surface-level, lacking emotional resonance
Strengthen emotional connections through immersive social interactions
Struggles in balancing social life and well-being
Routine limits dynamic and interactive moments because of repetitive days
Encourage easy and natural social interactions within daily routines

These opportunities became the basis for the next phase, helping translate identified challenges into a clearer information architecture, more intuitive onboarding, and a flow designed to support meaningful interaction.

Ideate

Insight-led structure and flow

To bring these priorities into one coherent flow, the Main Hub acts as the central navigation point, connecting the five core pillars of the experience: Start Voyage, Crew Mates, Milestones, Sailing Setup, and Docking Point.

Testing structure before visual design

Building on the information architecture defined earlier, low-fidelity paper wireframes were used to test navigation, onboarding, screen hierarchy, and the overall user journey across both desktop and mobile before moving into high-fidelity mockups, helping clarify the structural, navigational, and interaction adjustments needed for each format.

Desktop wireframes
Desktop wireframes
Mobile wireframes
Mobile wireframes

This step helped simplify key flows, align navigation patterns across devices, and clarify which interactions should move forward into digital wireframes.

Design

Defining the design language

The design phase focused on making the experience feel warm, playful, and easy to navigate across desktop and mobile. A small set of consistent decisions helped balance emotional invitation with clarity.

Colour & emotion

Lilac tones added calm and emotional depth, while peach and golden accents introduced warmth, energy, and invitation.

Clarity & hierarchy

A simple hierarchy made headings, actions, and supporting content easier to scan across devices.

Interaction & guidance

Rounded buttons and repeated interface patterns reduced friction and made next steps clearer.

Desktop and mobile mockups

These decisions were translated into desktop and mobile mockups, showing how the product came together from onboarding and profile creation to play and recap.

70+ Screens Desktop & Mobile
Mobile mockups
Test

Refining the experience through testing

This qualitative usability round with 8 participants focused on perceived clarity, enjoyment, and social value rather than statistical validation. The test suggested that the experience was clear, enjoyable, and helped people get to know each other, while also revealing a small set of improvements. These changes were incorporated into the next iteration and are reflected in the final mockups and prototype.

8 participants 1 moderated usability round
5/8 found profile setup tiring
8/8 found gameplay fun and intuitive
Profile setup

Too many required choices

5/8 participants found the setup tiring.

Recommended changes

  • Remove Energy & Vibe
  • Reduce Set Coordinates 10 → 5
Gameplay

Validated as fun and intuitive

8/8 participants found the game fun and intuitive.

Highlights

  • Unlocks conversations
  • Reveals common ground
  • Facilitates sharing
Cross-device preference

Mobile was preferred for convenience

Mobile was preferred for everyday convenience.

Preferences

  • Desktop felt more immersive on a larger screen
  • Mobile felt more convenient for everyday use
Improvement requests

Changes users asked for most

4 recurring requests appeared across the round.

Suggestions

  • Lobby option to play with or without camera
  • Player photos or avatars next to answers after each multiple-choice question
  • Remove confirmation dots
  • Remove “Random pick intimacy” option
Observations

Usability issues that still needed attention

4 usability issues still needed refinement.

Findings

  • Navigation Plan menu unclear on mobile
  • Selection dots unused
  • Onboarding screen not understood and needed more clarity
  • Interests “Playing sports” and “Working out” felt redundant

The test suggested that the core game experience was working, but the profile setup needed to be lighter before users reached the most engaging part of the journey.

Before & After screens

Testing findings were translated into interface changes across onboarding, profile setup, lobby flow, gameplay, and mobile clarity.

Profile Setup

Reduce friction in profile creation

“Removed a low-priority category to simplify choices and reduce friction”

Before
Before, profile setup with Energy and Vibe category
After
After, profile setup without Energy and Vibe category
Closing Reflection

What the concept proved

Know You+ showed how shared play, gradual intimacy, and clear structure can help people move from light interaction to more meaningful discovery.

Impact

The core game experience was perceived as clear, enjoyable, and socially valuable, validating play as a useful entry point for deeper interaction.

Study limits

The concept was tested with 8 participants from a narrow age range, and only one Main Hub area was fully explored.

What I would validate next

Next, I would test whether a lighter profile setup improves completion, whether the intimacy levels help users progress naturally, and how the experience performs with larger and more diverse groups across remote and in-person contexts.

01

Research

Validate the concept with broader and more diverse evidence.

  • Broaden research to more diverse groups
  • Improve matchmaking and personalization
02

Experience

Expand the concept beyond the initial hub and game set.

  • Ship Main Hub areas: Crew Mates, Milestones, Sailing Setup, Docking Point
  • Add new games by mode and intimacy levels
03

Platform

Refine the product across devices and scale the social experience.

  • Refine mobile-first while keeping desktop immersion
  • Scale multiplayer up to 8 users

Meaningful digital connection is not created by deeper questions alone. It depends on pacing, shared context, and a safe structure that makes openness feel natural.

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