Case Study: Tinder App Redesign
As we’re stuck in our homes during these unprecedented times™ [insert corona trademark here] and with no definite light at the end of the tunnel, dating app companies embark on a journey of improving how we date online. With Tinder and Hinge rolling out in-app video calls and Bumble launching virtual quiz-like games, it feels like we still have a long way to go to improve our collective love culture.
Improving a product can be challenging and it’s easy to lose sight of what is actually important, so as long as we aren’t planning to convert our lives into VR simulations, dating apps shouldn’t become a replacement for dating, but instead serve as a transitional step to meeting with a person in real life.
One of the problems I see and hear mentioned with dating apps is that we are becoming overwhelmed with choice, whilst still longing for an authentic connection. We end up feeling lonely scrolling through a number of matches that never result in anything but texting — an illusion of progress in our love lives.
We are becoming overwhelmed with choice, whilst still longing for an authentic connection
With hundreds of dating apps, Tinder is ‘the crowning jewel of Match Group, which owns over 45 dating apps’ and the leader of the $3 billion global industry. It is by far one of the most broadly known and used dating apps. So, to help 270 million single souls, I decided to think of ways of improving the Tinder dating experience.
Converting the digital into the tangible
Tinder revolutionised the dating culture by introducing a right-left swipe. Let’s say, the app creators did a pretty decent job tackling the problem of discoverability, however, the biggest problem I see is the lack of matches resulting in real-life interactions.
The goal
To increase the rate of users transitioning from the digital space to meeting in real life, i.e. going on a date → finding the right person. (💕)
Let’s say the target group is pretty broad: anyone who’s looking for a meaningful connection. Let’s say the target profile: is a 30-something-year-old singleton, looking for a relationship with someone who has similar interests, with whom there is an emotional and intellectual connection and a physical attraction.
As there are so many components and boxes to tick, this may be quite a challenge and a long process. The best way to approach this is to have a clear picture of the goal, be honest, consistent and just keep getting to know people.
Let’s define the three main problems:
Problems
- Overwhelm, flakiness
- Repetitiveness
- Awkward transition to real life
Potential solutions
- An expiration timer for the matches
- Improved messaging experience
- A gamified experience of going on a date
1. An expiration timer for the matches
After using the app for quite some time, a user may end up with a long line of matches that gets hidden in the scroll.
As texting someone involves a possibility of pain and feeling rejected — a friction point — it’s easier to stick to swiping, which in turn creates a false sense of progress and an addictive feeling of “insatiable hunger” for discovering new faces, so it would be nice to have an expiration date for the “open door”, thus it gets clearer if you like someone to stay in touch with them, so no one is left hanging.
It’s also a bit of a pain to click through tiny icons, so some profiles could get easily overlooked by accident. Eventually, you’ve got this line of nice potential matches piling up to never be seen again in the discovery feed.
Eventually, you’ve got this line of nice potential matches piling up to never be seen again in the discovery feed
Bumble solves this problem by giving 24h to text someone. However, I feel like that’s a bit short. It puts too much pressure and creates an expectation that the other person should interact quickly (sorry, Bumble, we’ve got lives). Also, as our attention is the new currency of the 21-st century, some people have all notifications turned off. 72h sound a little more reasonable — 3 days to text someone — usually enough time to check the app in the spare time, when you aren’t too busy with work, family, friends or any other equally important life events and activities.
2. Improved messaging experience
To get to the stage of meeting someone in person, you have to be ready to go through quite a few conversations, where some questions may feel repetitive, especially on the initial stage. This can feel like effort — so some people may drop off on this stage without giving a chance to someone nice, who is a bit shy and not a natural at conversing or texting.
What if this could be improved with pre-saved replies to repetitive questions? I know this may sound a bit robotic, but hey — less time repeating yourself, more time to get to the interesting conversations and eventually meeting them in real life.
3. A gamified experience of going on a date
It is very hard to get to know someone by text, and video calls could feel a little nerve-racking or, even, intrusive — no one is ever chilling at home looking the way they’d show up on a date.
No one is ever chilling at home looking the way they’d show up on a date
Having a voice call can be a better option. You get to know someone a little closer, see if there is a connection and if you want to proceed with meeting them in person — this could feel a little more organic. It’s also a good safety-check option: does a person sound like a decent human being? Do they sound aggressive or short-tempered? Are there any red flags?
Some people also claim that swiping in itself feels fun and even, perhaps, a bit addictive. So what if the process of meeting someone in person could be gamified?
Something like a pipeline with the stages: ‘Matched — Messaged — Called’.
Maybe there could be the“tasks” with checkmarks? So that the user feels a sense of accomplishment and progress.
Visual design
So now after tackling a few problems it’s time to move on to the visual design stage. When I first moved back to my home country, I noticed that there was a bit of stigma associated with Tinder — it’s still perceived as an app mainly for casual sexual encounters.
I thought to myself, what if instead we could design a love experience — a beautiful sensual experience that would set the mood for something more romantic and meaningful?
Some time ago, I saw Rokas Aleliunas’ illustrations on Dribbble and they got me inspired. I loved the combination of colours, stylish simplicity — the less is more — and as if tamed sensuality, with some Asian notes.
I decided to use more of the red colour — the colour of passion —and its shades. Big plain blocks of colours, a few minimal decorative elements and a serif font to make it look classy.
I also played around with the variations for the ‘New match’ screen. I thought it would be nice to make each match feel special and create a positive association.
Growth vectors
Some potential growth vectors that Tinder could consider, could be offering services or courses of dating experts, coaches, advice from mental health professionals and sexologists, for example, in a form of a video course.
Chat rooms for people to “match” in a less pressured environment, as well as online events, i.e. music live streams with a chatbox. For example, Reddit has got live streams embedded from Twitch.
Maybe also event pages like on Facebook, where you could see the list of other singletons attending an event and be able to check their profile and send them, for example, a ‘Super like’ to have a chat before the event.
To conclude
As digital dating is still a relatively new thing, there aren’t any clear guidelines or a set of rules. Everyone is trying to figure it out by themselves collecting anecdotal evidence from friends and online memes or mentions. This in turn can be quite isolating and, at times, even damaging to mental health and wellbeing.
As romantic partnerships are such a big part of our lives, we may have to look at dating with equal importance as choosing a career or finding a job, as well as show more empathy towards people searching for their significant other.
