Teammate

Sports fans face challenges on regular dating apps. Our app connects them with like-minded individuals, assists in organizing dates based on mutual sports interests, and offers secure public venues such as sports events for fostering genuine relationships.

"Don't Play Alone"

Timeline: 3 Weeks

Year: 2024

Role: Co- UX Designer &UIX Researcher

The Project

Part 1

User Research

Research Objectives

Understand the role of sports in personal relationships and dating preferences
Identify key behaviors and motivations on dating apps
Evaluate the impact of sports fandom on dating dynamics

Key user insights

5 Participants Aged 26 - 45+

Views on Sports and Relationships

Sharing a love for sports strengthens relationships by fostering bonding, teamwork, and fun through shared activities, conversations, and friendly competition, even with rival teams.

Dating App Preferences

Prioritizes physical attraction and personality, and finds current dating apps lacking in depth and safety.

Desired Qualities in a Partner

A partner with a sports background for qualities like teamwork and determination, and seeks someone motivated and sports-loving.

Challenges with Different Sports Interest

Mismatched sports interests causing annoyance or caution, and difficulty forming strong relationships when one partner values sports much less.

Openness to Trying New Sports

Open to trying new sports or activities, especially with a partner, driven by their enthusiasm.

uSER Persona

“Dating would be so much better if I could find someone who shares my love for sports.”

Hunter

Age : 36
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Occupation : Director of design marketing for Duke University football athletics
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Location : Durham, NC

Bio

Hunter is a successful marketing professional at Duke University. He is passionate about college football and supporting his local teams. While his career is fulfilling, he seeks a partner who shares his love for sports and the excitement of game day.

Goals

Easily connect with others who share his passion for sports.
Attend games and events with a like-minded partner.
Connect with fellow sports enthusiasts, especially Duke fans.
Use a convenient platform that facilitates connections with fellow sports fans.
Ensure first dates are engaging and centered around shared interests.

Pain Points

Struggles to find people who share his passion for sports on traditional dating apps.
Pressed for time due to a demanding job, limiting opportunities to meet new people
Finds it challenging to plan dates that align with his sports interests.
Feels frustrated with the lack of connections that understand his enthusiasm for sports.

The Competition

Our analysis of Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder revealed their different approaches to digital dating, allowing us to identify gaps and opportunities for a new platform.

Pros:

Quality over Quantity
Detailed profiles, Higher quality matches.

Cons:

Limited visibility for new users.
Slower matching process

Pros:

Location - based matching interest tags - Video chat
Inclusive, User friendly design.
Large user base and strong brand recognition.

Cons:

High competition
Can feel cluttered with a lot of features
Gender sided - Women need to initiate the conversation.

Pros:

Global Reach with a massive user base
Swipe-based matching
Simple interface

Cons:

Reputation for causal dating
Limited profile customization
Shallow connections

Part 2

Problem definition & ideation

After analyzing the problem, we realized the initial scope was too broad. To deliver a highly effective solution within the given timeline, we decided to focus on a single core feature: enabling users to seamlessly plan their first date around a shared sports event.

Problem Statement

Sports fans often struggle to find meaningful connections with others who share their passion for their favorite teams. Traditional dating apps don't cater to the unique interests of sports enthusiasts, making it challenging for them to meet like-minded individuals.  How might we address this problem by providing a platform where users can connect with fellow sports fans, easily plan their first date around a shared team interest, and enjoy a safe, public setting, such as a sports event, to build a meaningful relationship?

Storyboard

We created a storyboard to visually map out the user's journey, from finding a match to planning their first date at a game, and to better understand their experience and emotional state.

User flow

This user flow diagram illustrates how a user progresses from onboarding to finding a match, using the app's features to plan a date, and ultimately purchasing tickets for a shared sports even

Part 3

Wireframing, visual design & prototyping

This section demonstrates the designed solution, from low-fidelity wireframes to a high-fidelity prototype. Figma was used as the design tool.

Low-fidelity wireframes

A low-fidelity prototype was created to test the foundational user flow and validate core functionality with a simple, non-interactive design.

Style guide

Before

After

High-fidelity Prototype

A high-fidelity prototype was then developed to test the final visual design, micro-interactions, and overall interactive experience with a polished, realistic model.

Last words

With limited time and unlimited imagination, we had a lot of ideas that had to be shelved to implement in the future.

Social Networking & Community - We want to go beyond the dating scene to create an additional section of Team Mate where people are able to find communities of like minded fans for platonic social interactions. Holding events and promoting local establishments that cater to those fanbases.
Team Colors - Team Colors are everything. Having display colors change to represent the Fanbases you are swiping would be a future design addition we would love to make.
Virtual Viewings - Implementing an option to watch sporting events together via virtual live stream.