That's Amore
Spearheading the design of a dating app focused on people who love pizza.
My Role
Product Designer
Team
Myself
Key Contribution
User Research
Concept Ideation
Prototyping
Interaction Design
Animation Design
Tools
Adobe XD
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Premiere
Timeline
2 months
What Is
That's Amore?
That's Amore is a social and dating app that allows users to see their “pizza-compatibility” once they match with another user. If the other user accepts your offer to meet up, the app will find locations where you can find a pizza conveniently nearby both parties (that has the type of pizza you both like!).
"When the moon hits your eye
Like a big pizza pie, that's amore"
-Dean Martin
The Research
In order to understand common challenges people face using a dating app, I created a survey that was sent out through social media to understand the frustrations people experience during the dating process.
My Findings
Based on the survey, I was able to pinpoint and learn:
Meet Kelly & Jake
With the data that was collected in the survey, I was able to create persona boards to better understand the user.
Defining The Needs
With the survey and user personas done, I was able to come to the conclusion that:
-
People want to feel safe when using a dating-app.
-
They want to know they aren't being catfished.
-
They want to have interesting and fun experiences when on a date.
-
Potential matches should already have things in common to be able to start up a conversation.
-
People are frustrated with the back-and-forth awkwardness of planning an initial meetup.
Getting to that first date is a big step, and the process can stop a potential relationship in its tracks before it even gets started. That’s Amore solves that problem by using pizza preferences as an immediate conversation starter — then, it finds a safe and yummy location both parties can agree upon for a first meet up. That way, matches don’t have to argue about those awkward details, and instead can argue over whether or not pineapple belongs on a pizza!
Wireflow
After garnering enough information, I designed a user flow to determine how a user would navigate through the app.
Low Fidelity Prototypes
With a better understanding of the user flow, I created a series of sketches and integrated them into a tappable prototype app with simple functionality. This helped me to determine the flow of the user to get to their end goal (finding a date...and a pizza!)
Iterations
This project has been one that I have visited multiple times over the years. And each time I visit it, I update it based on new design trends. This time around I wanted to make sure it feel modern and inviting for anybody who loves pizza and uses dating apps.
The first thing that changed in the whole redesign, was the branding. The logo was cleaned up and simplified. On the home page, I decided that the photo of the potential match should be the predominant thing to see on the screen.. The buttons were simplified to avoid any visual distractions.
For the "You've Matched," I decided to remove the script font and replaced with a bold san serif font. The logo was updated and the background was changed to a gradient that followed the new branding. The button shapes were also cleaned up and simplified to be more welcoming.
There were small changes made to the chat to feel more welcoming and engaging. The fonts were updated and the chat bubbles included a small shadow to give the screen more depth.
High Fidelity Prototypes
After finalizing the layout, the sketches and early iterations were cleaned up and taken into Adobe Illustrator and Adobe XD to create the final UI designs.
What Makes This Different?
Through my research, my findings point to one large problem: dating-app users are frustrated with the back-and-forth awkwardness of planning an initial meet up. Getting to that first date is a big step, and the process can stop a potential relationship in its tracks before it even gets started. “That’s Amore!" solves that problem by using pizza preferences as an immediate conversation starter.
Once you've matched with that special someone, you will now have the opportunity to set a date! But not just any date, a pizza date! The app will calculate the distance between the individuals and fin safe and yummy locations that both parties can agree upon for a first meet up. That way, matches don’t have to argue about those awkward details, and instead can argue over whether or not pineapple belongs on a pizza!
The problem with dating app, it takes a while to find a perfect match. Sometimes either you can't wait for that special someone to match with in order to try a pizza at a new location or maybe you feel a little selfish and don't feel like sharing a pizza! It's ok, That's Amore doesn't judge, on the contrary, the app has an option to find pizza places near you!
Style Guide
Prior to the High Fidelity Prototyping, a style guide was created.
Logos
The logo needed to capture the two key features of the app: Love and Pizza. By combining two universally known symbols (a heart and a slice of pizza), the “pizza-heart” came to fruition. A modern, minimalistic design helps to simplify brand awareness.
Colors
Color palette is paramount in an inviting design. Therefore, to make the brand inviting, I decided to use cozy warm colors to incite a feeling of love, and a gentle gradient reminiscent of a romantic sunset. The high vibrancy and saturation of the colors is youthful and fun.
Typeface
Regarding the typeface, I wanted to use San Francisco because it helped with optimal legibility at every point size and gave breadth and depth needed for precision typesetting throughout the app. To add contrast and establish hierarchy, I included Maxwell Sans Bold.
Iconography
I created a list of icons that were easy to understand and also followed Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for familiarity when using the app.
Buttons and Input Fields
For the buttons and input fields, I went with round edges. Rounded corners are not only easier on the eyes, but also conjure a sense of safety. I wanted the user to subconsciously feel safe and secure when using an app to meet strangers.
What's Next?
In a perfect world, this app is out there helping people fall in love and also helping people find their perfect slice of pizza! As of today, the app is still being updated and in search of developers. Stay tuned!