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Simplifying Playdate Coordination for Modern Parents
User Research, UX/UI, Prototyping
Parents today face challenges in arranging social interactions for their children, often relying on local networks or word of mouth, which can be unreliable, especially for those new to a community or juggling busy schedules. This results in missed social opportunities for children and increased isolation for parents. Without a dependable platform to organize safe and compatible playdates, these challenges only grow, leaving many parents hesitant or disengaged. This highlights the need for a solution that simplifies playdate coordination for children and fosters connections among parents.
Figma, Maze, Google Meets, Procreate
12 weeks
1. Conducted user research through interviews to identify pain points in arranging playdates, including safety concerns and compatibility issues.
2. Synthesized findings with a persona, affinity map, and insights.
3. Ideated solutions and created key task flows for the app, focusing on simplifying processes to make the user experience seamless and efficient.
4. Designed low-, mid-, and high-fidelity wireframes.
5. Conducted usability testing and Iterated on the design to maintain consistency across all screens.
Understanding parents' playdate challenges through interviews
I interviewed five parents of children aged 7 months to 6 years to gain insights into their methods, motivations, and challenges in finding potential playdate partners. These conversations helped me understand how parents navigate arranging playdates, what drives them to seek these interactions, and the obstacles they face. The interviews revealed common frustrations and unique needs, informing the design of a more effective solution.
After those interviews, I gathered and organized insights into affinity mapping to further understand parents’ frustrations and needs. Throughout this process, I was able to extract three main themes, helping me identify where to concentrate my efforts and take decisive actions.
Parents face various challenges, including coordinating schedules, finding suitable play partners, and dealing with logistical issues such as location and age compatibility
Compatibility between parents, including shared interests and parenting styles, is crucial for successful playdates
Parents express a need for tools that provide comprehensive information about other families, including children's ages, time and location preferences, and safety measures
Understanding our target audience: millennial parents and key user personas
Based on the information I gathered, the primary audience for this mobile app is likely millennial parents (born between 1981 and 1996), with a particular focus on mothers. This demographic is highly engaged with digital platforms and actively seeks opportunities to foster social connections for their children, making them the target user for the app.
I distilled the insights into two key personas: Emily, a stay-at-home mom seeking to expand her children’s social circle with peers of similar ages and interests, and Derek, a working single dad looking to engage in meaningful activities with his child while connecting with like-minded parents.
Exploring existing apps to understand parental expectations
To better understand parents' expectations and challenges in arranging playdates, I analyzed six mobile apps designed to connect local families. Each app had a unique focus: some presented kids' profiles one by one, others targeted moms specifically, and a few centered on scheduling playdates. Additionally, some apps included features like public posts, local event sharing, or even connecting parents with nannies. This research highlighted varied approaches mobile apps use to solve the playdate coordination problem.
Two of the apps use a swipe-based approach similar to dating apps, allowing users to swipe left to skip or right to like a parent's profile. While engaging initially, this mechanism can frustrate users by complicating profile revisits and risking missed connections from accidental swipes. Parents prefer to carefully review profiles to ensure compatibility, rather than making quick judgments that could lead to missed opportunities.
User profiles range from basic (name and photo) to detailed (kids' info, interests, language, vaccination status). While detailed profiles offer richer context and potentially stronger connections, they require more effort to complete. Simpler profiles speed up the process but may limit connection depth, showing differing approaches to community building.
Playdate scheduling features vary, with some apps offering robust planning tools while others lack even basic options. This inconsistency presents an opportunity to stand out by offering a comprehensive, user-friendly scheduling experience, making the new app a go-to solution for parents.
Safety features vary widely, from apps with strong protocols (like verified users) to those with minimal protections. This spectrum underscores the importance of balancing security measures to meet parents' needs.
With that, I wondered...
How might we improve the playdate coordination experience for parents, fostering efficient connections between parents?
Prioritizing key features and visualizing user journeys through task flows
Now that I had a clear direction, I created task flows to better visualize how the user would access them to achieve their goals.
By allowing parents to create detailed profiles, the app helps users share relevant information about themselves and their children, fostering more meaningful and compatible connections. This increases the likelihood of successful playdates by helping users identify families with similar values and preferences.
By enabling users to filter based on specific criteria, the app helps parents easily find compatible matches. This targeted approach saves time and enhances user satisfaction by ensuring that connections align with their needs.
By streamlining the scheduling process, the app reduces friction in planning activities, making it easier for parents to follow through on connections and fostering more frequent interactions.
I moved onto drawing out low-fidelity wireframes around the 3 main flows, playing with different formats and icon placements, and then refining them into mid-fidelity wireframes.
I initially designed a standard sign-up flow with personal details and phone verification, but it risked losing users early. To streamline this, I introduced a 3-page app orientation and a quick social or phone sign-up. The revised 5-step form includes a progress bar to guide users through essentials like name and location. Now, users can explore the app right after sign-up, boosting engagement and minimizing drop-offs.
To improve accessibility, I moved the "Search Nearby Parents" feature from "Connections" to a new "Discover" tab, enhancing visibility. "Connections" was renamed to "Friends" with sections for existing friends and nearby parents. Filtering criteria were moved to an overlay window for better space, with sliders for "Distance" and "Kid's Age Range," a filter count, and sorted results by proximity. Key details like distance and kids' ages are displayed to help users make informed choices.
Initially, users could either create an invitation from scratch or use one of three templates: home, park, or pool playdate. For example, selecting the park playdate template suggests nearby parks, simplifying the setup. After refining the draft, I added more customization options, such as editing the event name, adding a description, uploading a cover photo, and selecting the event frequency.
On the event detail page, I prioritized key information by placing host and invitee details at the top, followed by date, time, and location for quick access. This layout minimizes scrolling and enhances clarity. A comment section at the bottom keeps all event details in one place, allowing users to navigate seamlessly without switching sections.
At this stage, I realized the importance of testing to validate my design decisions, especially around the overall navigation of the app. I wanted to ensure the foundational structure aligned with user needs before moving forward with more detailed development.
Unmoderated Tests
Participants dialed into Zoom and screenshared from their laptops.
Onboarding and Account Creation
To identity any areas where the flow could be simplified or streamlined to improve user retention
Finding Another Parent User with Specific Criteria
To test the clarity of the search filters and the overall smoothness of the experience
Sending a Playdate Invitation
To identify any potential pain points and to ensure users find it intuitive and straightforward
Overall they found the app easy to use.
The onboarding and account creation process was well-received, with four out of six participants finding it straightforward, indicating an intuitive flow. All participants successfully used the search feature to find another parent, meeting basic user expectations. Additionally, five out of six participants completed the task of sending a playdate invitation, demonstrating that the app's core functionality is user-friendly.
... but I also learned from their stumbling blocks.
The onboarding instructions need clarification to reduce user confusion and ensure a smooth sign-up. Filter options for finding other parents could be refined for easier searches, based on feedback. Lastly, the playdate invitation flow could be simplified with more direct steps and contextual cues, enhancing user experience.
Before I move onto designing the high-fidelity wireframes, it was time to develop the brand identity and bring the app to life.
Bringing playfulness to life through logo design
At the project's start, I envisioned a playful logo of a girl playing peekaboo to align with the app's name, Peek-a-Pal. Inspired by my daughter, the design evolved into a final version featuring a girl in a purple hat, conveying fun and friendliness to attract parents. Each variation was used across the app, reinforcing the brand’s joyful, interactive spirit.
Crafting a playful and trustworthy visual identity
In designing the style tile, I aimed to create a playful, welcoming feel for parents. I chose Catamaran for its clean look, Nerko One for a whimsical touch in the app name, and Nokora for input fields to maintain a professional tone. The soft reds, peaches, and blues in the color palette add warmth and excitement, balancing playfulness with trust to bring the app’s spirit to life.
Using the branding and feedback from my mid-fidelity usability testing, I created high-fidelity wireframes.
Before
After
To improve the hierarchy, I increased the title size and used a different color to make it stand out. I also updated the layout by aligning all input sections in the same column on the left, ensuring a more organized and cohesive appearance.
I expanded the “Filters” window to include options for parent and child gender, as well as common interests. A user suggested adding “playdate type” or “completed x number of Peek-a-Pal playdates,” but I prioritized other criteria, as these would require broader interface changes.
I changed the icon label from “Friends” to “Community” in the navigation bar. Based on the user feedback, “community” is a more appropriate label for this interface. It includes existing friends and other parents nearby.
Before
After
I highlighted all the required fields with a distinct color to make them more prominent and easily identifiable.
I used a different color to highlight required fields and added “required” for clarity. Some fields were reordered for a better flow. I also changed “Guests” to “Guest Type,” with the default set to “Kids-adults required” for clearer context.
I added "Continue" button to make it clearer for users to proceed to next page.
Refining user experience: usability testing and iterative enhancements
I conducted another round of testing with three participants via Google Meet to assess adjusted flows and identify improvements. Based on feedback, I added labels to icons for clarity and ensured color consistency across screens. These updates enhanced usability and visual cohesion, reinforcing the app’s identity and user engagement.
Added labels to icons, such as filter icon and accept/decline icons, to improve clarity and usability. This enhancement ensures that users can quickly and easily understand the purpose of each icon, leading to a more efficient experience and reducing the learning curve associated with new features.
Adjusted the colors on some screens to create a cohesive visual experience throughout the app. Consistent color usage helps to visually connect different parts of the app, enhancing usability and creating a more seamless and engaging experience for users.
Other than what I mentioned above, I also designed the following screens for Peek-a-Pal:
Messaging other parents: This feature enables easy communication and coordination with connections directly in the app. The simple, intuitive messaging screen allows parents to quickly share info, plan details, and stay connected with playdate partners.
Starting from scratch for the playdate invitations: Users can create fully customizable playdate invitations from scratch, without using templates. This option allows parents to add personal touches and specific preferences, making each playdate unique and tailored to their needs.
What I learned
Striking the right balance between simplicity and functionality was challenging. The app needed to be user-friendly for busy parents while offering enough features to be truly useful. This process required multiple iterations to refine the user experience, ultimately creating a design that is both intuitive and functional.
While working on each of the three flows individually, I occasionally lost sight of their interconnections, leading to screens that felt disjointed, almost as if they belonged to different apps. This experience taught me the critical importance of maintaining consistency and integration across all design elements to foster a cohesive user experience.
Additionally, testing and iterating throughout the design process proved crucial. Early validation during the mid-fidelity stage allowed me to make necessary adjustments before progressing to high fidelity, ultimately saving time and reducing frustration, which contributed to a more polished final product.
If I had more time...
Based on feedback from user interview, I would have designed a profile verification process to boost security. I considered two options: a selfie or a photo ID (e.g., driver's license). While a photo ID increases trust, it might deter some users. A selfie is easier and more user-friendly, especially for a new app, balancing security with ease of use.
I would also add a group events feature, as parents preferred meeting in group settings. This would help the app facilitate group playdates, offering a more comfortable way for parents to connect and form relationships during initial meetings.
