Brief
Perfectly Different is a dating app concept built for people with disabilities—created to foster real, human connection in a digital world often shaped by superficial standards. What started as a friend’s idea grew into a passion project focused on inclusion, empathy, and authentic interaction.
Goals:
• Create a safe, inclusive space for people with disabilities to connect • Build awareness through media and storytelling • Monetize through sponsorships instead of user feesChallenges:
• Marketing to an audience often overlooked or misrepresented • Designing a dating experience free from vanity-based interactions • Balancing accessibility, usability, and emotional sensitivitySolutions:
• Conducted 1-on-1 interviews to define user needs and experiences • Mapped requirements, business goals, and user personas • Designed a UI prototype centered on meaningful, accessible interaction
Moodboard
A visual foundation capturing the inclusive, empowering, and human-centered spirit of the brand. — Designed to evoke warmth and belonging, the moodboard sets an emotional foundation to inspire design choices that reflect inclusivity and empowerment.
Business Requirements
Key structural and functional goals were defined to support app development and user safety. — We defined clear objectives to ensure that every feature supports user safety, accessibility, and authentic connection to meet the real needs of an underserved audience.
Business Needs
Core business objectives driving product design, marketing, and community engagement. — Prioritized functionality and accessibility standards to ensure the app offers intuitive, barrier-free spaces for users with various physical and cognitive requirements.
Business Voice, Tone, & Personality
A brand voice developed to be empathetic, honest, and confidently inclusive. — The empathetic tone was intentionally chosen to reflect the brand’s mission, which is sure to create a space where users feel seen, heard, and respected from first interaction.
User Research
Direct insights from real people with disabilities to inform product features and emotional design. — User interviews revealed recurring themes of isolation and distrust in mainstream apps, which shaped our focus on transparency and adaptive features.
User Needs
A concise list of user goals, pain points, and accessibility priorities that shaped the experience. — Insights from users emphasized the importance of control and comfort, guiding our decision to simplify interactions and provide customization where possible.
User Persona
A representative profile that reflects the motivations and daily challenges of a female user. — This persona captures the desire for emotional safety and ease of communication, leading us to design features that build trust before engagement.
User Persona
A detailed persona illustrating the emotional and functional needs of a male user. — His profile helped inform content that balances confidence with sensitivity, addressing frustrations with representation in current platforms.
Success Metrics
Scenario-based prompts were designed to explore how we might solve our technical goals and track their success in real-time. — We framed open-ended “How Might We” prompts to challenge assumptions and spark creative UX solutions grounded in real-world user struggles that we could track through systems and metrics.
Competitive Analysis
An evaluation of existing dating apps to identify market gaps and inclusive opportunities. — Analyzing other dating platforms exposed gaps in accessibility and empathy. We then used these insights to position Perfectly Different as a true alternative.
Concept Application
Initial UI concepts for onboarding and homepage experiences across platforms.
Concept Application
Interactive screens highlighting accessible UX and user-friendly dating interactions.
Concept Application
Additional layouts showcasing how inclusivity is embedded in every design detail.
Concept Application (Visual SiteMap)
A top-down view of the app’s architecture to visualize user flow and functionality.
