Role
Senior UI Designer
TIMELINE
2020
TOOLS
Caption: Final Prototype Redesign
The decision was made to proceed with the business analysis first to gain a holistic view of how Ashley Madison is performing from a business perspective. Having these insights on hand before conducting the User Research and App Evaluation will be valuable, as we need a solid understanding of Ashley Madison’s business model, competitive landscape, and the overall niche dating app market. This foundation will enable us to craft targeted questions that elicit insightful responses from interviewees and participants.
Curiosity (29%)
"Who could I meet outside of my current relationship?" — Users are driven by the allure of exploring new connections without long-term commitments.
Convenience (20%)
Ashley Madison provides a discreet and accessible way to find casual partners without risking exposure in their personal or professional lives.
Boredom (15%)
Some users turn to the app for entertainment, filling downtime with flirtation and new interactions.
Loneliness (12%)
Individuals feeling isolated within their relationships or social circles use the app to find connection and excitement.
Social Proof (12%)
Positive stories or recommendations from peers who successfully used the app for casual encounters inspire others to join.
Lack of Trust
Users feel unsafe due to past data breaches, impacting platform trust and engagement. Enhanced privacy and discreet browsing options are critical, particularly when using the app in public or within their current relationships.
Risk of Harm in Committed Relationships
Since the app is often used by individuals in committed relationships, the potential for harm—whether emotional, relational, or reputational—is high. Users need features that help manage discretion and reduce risks.
Difficulties in Finding Compatible Matches
Users struggle with the search functionality, making it challenging to find partners who match their preferences, whether through shared interests, physical attraction, or specific relationship expectations.
Unwanted Explicit Content
Receiving unsolicited explicit messages and images creates discomfort and undermines the app experience, highlighting a need for stronger content moderation
Desire for Enhanced Privacy
Many users prioritize privacy, looking for features that enable discreet use, such as stealth modes, customizable notifications, and data security measures.
I worked with the product owner and research team to identify testable ideas and prioritizing them based on their potential app impact and engineering effort.
Before diving into sketches and wireframes, I conducted a thorough analysis of direct competitors like Tinder, OkCupid, Match.com, Plenty of Fish (POF), Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge, and more. I personally downloaded and explored almost all dating apps on the market, identifying what was working well and where there were opportunities for improvement.
I noticed a few key trends:
Engagement Over Resolution: Many apps are designed to keep users hooked, prioritizing repeat engagement over helping them find meaningful connections.
Limited Personalization: While personalization features exist, most are hidden behind paywalls—even for basic functionalities—reducing the overall user experience.
For the purpose of this presentation, I am focusing on detailed comparisons of two of the most popular platforms: Tinder and Bumble.
Ability to choose from the whole spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientation.
Both apps are location-based and request permission to access your location as the final step before diving into the swiping experience.
Both apps prevent users from using others' photos, requiring a selfie for verification through facial recognition.
Bumble lets you filter matches by criteria like height or zodiac signs, unlike Tinder, whose large user base can be a drawback.
How might we design a dating app that prioritizes privacy and security to rebuild users' trust, ensures safe use by individuals in committed relationships to minimize potential harm, facilitates meaningful connections based on shared interests and physical attraction and prevents unsolicited explicit content for a better user experience?
Introduce a "private key" feature to control sharing of sensitive content.
Put forward profile sections with summaries of user characteristics for quicker match assessment (e.g. location, weight, etc…)
Improve user experience with loading skeleton animations to enhance interface
Bring in the option for users to opt out of using profile pictures and instead feature quotes or other text.
Add a toggle for large, medium, and small layouts for customization and discretion.
Remove the Ashley Madison logo for discretion.
Implement "stealth features" allowing users to customize app icons for discretion.
Report rule-breaking profiles easily: tap the plus icon, select 'Report User,' answer a few questions, and help keep our community safe.
With the features defined, I began the redesign of key touchpoints, including onboarding, private key management, profile, stealth features, and user reporting. I started the process with initial sketches, followed by creating detailed wireframes in Figma to refine the user flows and interface design
Onboarding: incorporated profile-related questions to streamline the user matching process. These prompts ask users for key information—such as location, weight, and other relevant characteristics—to help create a more efficient and accurate match assessment.
Discover Redesign: Choose between large and small profile views for a personalized experience and even greater discretion as the Ashley Madison logo is removed. Stealth Mode: Customize app icons for discretion and control sharing of sensitive content with private keys.
• Users could easily read profile information from left to right and identify tags without confusion.
• Navigating through profiles and performing location-based searches was intuitive and successful.
• Users appreciated the list view, comparing it to familiar tools like a Gmail address book or chat app, and found it discreet.
• Scanning weights and heights took less than 2 seconds per profile, indicating efficient design.
• Users could easily read profile information from left to right and identify tags without confusion.
• Navigating through profiles and performing location-based searches was intuitive and successful.
• Users appreciated the list view, comparing it to familiar tools like a Gmail address book or chat app, and found it discreet.
• Scanning weights and heights took less than 2 seconds per profile, indicating efficient design.
AM Brand Refresh Challenge
We launched an internal branding refresh competition centred on reimagining the visual identity, systems, products and services to inject new life into the business performance. As mentioned earlier, the design exercise below is part of my take on the problem. AM's logo has forever been accompanied by the tagline "Life is short, have an affair," somewhat a requirement to amplify the brand's awareness and help the company stay in people's minds forever.
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Let my expertise as a seasoned product designer transform your ideas into standout designs. I specialize in bringing innovation and functionality to the table, ensuring your project surpasses expectations.