A social networking app for remote workers that reimagines the future of work
Overview
Design Challenge
Having worked for over a year in a fully remote job at Shopify, I found myself seriously missing daily social interactions. On the one hand it allowed for a lot freedom, but it could at some moments feel a bit lonely. I found myself thinking - is it just me that feels this way? How are other remote workers feeling? I turned these initial questions into my problem space.
The problem
With technological advances like cloud sharing, we are seeing an increase in remote working. In the UK, 40% of the workforce have reported to have worked remotely in the past seven days and 16% do not go to the office at all. That being said, remote workers struggle with a sense of community and belonging, whereby 53% say it is harder to feel connected to their coworkers and communication is siloed. This increases feelings of isolation and limits their networking opportunities to advance their career.
The solutions
Hive is a social networking app for remote workers. With Hive, users can create or join a group of remote workers to co-work, socialise and network in their day-to-day. They can connect directly with fellow remote workers with whom they share similar interests, skills, and more. Additionally, the ability to rate and review public spaces allows users to meet up in spots that meet their remote working standards.
The solutions breakdown
ONBOARDING
Discover.
Making the onboarding process more appealing by using a clean, minimalist and professional layout
Devising friendly copy to highlight key benefits
Providing users with a sense of control about viewing more details or getting started with their journey.
FILTER AND SEARCH
Connect.
A search system allows for quick access to content
Comprehensive filtering allows users to browse, find others and partake in the most ideal activity based on their needs
PLAN
Meet up.
Hives showcase a comprehensive overview of what to expect when meeting up
A co-working Hive, for instance, showcases basic yet important information to co-workers (e.g. the type of work that will be done, the group capacity, who will be attending, and much more)
SAY HELLO
Find your people.
Designed to strike a balance between friendliness and professionalism, to showcase the human behind the work history
Personalisable profiles with helpful prompts express individuality
Easily scannable to identify common interests, facilitating interactions
PLAN
Location, location, location.
Where users work from matters. Discover and work in public spaces that meets their remote working standards and work comfortably outside of the home.
Community-based reviews help users rate the quality of a space from a remote worker perspective.
Safety first: the location of a Hive is only available once a request to join has been approved.
Design process
These features were the culmination of a careful exploration of the double diamond framework. I am excited to share my thought process in more detail throughout the rest of this document. Please note that I have selected only a snapshot of the key moments and lessons that guided me on this journey - I am happy to share more details upon request. Happy reading!
Discover
Research
Assumptions
Interviews
Affinity map
Key themes
Define
Persona
Experience map
User stories
Competitor analysis
Guiding principles
Task flow
Develop
Sketches
Wireframes
User testing
Brand development
UI library
Deliver
High fidelity
Marketing website
Multi-platform
Discover
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Loneliness in the digital age
To investigate our problem space further, I turned towards existing quantitative and qualitative research. I discovered some shocking statistics related to the future of work and mental health.
The market
The board room
3 in 4
middle market executives reported that their remote workers were feeling isolated
6 in 10
executives say it negatively impacts their employee's mental health
The office
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Speaking to the bees
To gain a deeper understanding of the problem, and verify the validity of my assumptions at this stage, I conducted seven user interviews. I chose interviews as my means of primary research because I realise that the shadings of loneliness cannot be captured in a checkbox.
I spoke with 7 full-time remote workers. I took great care to tailor open-ended questions for the interview. Take a peek at the questions and interview structure if you wish. It was also helpful to crystalise my definition of remote worker at this stage.
Remote worker: an individual who works from home 100% of the time and who does not have access to an office shared with colleagues
Full-time employees
3
Contractors
2
Freelancers
2
M.C.
I like working with people, I like doing parallel play type of work and so for me it works really well to have [my friends] around. The thing that I dislike the most about remote working is that I’m lonely a lot, I’m alone a lot because of it, and it makes me less productive.
V.P.
I’ve been looking into co-working spaces. I know a lot of people in Rotterdam, but no one in The Hague [where I live] so I don’t want to commit to one here. It depends on the city, but you have to pick one where similar people go. Thats my main motivation. I would only go if I knew a few people there already. So I haven’t heard of any ones that I would be interested in here.
E.A.
I know I cannot work from home today because I can’t get motived, so I was like, change the environment. I worked from Cafe Nero for two days. I think a lot, especially a few months ago, I was like, no, I can't work from my desk.
M.L.
It’s hard because you’re alone all of the time… This time, I do have colleagues in my city. We’re definitely trying to hang out, it's just hard because if you don't meet them in person in the first place, it’s kind of hard to break the ice and say, “You know what? Let's try to meet to socialise,” because you always assume that everybody else has other things going on.
M.C.
For administrative work I go to coffee shops, I take my laptop, and I just have coffee. I also like to not stray too far, I prefer to be able to go within walking distance or a short-ish bus ride. Especially cafès around the corner from my place. There is a brunchy spot in particular, and I like the staff there, I’ve gotten to know them quite well.
V.P.
Cafès and people not talking to each other - people come with groups already. Or they come to work, and they look like they don’t want to be bothered. Or, every time it’s different people. There is no incentive to talk, if it were a co-working space you would see the same people, but you never see the same people in a cafè.
X.W.
Work has given me access to a co-working space now, but I am the only one based in London […] My biggest faff is if I travel an hour, and just go to sit there and not talk to anyone all day. Travel for an hour somewhere, where people don't talk!
L.C.
I like that in libraries, we're all working together and it's like we're connected even though we're not talking or anything like that. But we're connected. Like if you imagine five people who don't know each other sitting around a desk really concentrating on their work, but somehow there's this kind of like little neon string and it’s connecting all of their brains.
V.P.
It makes me feel lonely. Most of the time it’s fine, once every couple weeks I try to arrange to see people. It was last week that I had someone over, last week or Friday. I sometimes invite people to work. Once every two weeks at least, we are very unproductive but its fun.
KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Not even remotely close
1.
Physical loneliness & seeking company
6/7 users interviewed mentioned feeling significantly lonely. Some find it more productive to work alongside others, others find it less productive - but regardless of productivity level, everyone seeks out company and connection by working alongside friends or strangers at least once every two weeks, if not more.
2.
International colleagues & local community
Users often do live in same city as their peers. In turn, they value their neighbourhood and local area a lot. They feel connected to people by working from local spots like cafès or libraries and attending networking events, with a frequency ranging from a few times a week to at least once a month.
3.
Difficulty breaking the ice & common interests
Users may find themselves in environments or situations where they are able to connect with others, but struggle to break the ice, which hinders their ability to foster deeper connections within their communities in their day-to-day. Finding ways to showcase common interests may be a helpful way to facilitate interactions.
alleviate the physical loneliness experienced by remote workers and foster a sense of connection and belonging in their day-to-day?
Define
USER PERSONA
Meet Alex
At this stage, I created a user persona that showcases the pain points, goals and behaviours of my target user groups.
“I'm on the lookout for ways to work or connect with like-minded individuals, as it can get quite lonely at home sometimes.”
Alex is a 28-year-old software developer who has embraced the remote work lifestyle for the past three years. They value both their international co-workers and their local community, but sometimes feel disconnected from both due to the unique challenges of remote work. They have a strong desire to balance their professional life with more meaningful social interactions in their day-to-day, as remote working can feel lonely quite often. Living in a vibrant urban neighborhood, Alex frequents local cafes and libraries as their workspace once a week as a way to counter their feelings of isolation. They have also tried out a few co-working spaces but find the price is not sustainable and have a hard time meeting and connecting with people who have similar interests to them. They are looking for company during their working hours, to be shared with people who have common interests to them.
FRUSTRATIONS
Feels isolated working from home
Finds her workday monotonous and repetitive
MOTIVATIONS
Meet new people in her local community
Socialise or work alongside people in her day-to-day to stimulate herself personally and professionally
BEHAVIOURS
Tries out different co-working spaces, libraries and cafès in search of the right fit, hoping to discover places to work comfortably while connecting with others
Occasionally works alongside friends, but finds it hard to coordinate a time and place that’s convenient for all parties
Alex's day
Alex's options
Co-working spaces
As confirmed with user interviews, in person co-working spaces provide missed opportunities for connection as they do not facilitate or provide opportunity for meaningful interaction
Virtual meet-up apps
Virtual meet-up apps for remote workers don’t tackle physical loneliness
Physical meet-up apps
The remote-working community gets heavily diluted in the app and event apps don’t provide the tailored information required by a remote worker to work comfortably alongside other people
Develop
Laying the foundations
Safety
Developing the unique concept of a meet-up app designed within a work capacity, relatively personal information will be conveyed through the app. This may include not only the sharing of a user’s live location with potential strangers but also content that can imply personal wealth and financial status. For this reason, safety should be heavily prioritised
Approachability
It is important to strike a balance between professionalism and friendliness. I aim to prevent users from feeling intimidated or feeling any notion of imposter syndrome by developing a welcoming design that can help them to feel comfortable reaching out to each other
Simplicity
It is important to reduce cognitive load as much as possible. This is because despite wanting to find opportunities to meet with others, people experiencing loneliness might fall into the trap of making excuses to stay at home and in their “comfort zone” if there are too many steps or if the process to meet up is too complicated
Crafting Alex's journey
The prototype underwent two rounds of usability tests. During this time, the task flow was iterated heavily and advanced based on user feedback. Let's break down the process and changes that followed, starting with the first version of the task flows.
Virtually exploring
Continuing with the sketching process and exploring layout options for events/activities, it became clear just how integral the clear representation of people is to the transmission of a sense of community. For this reason, I placed people at the forefront of my design and opted for profile icons instead of image banners for activities.
X
Finalising Alex's path
Deliver
Breathing life into the digital solution
Warmth
Connection
Focus
Friendly
Growth
Exploring various concepts that could reflect these key words, when coming up with the name, I searched for a word or expression that portrayed the notion of productivity, collaboration and the sharing of space. I settled on the name "Hive" - a place that brings together "worker bees." Although they may work in different fields (no pun intended), worker bees are brought back together to one place at the hive, where they share and contribute to the general growth of the group.
Logo
Easily recognisable
Geometric shape feels focused
Bold and confident
Left alignment feels dynamic and implies movement
Tilted shape feels playful and friendly
Logo with wordmark
Emphasis on the word "hi"
Simple and minimalist
Friendly, bold font
Shape edges are soft and inviting
The look and feel
A bold yet inviting shade of orange was selected as the brand colour - vibrant, energetic, and youthful, it ties in neatly with the "hive" concept of the application when looking at real-world examples of hives. The app has been built as monochromatic. In the final stages of high-fidelity development, tertiary colours were added to help distinguish the most important tags, namely the event types (co-working, networking or social). This adds a touch of excitement to them and makes them feel more special. Neutrals were also selected to create consistency throughout the application.
Consistency is key
A UI library was carefully created to complete the design system and create a consistent look and feel throughout the app.
Product marketing website
The branding was injected into the prototype.
View finalised prototype
