Reinventing the modern dating scene and giving women the first word

The challenge

Many of the challenges we faced with our previous dating app, Badoo, stemmed from managing an experience dominated by male users. While initial interactions were often positive, female users — who were significantly outnumbered — inevitably found themselves wanting a platform that offered greater control over their conversations.

Creating a new product gave us the opportunity to redesign the experience from the ground up, fundamentally flipping the dynamic from the very first interaction.

I worked closely with the team to lead the design and support the development of an Android version of the app. This involved incorporating both interactive and elements from, what was the early first version of, Google’s Material Design. The process required balancing innovation with familiarity, ensuring the app felt both modern and intuitive for users.

From a new angle

Our solution to improving the experience for female users was to give them control over starting conversations. After matching, male users were required to wait for their match to initiate the conversation, which had to happen within a specified time frame. This approach added more significance to the act of swiping and aimed to create higher-quality connections.

To further establish a place of safety and familiarity, we allowed users to share their contacts. This surfaced mutual friends on a potential match’s profile, helping users feel connected and more at ease. Additionally, it provided a convenient way to share content with friends, should they choose to.

From an interaction standpoint, we aimed to create a single finger (or thumb) gesture-driven experience for the main matchmaking flow — an approach that prioritised speed and aided repetition, for better or worse. Users could navigate “deeper” into a profile by swiping vertically along the y-axis, and make a decision using the already well-established swipe left/swipe right on the x-axis.

The visual design required a significant amount of illustrative work to accompany the app’s informal, chatty tone of voice. Depending on the usage I created a mix of flat, cartoon and skeuomorphic imagery, for both in-app use and other comms.

By redefining the concept and approaching the design from an alternative perspective, we created a more inclusive and engaging platform, setting a new standard for what users could expect from a dating experience.