Bumble BFF

A concept project envisioning the rebranding of Bumble BFF to provide a fun, intentional, and safe way to find friends.

Team:

4 designers

Role:

Project Manager, Researcher

Responsibilities:

  • Project Plan

  • User Interviews

  • User Flow

  • Ideation of Design

  • Prototype testing

Tools:

Figma

Time Frame:

2-week sprint

Methods:

  • User Interviews

  • Design review

  • Persona building

  • Journey mapping

  • Prototype

  • Qualitative usability testing

Goal:

To evaluate the effectiveness of the current friend search feature in the Bumble app known as Bumble BFF.

The insights from the user research process led the team to consider a rebranding for Bumble BFF to mark a clear distinction between seeking romantic relationships versus friendship.

Research

During the discovery period, the team reviewed Bumble’s guidelines and intention for the the Bumble BFF feature. We also conducted user interviews where we asked how users sought out qualities in friends and norms pursuing friendships

“It is hard to determine people's personalities on dating apps.” — quote from User Interview

Some of the questions crafted:

  • What is a friend?

  • Are there different social norms when it comes to pursuing and managing friendships as opposed to romantic relationships?

  • How do you discern when to trust someone on the internet? What causes you to distrust somebody?

Affinity Mapping

Create Persona

Journey Map

Affinity Mapping provided insights:

  • users want to be able to build friendships with mutual thought and consideration.

  • users want the ability to determine personalities online.

  • users seek safety when creating new friends online.

User Persona (a fictional user based on data from interviews) informed team on our target user:

  • behavior patterns

  • motivations

  • goals

  • pain points

Completed a journey map to gain understanding of user behavior and needs:

  • expectations

  • actions

  • feelings and thoughts

Research Synthesis

Problem: Users need a safe and intentional way to share deep connections with new friends.

Concept Development

Competitive Analysis

The team concluded that the feature of Group Creation would be useful based on user needs.

Mood Board

Neubrutalism as anesthetic for the rebranding, since it has fun, engaging, and playful elements.

Sketches to Lo-Fidelity

Completed design studio produced sketches which influenced our lo-fi prototype.

To create an app that addressed the main concerns of friend seekers:

  • Safety, in regards to online personas being verified, to avoid catfishing.

  • Intentionality allows users to explore and showcase their personalities through a fun layout and personality tests.

  • Easy connection by facilitating group meets for people to meet each other in a simple manner.

Usability Testing on Mid-fidelity prototype

Results:

The team synthesized the data obtained from the usability testing to address the main grows and glows for the hi-fidelity prototype.

What worked?

User feedback highlighted they appreciated the meetup suggestions and verification process for safety reasons. Users also found the rebranded version of the app to be cute, playful and quirky (overall friendly).

What needs to improve?

Users stated they associated swiping with dating apps and 'hookup' culture. They also stated that there was 'a lot of scrolling.'

Mid-Fidelity Prototype

High Fidelity

High-Fidelity Prototype

The final iteration completed within the sprint was an updated version of the Mid-fidelity prototype.

Some of the significant changes completed:

  • Simplified the elements of the Neubrutilist style; kept the fun features.

  • Eliminated the swipe feature becuase of it's association with dating apps.

  • Condensed the profile page to keep the user engaged

Next Steps

  • Conduct Usability testing on Hi-Fi prototype

  • Test accessibility of style

  • Meet with developers to discuss the feasibility of app features

  • Create additional personas to consider diverse users.

Reflection

As the project manager, I learned I am flexible in supporting my team. I also learned to listen to users and allow their insights to come about from the interview. Finally, I realized there are additional factors to consider regarding the rebranding of Bumble BFF. Overall, our team was excited and ambitious for this project.