A scenic view of the ocean with rocky cliffs and a cloudy sky.
Screenshots of a dating app interface featuring profile pictures, chat conversations, and match options, with a yellow and black theme.

Project
Linc

Role
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Branding, Mobile app

Challenge
Fragmented user identities and inconsistent design standards across diverse platforms (Xfinity, Xumo, etc.).

Solution
A three-phase UX strategy built on cross-functional alignment, market research, and a comprehensive roadmap for Base Set Consolidation and long-term avatar evolution.

Impact

Defined a unified, future-proof strategy for user avatars across all connected platforms to enhance digital identity, drive user engagement, and ensure Accessibility compliance.

Company
Linc

Expertise
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Branding, Mobile app

Year
2023

Linc is an AI-driven social media dating app that empowers you to communicate with confidence and charisma.

Overview & Challenge

For my senior thesis project, I chose to address a fundamental challenge in the digital age: bridging the gap between digital connection and meaningful in-person human interaction. Linc was a social dating application designed to tackle this issue. In an era of digital oversaturation, the challenge was to create a platform that not only connected users online but also motivated them to build confidence and have genuine conversations in the real world.

My Role & Responsibilities

As the sole designer and student on this thesis project, I was responsible for the end-to-end user experience, from initial research and strategy to the final visual design. My key responsibilities included conducting competitive analysis, developing user personas, defining core features, and designing a cohesive brand identity and user interface.

How can we utilize technology as a tool to build self confidence and encourage non-digital relationships?

Our Approach: A Strategic UX Framework

To solve this human-centered problem, I adopted a comprehensive UX framework that focused on understanding the user, the market, and the brand. My approach involved three key phases:

  • Market Research & Competitive Analysis: I began by researching the current online dating landscape to identify key trends, best practices, and gaps in the market.

  • Persona & User Journey Development: I defined key user personas and mapped out their journeys to understand their pain points and motivations for seeking real-world connections.

  • Strategic Design & Visual Identity: Using the insights from my research, I moved into the design phase, focusing on a strategic user flow and a cohesive brand identity that would resonate with my target audience.

Profile overview of Zara, a makeup artist, including summary, about, pain points, motivations, and dating preferences.
A digital profile card for Zeke, a 20-year-old male university student from Philadelphia, with a black background, blue and white text, and a stylized icon of a snake, showing summary, pain points, motivations, and wants.

Phase 1: Research & Discovery

I began with a literature review and a deep dive into the online dating market, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of popular competitors like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble. This analysis revealed a key opportunity: while many apps focused on the swipe-and-match model, there was a clear user desire for features that led to more authentic, in-person experiences. My research validated the need for a solution that moved beyond the screen.

Phase 2: Ideation & Design

Based on my research, I developed a strategic user flow and journey map that guided users from a simple profile setup to a successful real-world interaction. Using Crazy 8s and iterative wireframing, I explored numerous design solutions for key features. This rapid ideation process helped me refine the app’s navigation and functionality, ensuring a seamless user experience that was both intuitive and engaging.

Phase 3: Visual Identity & Final Designs

The brand identity was designed to be social, playful, and innovative. I developed a visual system that included a vibrant color palette, a friendly typeface, and a suite of icons to reflect this core brand trait. The final designs provided a clean and intuitive user interface with clear navigation, an inviting homepage, and a strong visual aesthetic that differentiated Linc from its competitors.

A digital organizational flowchart with icons representing a mobile app at the top, branching into sections labeled Activity, New Post, DM/Matches, and Profile, each with subsections for different features and functions, all in shades of yellow, oran
A flowchart with steps for creating, engaging, and returning users on a website, including onboarding, reaching out, and post-date activities, with yellow arrow-shaped labels.
A line graph showing happiness levels with points labeled on a timeline.

Key Outcomes & Impact

This project successfully resulted in a cohesive and user-centered application that provided a clear path for users to find authentic, real-world connections. By leveraging a strategic UX process, the final designs addressed the key user pain points identified in my research, culminating in a successful and comprehensive thesis project that demonstrated my end-to-end design capabilities.

A vertical list of four words and phrases with colored backgrounds: 'sociable' in white text on an orange background, 'playful' in black text on a cream background, 'logical' in white text on an orange background, and 'innovative' in black text on a cream background, set against a yellow background.
A collage of various colorful graphic design projects, including infographics, branding materials, digital graphics, and templates.
A sea scene with kayaker, mountains, trees, and sailboats at sunset.
Design guide for a logo with the word 'linc,' showing font samples, icons, color palette, and typographic hierarchy for branding.

Homepage

Consider our homepage a hybrid of Twitter, Instagram, and Headspace. Users can view their following’s posts, suggested trainings, and upcoming events.

A smartphone screen displays a social media app with a yellow and black color theme. The top features a row of profile pictures labeled Zara, Dane, Charlie, and Tom. A notification shows Zara is 2 meters away. Below, a post from James H includes a comment and a landscape photo of an industrial building by a river under a cloudy sky. The bottom menu bar contains icons for home, favorites, add new, messaging, and profile.

Direct Messaging

When starting a chat with someone new, a callout prompts the user to kickstart the convo by trying our special features

Smartphone screen displaying a dating app with profile icons, recent matches, and message conversations.

ChatGPT

Our built in AI helps encourages users to communicate confidently with their matches

A smartphone screen displays a chat interface with a user named James H. engaged in a conversation with ChatGPT. The chat window shows a message with the word 'Icebreakers' and an input field at the bottom labeled 'Ask me anything!' with an orange send button.

Profile

Your profile has two primary interfaces: posts & trainings. Users are provided with suggested trainings based on AI conversation analysis from previous dates.

A mobile app profile page showing a user named Jessie Dame from Philadelphia, PA, with a profile picture, and sections labeled Profile, Trainings, and In Progress with a Tone Training activity. The page has a yellow and black color scheme.

Profiles

When viewing profiles, we can see posts to get a feel for who they truly are. Trainings remain invisible for privacy concerns.

Mobile phone screen showing a social media app with a yellow theme, profile pictures of friends at the top, and a post from James H with a photo of a factory near a river.
Three smartphone screens displaying social media app interfaces against an orange background. The first screen shows a group chat list with user profile pictures and messages, the second shows a tone training app with a percentage complete, and the third shows an event promotion for an open bar event with a 'Learn More' button.

Creative Direction: Soonduk Krebs & Abby Guido
Design: Lexi Birzes
Duration: 15 weeks
Institution: Tyler School of Art & Architecture

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