Sponi

Intro

A lightweight, real-time social platform for spontaneous, low-pressure hangouts. It helps people connect casually, rebuild or expand their social circles, and discover serendipitous moments.

My Deliverables

Led end-to-end UX/UI design for a capstone social app from initial user research and persona development through problem framing, design iterations, and final prototype. Applied research-based design methods to shape an experience centered on casual, low-pressure connection.

Demo

Problem Statement

How might we design a platform that helps people discover and join spontaneous, low-pressure, and last-minute hangouts?

Design Intentions

Lower Social Barriers

  • Enable effortless broadcasting of immediate availability for social activities
  • Eliminate traditional event planning overhead
  • Allow users to signal “I'm up for something now or soon” in under 30 seconds
  • Provide instant visibility of others with similar availability

Surface the “Vibe”

  • Focus on interest and energy matching rather than just logistics
  • Enable quick assessment of whether activities match the desired social experience
  • Allow users to scan activity feeds and identify “their scene” immediately
  • Reduce need for lengthy descriptions or preliminary conversations

Visible, Actionable Safety

  • Create trust system that enables safe meetings with strangers
  • Maintain spontaneity while providing protective measures
  • Balance safety with accessibility – protective without being restrictive
  • Encourage gradual expansion of users’ comfort zones

Solution

Discover with Vibe

With a feed designed for flow and playfulness, people stumble upon activities that feel inviting and in the moment.

Browsing the activity feed
Category, date and vibe filters

Vibe-Based Filtering

Filtered results in the feed

Map Your Adventure

Turn free time into opportunities by browsing a map where nearby activities come to life instantly.

Nearby activities pinned on the map Activity preview card on the map
Full activity detail page

Rich Activity Details

Join Made Simple

Post with Ease

Creating a post on Sponi feels natural and stress-free. It’s designed to help people share what they want to do without overthinking, making it easy to invite others and get things started.

Describing an activity in chat Picking a vibe for the activity
Reviewing the generated post before publishing

Smart Autofill

Flexible Control

Built-in Trust

Tiered Verification with color-coded badges make trust levels visible across browsing and joining and provides confidence without adding heavy friction to the experience.

Grey, green and gold verification badges on three profile photos
A gold-verified creator shown on an activity detail page

Tiered Trust System

Table of the four trust tiers with verification method, privileges, restrictions and intended use
  • Balances safety with accessibility using color coded levels that appear contextually throughout the app
  • New users start at Tier 0 (email only) with limited access to large/open groups only
  • Progressive verification unlocks smaller groups and hosting privileges through phone, ID, and third-party verification
  • Visual system makes trust levels immediately apparent during browsing and allows filtering by creator/participant trust levels