Social appMobileLocationDiscoveryEvents

GoSayHello

A location-based social app: find people, businesses and events a few minutes' walk away, wave to break the ice, then chat and meet.

Behance Figma

GSH

Role: Generalist UX/UI Designer - research, ideation, wireframing, UI design and testing
Timeline: Design and handoff
Team: Solo designer, direct with a US client
Platform: iOS and Android
Tools: Figma

My contributionDefined the app end to end: the discovery model, the information architecture, the wireframes and the interface.

Project Overview

GoSayHELLO is a location-based social networking app that empowers users to discover and connect with nearby people, businesses, and events who share similar interests - within just a few minutes' walk. The platform fosters real-world connections through one-on-one chats, group conversations, and local events, making it easier to build communities and meaningful relationships.

ObjectiveMobile AppMobile interface to connect, chat, meet and organize events with the people of same interests who live nearby

What the product had to fix

My reading of the problem, taken from the brief, the architecture and the shipped screens rather than from user research.

01The first message is too expensiveOn most social apps the only way to start is to write something to a stranger. That is a high-effort, high-rejection opening, and it is why most nearby-people products stall before the first conversation.So the product needed an opener that costs almost nothing to send and nothing to ignore.

02Proximity is useful, a location is notKnowing someone is close by is the whole value. Publishing where they are is a safety problem, especially for the women and solo travellers this app expects to serve.Distance had to be expressed as time on foot, never as a point on a map.

03The reason to talk was buriedShared interests are what make a stranger approachable, yet they usually sit two taps deep inside a profile, after the photo has already done all the deciding.Interests had to sit on the face of the card, next to the name.

04People and events were separate productsMeeting someone one to one is a big ask. A local event is a much softer way in, but apps tend to split people and events into unrelated tabs.Both needed to live in one discovery surface, reachable from the same nav.

Constraints I designed against

01One hand, in motionThis app gets used standing in a queue or walking. Every primary action had to sit in the thumb zone with a persistent bottom bar.

02Three audiences, one shellYoung adults, businesses and travellers were all in scope. They want different things, so the same surfaces had to read as social, promotional or exploratory depending on who is looking.

03Cold start is the normal stateA social app is empty until it is not. An early neighbourhood with four people nearby must not look broken, which pushes events and groups forward as the thing to do when nobody is around.

04Safety is a design surfaceWaving, dismissing, blocking and reporting are part of the core loop, not a settings page. Dismiss had to be exactly as easy as wave.

The decisions

01One gesture: the WaveA single, low-cost signal replaces the opening message. It carries no text, so it cannot be judged, and it can be ignored without anyone losing face.Chat unlocks only when a wave is returned, so every conversation starts consented.

02Full-bleed person cardsDiscovery is a stack of people at full width: photo, name, matched interests, and how many minutes away they are. Everything needed to decide is on one card.Dismiss and Wave sit side by side, with equal weight.

03Distance in minutes on foot“5 mins walk” instead of a distance or a pin. It answers the real question, could I meet this person now, without exposing anybody.

04Events as equal citizensEvents sit beside people in the same nav, with a central create button. A picnic in the park is a lower-stakes first meeting than a coffee with one stranger.

Role and audience

My role: Generalist UX/UI Designer

Research

Ideation

Wireframing

UI Designs

Testing

Target Audience

Young Adults (18-35)

Businesses

Travelers

Information Architecture

One sign-in, five destinations, and every deeper screen hanging off the one it belongs to.

HomeDiscovery

Nearby People
- Top Profiles with Similar Interests
- Dismiss
- Wave
- Added to Waved
Nearby Groups
- Groups

New EventCreate

Events Calendar
- Event Settings
- Invite People
- Create Event
RSVP

ChatsTalk

People who Waved Back
Chats
- Chat Details

SearchFind

People, groups and events

ProfileYou

Notifications
Crypto Wallet
Account
- Interests

UI Design

After understanding the user's problems and behavior, it's time to design the interface.

Primary

Orange

Peach

Neutrals

White

Mist

Ink

Slate

One family across the whole app, from the 25 Nearby counter to the chat bubbles.General SansLight, Regular, Medium, Semi Bold, Bold

Wireframes

Structure settled in grey before any colour: what sits on the card, what the nav carries, where the Wave lives.

Person profileTabs for People, Groups, Events and RSVP over a full-bleed photo, with the person's information and the Wave button pinned below it.

Event detailsEvent image, duration, name and location, then type, date and time, tags and description, ending in a single Start Chat button.

ChatA conventional thread with the person's name and address in the header, and a composer that stays in the thumb zone.

The screens

DiscoverNearby people as full-bleed cards: matched interests, minutes away, and one Wave to break the ice.

ChatOnce a wave comes back, the conversation opens here.

Event detailsA local event with dates, who is going and the tags that explain it, opening into a group chat.

AccountConnections, waves, notifications and wallet, kept simple so the app stays about people.

Back to