GILD
Gild is a web-platform that connects college seniors/recent graduates by grouping them based on location, company, roles, aligned interests and other criteria to better support their social lives after graduation.
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer
TEAM
BRYAN ZIN
ROBERT SHI
KASSANDRA CHIN
Problem
A platform that may promote connections between individuals with comparable interests and backgrounds in a seamless and natural environment is currently lacking. The most notable example of this is when college graduates relocate to new places in search of full-time employment. Many people in this scenario, who are relocating to strange cities, are looking for somebody to meet up with outside of their workplace for social interaction. Even in today's contemporary virtual environment, apps like Bumble BFF or MeetUp are ineffectual at building a natural, non-artificial connection.
For students who have started or are preparing to start their full-time careers in new and unfamiliar cities following graduation, Gild is a platform that houses social communities. The city that these graduates will reside in will be the main criterion for selection in these communities, or "Gilds." Gild divides groups using data filters, with the successive selectors dividing graduates based on their employer, role, and finally shared interests after the initial selector.
Solution
User Surveys/Interviews
We had interviewed 5 recently graduated college students. We pitched our idea and got their initial reactions, opinions, and suggestions about the app.
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Here are the questions we asked:
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After starting your job/internship/opportunity you still meeting new people this is a significant issue?
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What initially drew your interest in this idea?
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What factors do you feel contributed to the decline in usage?
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What would be your platform of choice for meeting new people?
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If you were to make a group chat with a group of new IRL friends, how would you communicate with them?
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Would you be available for a really quick chat about your experience?
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Findings:
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After starting your job/internship/opportunity you still think meeting new people is a significant issue?
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yes​
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hard time meeting new people outside of work​
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don't know where to look
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I only work and don't have time to find people on my own
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What initially drew your interest in this idea?
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Desire to meet new people
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General loneliness
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Pandemic-induced loneliness
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Fear, uncertainty of moving to a new place or starting a new opportunity
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What factors do you feel contributed to the decline in usage?
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Too impersonal
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Others didn’t seem engaged/enthusiastic
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Was busy with finals and forgot about it
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Was busy with moving and forgot about it
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Was busy with work and forgot about it
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Didn’t need it anymore
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What would be your platform of choice for meeting new people?
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Facebook
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Instagram
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Snapchat
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Linkedin
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Tinder
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If you were to make a group chat with a group of new IRL friends, how would you communicate with them?
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Text
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Snapchat
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Facebook messenger
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Whatsapp
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Line
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Instagram
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Linkedin
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Slack
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Prototype
Low Fidelity
High Fidelity
