Wavelength App (Messaging & Hangout Planner)

A student and remote worker-centered support platform designed to make socialization resources accessible, personalized, and engaging

Completed June 2025

Views of the Wavelength hangout app, complete with the home screen, mood/social battery questionnaire and friends list

Role

Group member, Sprint facilitator, and prototype design creator.

Project Overview

This project proposed a socialization support platform designed for university students and remote workers navigating the challenges of isolation and social withdrawal. Through an interactive mobile app, users can plug in their own social battery and mood and select from a list of friends with similar moods and socialization meters to organize a friendly meetup. The goal was to reduce loneliness and distances within friendships by encouraging users to connect in ways that feel emotionally aligned and low-pressure. By giving users autonomy over how they socialize, whether they’re feeling introverted, energized, or somewhere in between, the app fosters healthier communication, emotional self-awareness, and more meaningful interactions.

The Problem

Portion of the team Sprint shows questions needed to be answered in the final prototype

Despite living in today’s hyper-connected world, many college students and remote workers struggle with loneliness, social fatigue, and emotional disconnection. Despite having access to social media and messaging platforms, meaningful in-person or real-time interactions are often difficult to initiate, especially when people feel emotionally drained or unsure if their friends are in the right mindset to hang out.

Traditional social apps focus on availability, but they fail to account for social energy before initiating conversations, a key factor that influences whether someone wants to connect at any given time. As a result, invitations are declined, texts go unanswered, and friendships unintentionally drift apart due to mismatched moods, guilt, or hesitation.

Brands require an identity to clarify their personality, messaging, and unique features. Consistency is also necessary to help ensure that visual and written materials maintain a cohesive, consistent look across platforms.

The Solution

Note-N-Map Phase 2 from the team Sprint outlines a potential solution to the previously identified problem of loneliness and the need for socialization.

Wavelength blueprint documents the suer’s journey from viewing a bulletin with a QR code to download the app through his/her journey to complete use.

This solution was developed during a structured design sprint conducted by Team Salsa, which focused on building a socially conscious platform for students and remote workers. The sprint board, hosted in Figma, guided the team through each stage of the UX process across multiple weeks, from problem identification to prototyping and testing.

Link to the sprint file: https://www.figma.com/board/paVojj5wKxw0T8sXlEk5sZ/Team-Salsa-Sprint-Copy?node-id=3084-2841&t=7NrY5W5MIy5vfTjZ-0

Questionnaire frames ask the user to share personal information to create an account (left and center); Slider tools indicate the user’s emotion and social battery (right)

The proposed solution introduces a mobile interface where users begin with a brief questionnaire to establish their profile before they can log their social battery level and emotional state using an emoji-based slider tool.

View from the Wavelength app shows the friend feed available to users after logging their own mood and social battery for the day.

The app then cross-references the user’s input with input from friends who have similar emotional bandwidths, generating a feed of potential connections by ranking those most to least likely to seek socialization at a specific time.

Key features include:

• A mood and social battery check-in screen upon app entry with sliders for personalization
• A live-matching feed showing friends most-to-least similar social bandwidth

Wavelength contains integrated calendars from both users to help determine which times work best for each (left); Wavelength then suggests activities (center); The in-person meeting is the added to the calendar (right)

• An integrated schedule with options to meet friends at times that work for both users.
• Separate view with suggested activities and a space for the user to type his/her own activity

Throughout the sprint, peer critique sessions ensured that each interaction was optimized. The final prototype reflects a user-first design approach that acknowledges social readiness as a core part of well-being.

Figma Prototype: https://www.figma.com/design/CY3WREtYCzBGvaQkCI0xsL/Team-Salsa-Prototype?node-id=0-1&t=qeVwjn8ZM3KJCpGB-1

This app introduces an emotionally-conscious platform that makes socializing feel low-pressure and mutual. Instead of relying on guesswork in their outreach, users can log their current mood and social battery level, then view a list of friends who are in a similar emotional space.

After each socialization, Wavelength asks the app user to provide feedback on the experience.

Aesthetic/Design Highlights

The visual presentation of the app was designed to evoke emotional safety, warmth, and ease of use, which are critical for users who may already feel socially anxious. Key design decisions focused on creating an inviting atmosphere while maintaining accessibility.

• Calming color palette featuring warm neutrals, cool blues, and gentle gradients to reduce cognitive load and evoke trust.
• Emoji-based mood and battery indicators for fast visual recognition and engagement.
• Minimalist layout with ample white space to avoid overwhelming the user.
• Accessibility-conscious font choices and contrast levels to ensure readability for all users.

Results

This project seeks to improve social connection by empowering students and remote workers to socialize in a way that honors their mood and mental bandwidth. The mood-based matching and social battery feature:

• Encourages meaningful connection without pressure.
• Normalizes emotional check-ins and allows users to say “not right now.”
• Reduces social anxiety by helping users find friends in a similar headspace.
• Creates a centralized system for managing friendships and meetups based on emotional readiness.

From a UX design standpoint, this project deepened my understanding of how colors can influence the feel of design and can make digital spaces feel more welcoming. It reinforced the power of human-centered design in addressing functional and emotional needs, especially in populations navigating withdrawal and loneliness.