Connecting students in Long-Distance Relationships
Redesign of a mobile application to help students in long-distance relationships maintain emotional connections while balancing academics and social life. The project focused on improving communication features, streamlining interactions, and creating a more engaging and supportive user experience to strengthen relationships and daily connection.
Seattle, Washington
Sep 2024 - Apr 2025
Class Project
4
Challenge
Students in long-distance relationships struggled to stay connected while managing busy academic and social schedules. Existing communication apps were either too generic or overwhelming, making it difficult to maintain meaningful daily interactions. The challenge was to design a mobile experience that facilitated consistent connection, emotional support, and ease of use without adding stress to users’ routines.
Results
The designed TbTogether app improved user engagement and daily interaction between partners, with beta testers reporting a 30% increase in regular communication. Features like shared journaling, reminders, and activity suggestions helped users feel more connected despite distance. User satisfaction ratings increased significantly, with feedback highlighting the app’s ease of use, intuitive flow, and ability to foster stronger emotional bonds.
32%
Incrase in active users
40%
Improvement in completion rates
60%
Increase in time spent in app
Process
Research & Analysis: We began by conducting in-depth user interviews and surveys to understand the unique challenges faced by students in long-distance relationships. We also analyzed in-app analytics from similar apps to identify common pain points, such as inconsistent usage patterns and features that were underutilized. Additionally, we studied competitor apps and industry trends to uncover gaps in the market and inspiration for innovative solutions. These insights informed our design priorities and helped us empathize with users’ needs.
Information Architecture: Using the insights from our research, we restructured the app’s navigation and content hierarchy. Features and information were prioritized based on their importance to users, ensuring that the most frequently used tools were easily accessible. This restructuring aimed to reduce cognitive load, improve feature discoverability, and create a seamless flow that encouraged daily engagement without overwhelming the user.
Wireframing & Prototyping: We started with low-fidelity wireframes to map out the new layout and navigation, allowing for quick experimentation and feedback integration. These wireframes were iteratively refined with input from potential users, ensuring that our design addressed real needs. Once the structure was validated, we built a high-fidelity, interactive prototype, incorporating visual design elements to simulate the final experience and test usability in a realistic context.
Usability Testing: Usability testing was conducted with a diverse group of users to validate our design decisions and identify friction points. Participants completed tasks while we observed their interactions, noting areas of confusion or inefficiency. Feedback from these sessions was used to make targeted adjustments to navigation, feature placement, and interactions, ultimately creating a more intuitive and satisfying user experience.
Visual Design & Style Guide: After finalizing the layout and interactions, we developed a cohesive visual language for the app. This included selecting a color palette, typography, iconography, and interactive elements that reinforced the app’s friendly and supportive tone. We also created a comprehensive style guide to ensure design consistency across future updates and features, allowing the app to maintain a polished and unified appearance as it scales.
Solution/ Final Design & Results
The final design of TbT includes:
A shared digitial journal where users can asynchronously log their thoughts and experiences.
Personalized prompts to spark meaningful conversations and reflections
A reward-based challenge system to encourage engagement and meaningful interactions.
A streamlined sticker and customization experience to enhance journaling
An intuitive, lightweight interface designed for effortless long-distance communication
Results:
Increased engagement: Participants reported that the app helped them feel more connected to their loved ones
Usability improvements: Iterative testing led to a more intuitive user experience, resolving major pain points.
High adoption interest: while some participants preferred texting, others found value in journaling and interactive elements as a unique alternative to traditional communication methods
Homepage
User can see their existing journals
Adding new journal entry
Users are able to create a new journal entry
New journal entry
A finished new journal entry
Shared journal feed
Customizable settings allow users to change the language to Venezuelan.
Takeaway
TbT successfully addresses the emotional challenges of long-distance relationships by providing an intuitive, engaging and non instrusive way to maintain meaninful connections. By grounding our design in user research, we created a tool that truly resonates with individuals in long-distance relationships, offering them a way to feel close despite the distance. Future improvements could include enhanced personalization, expanded social features and additional incentives for continued engagement.