Frandle App: A Journey to Rekindling Connections
In a fast-paced world where work, family, and endless to-do lists consume our days, a simple truth often gets overlooked: friendships need care too. This is the story of how Frandle came to life, an app built to bridge the gaps and rekindle the bonds of friendship.
Friendships matter, but busy lives make them hard to maintain. Frandle helps users stay connected by tracking and strengthening relationships. This case study explores its design journey, from concept to execution.
IMPACT
Enhanced the user experience by providing clear and intuitive tools for tracking interactions and milestones. Early testers found the feature helpful in visualizing their progress and maintaining stronger connections.
OUTCOME
Delivered a thoughtful, user-centric design that fosters stronger relationships. Early testers reported feeling empowered to stay connected with friends and appreciated the ease of planning meetups.
Maintaining adult friendships is a complex issue that goes beyond just staying in touch. This section explores the major barriers users face and why existing solutions fall short. Maintaining friendships in adulthood is often sidelined due to:
Research Insights: Through 8 user interviews and surveys with over 100 respondents, I discovered that while users rely on social media to stay connected, they lacked tools to actively foster their friendships.
Users needed reminders, milestone tracking, and motivation to stay connected. These insights shaped Frandle’s focus on structured support for friendships.
With a clear understanding of user pain points, the goal was to design a tool that empowers users to manage their friendships in an engaging and meaningful way. To create a tool that:
I interviewed users to understand the challenges of maintaining friendships. Their insights shaped personas, storyboards, and user flows, forming Frandle’s foundation.
Persona, storyboarding, and user flow
I started with quick sketches to explore layouts for friend lists, messaging, availability, and progress tracking. Inspired by RPG games, I added a leveling-up system to gamify engagement and keep users motivated.
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Frandle’s branding embodies warmth and connection. Yellow evokes optimism, while blue conveys trust, creating a friendly and inviting experience.
User testing confirmed Frandle’s ease of use and effectiveness. Testers found the interface intuitive and saw the app as a valuable tool for staying connected and tracking friendships.
This project reinforced the importance of user feedback in shaping design. Letting go of assumptions and focusing on real user needs resulted in a product that feels both functional and meaningful.