Linr
A new app created for couples in a long-distance relationship.
Problem
What happens when 2 people, used to spending a lot of time together, want to stay connected while living far from each other?
Phone and Facetime calls are not enough.
If they can't have new experiences, they can't talk about them. Linr will help them plan these experiences and create new memories.
Research → Synthesize → Hypothesis → Design and Test
Research
Desk Research | Competitors | Interviews
Starting with the desk research, I looked for every direct and indirect competitor I could find and tried to map out the features they have to offer, as well at their pain points. Most of the apps designed especially for couples had a good amount of bad reviews, some of them having been abandoned for a few years now.
...
Based on my findings, I interviewed 6 potential users, with the goal of understanding what are the main challenges that couples in long-distance relationships go through and what are the opportunities of working around those challenges. These 6 people matched the audience I wanted to target, which was people of age 24-35, who have been together for a considerable amount of time before continuing to date long-distance. They were from varied nationalities (Brazil, USA and India), with varied distance and duration of relationships.
Bellow are some quotes from the interviewees:
“I miss having them to go out, but not going out.”
“You discover a lot about your relationship, but especially about yourself.”
“It’s not really satisfying cooking for one, I miss this part the most.”
“It comforts me to know they are there physically.”
“My favorite moments are when we are making plans together.”
“When I accomplish something, it’s hard not having them to celebrate with.”
Synthesize
When comparing answers and comments, I grouped my findings to analyze the problems that I wished to target. My focus was the separation between moments of "routine" and "non-routine".
Routine
On weekdays these couples had the habit of talking frequently, particularly marking the end of the day with an evening phone call. According to them, this was similar to when they were living together/close. The only difficulty was the time difference.
Non-routine
What changed the most was that on the weekends, when they were used to making plans together, now they couldn't. Scheduling longer calls was a plus, but eventually they would run out of things to talk about. One thing I noticed was that these chats weren't seen as a real event happening, so they would leave it to the moments when they were free.
Hypothesis
People manage to enjoy the relationship, even LDR, when they have been together for a while, when they have a connection that comes with a past. They have stories to talk about, experiences to recall, so the LDR works. The hard part begins when they are not creating new memories anymore.
How might we help couples in a long-distance relationship create new memories?
Design
Linr is an app that will enable new experiences, help couples plan dates and events and share their best memories.
The Linr app consists of 4 main functionalities:
Calendar
Why is it so pleasing to see a wall calendar filled out and organized? It shows us when good things are approaching (and not to get nervous when something we dread is still days away). The Linr calendar is supposed to be a special place for planning nice things with your loved one, and a good way to get excited when a date is near. It's the first screen that appears when the app is launched, and it also works like an overview.
Creating Dates
Invite your loved one out on a special date, even if it has to be through Facetime. Write down your invitation, set the time seeing both timezones. See how the final invite looks, and maybe refresh the image to get another great photo provided by Unsplash.
Colaborative Lists
Keep all of your future ideas, plans, things to remember, in a place both of you can edit and customize together. If you can't do the things you want to, at least save them for later, so nothing will be forgotten. Maybe even use some list item when you need inspiration to talk?
Keeping your favorite memories
Add everything you want to save after any date, talk, event, and keep them archived in a place where you can see anytime. No more scrolling through the camera roll when you feel a little nostalgic.