Executive Summary
Project: HoodHub – A hyperlocal social platform for urban neighbors
Role: End-to-End Product Designer
Skills Used: UX Research, Information Architecture, Surveys, Competitive Audit, User Interviews, UI Design, Interaction Design, Visual Design, Prototyping (Figma), Usability Testing, Copywriting, AI Tools
Platform: Mobile App & Responsive Website
Target Users: Urban residents feeling disconnected in their local communities
Overview: HoodHub empowers residents to report local problems (e.g., potholes, noise complaints), access services, and participate in civic engagement — all from one easy-to-use hub. I led the design process from research through validation, with a strong focus on community voice, inclusion, and accessibility.
A hyperlocal social platform for urban neighbors
Background
"I never thought posting ‘Does anyone have a ladder?’ would turn into meeting three new neighbors."
City life often means proximity without connection. HoodHub was created to combat urban loneliness by encouraging small, meaningful neighborly interactions—helping people say "hi," offer help, share resources, or just connect.
1 in 3 adults in urban environments report feeling lonely regularly. (Source: European Commission, WHO Europe)
Unlike traditional platforms focused on global reach or safety alerts, HoodHub prioritizes warmth, casual interactions, and neighborhood identity.
The Challenge:
In big cities, people are surrounded by others but often feel invisible. Existing platforms are either too broad or impersonal, lacking tools for casual community connection. Most:
Emphasize events or alerts over daily interactions
Are cluttered or filled with spam
Don’t support diverse user needs or foster belonging
Users needed a way to connect locally, without pressure, noise, or complexity.
The Solution:
HoodHub is a hyperlocal social app that fosters connection through low-pressure tools designed for everyday interaction:
Local Feed for posts and neighborhood updates
Interest-Based Groups to meet like-minded neighbors
Simple Event Creation for informal gatherings
One-on-One Messaging for neighborly chats
Resource Exchange Board for lending or sharing items
Design principles:
Warm & Human: Friendly tone and visuals
Frictionless: Reduce cognitive load and clutter
Hyperlocal: Prioritize neighborhood-first content
Features
Signing In & Home
Exploring the Navigation Bar
Joining a group & Messaging your Neighbor
Creating an event & a listing
Responsive Website
The desktop version of HoodHub extends its neighborhood-first experience to larger screens, making it easy to browse posts, message neighbors, or join local groups from any device. The layout prioritizes clarity, comfort, and community connection.
Design Thinking
1 Understanding the User
Research Goals:
Uncover the emotional and social barriers that prevent neighbors from interacting in urban environments
Identify pain points in current digital tools used for local connection (e.g., noise, spam, complexity, lack of trust)
Understand what “community” means to users in a city setting and how it fits into daily life
Explore user expectations and hesitations around joining local groups, offering help, or messaging strangers
Methods:
Interviews with 8 city residents from diverse demographics
Survey with 30+ responses
Competitive audit of 4 city service platforms
Competitive Analysis:
Platforms like Facebook Groups, Meetup, and Nebenan:
Focus on interests or alerts, not daily connection
Struggle with moderation and trust
Don’t support casual interaction or resource sharing
Key Findings:
People don’t know where to report local issues
Urban loneliness is real, even in crowded spaces — proximity does not equal connection.
People crave low-pressure ways to connect, like resource sharing or casual posts — not just events or alerts.
Language and accessibility barriers excluded key groups
User Quotes:
“Even though I live in a building with 40 people, I’ve never spoken to any of them.”
“I want to feel connected, but I don’t want another social media feed.”
“I don’t know where to start — even saying hi feels like a big step.”
Personas and User journeys
Framing the Problem:
How might we...
Make it easier for urban residents to casually connect with people who live nearby?
Create a digital environment that feels safe, welcoming, and distinctly local?
Encourage small, everyday interactions — not just formal events or announcements?
Reduce the social friction that prevents people from saying “hi,” offering help, or joining in
Problem Statement:
Urban residents like Miguel and Sara live near hundreds of people, but often feel isolated or hesitant to engage. Existing tools focus on events, alerts, or interest groups, but lack the warmth, simplicity, and trust-building features needed for everyday, casual connections. These users aren’t looking for another social feed, they’re looking for a simple way to say hello, offer help, or feel part of something just outside their door.
2 Designing the experience
Design Goals:
Centralize key functions: report issues / local news, groups, events, find services or items, messages
Prioritize speed, clarity, and accessibility
Build trust with transparent issue tracking and feedback
Key Features Designed:
Civic Feed: A neighborhood-first space to post updates, questions, and community news
Quick Post Tool: Share a thought, request, or offer in under 30 seconds
Group Discovery: Join hyperlocal interest groups like "Pet Parents," "Free Stuff," or "Weekend Meetups"
Event Cards: Easily browse, create, or RSVP to informal local gatherings
Resource Exchange: A simple board to lend, borrow, or offer items
Private Messaging: Low-pressure chats to build 1:1 connections with neighbors
Design Strategies:
Accessible by Design: Adjustable text size and voice playback support all users.
Warm Visual Tone: Soft colors, friendly language, and gentle animations build trust.
Simple, Familiar UI: Clear icons and patterns reduce learning curve.
Low Cognitive Load: Clean layouts and focused flows keep things easy to use.
Key Screens Prototyped:
Onboarding with location and accessibility preferences
Casual posting to the neighborhood feed
Commenting and reacting to neighbor updates
Event discovery and RSVP flow
Resource exchange (borrow/lend/share) board
Profile customization with interests and neighbor tags
3 Validating the solution
After building out the initial prototype, I focused on testing whether the experience felt truly human and easy to use. Usability tests helped reveal where users needed more clarity, comfort, or support.
Testing:
Two rounds across diverse users:
Join a neighborhood
Browse and RSVP to events
Message someone and create a post
Track the status of a reported issue
Explore and filter community updates
Navigate onboarding and set preferences
Interact with resource exchange listings (borrow/lend/share)
React to posts and comments
Top Issues & Solutions:
Problem: Users struggled to find relevant groups →
Fix: Added group suggestions on the home screen for easier discoverProblem: Event RSVP flow was unclear →
Fix: Simplified RSVP process with clear confirmation feedbackProblem: Difficulty keeping track of conversations →
Fix: Improved messaging notifications and conversation threading
Improvements Made:
Added quick access buttons to key features from the home screen for faster navigation
Simplified the post creation flow to reduce steps and encourage more sharing
Improved message notifications so users don’t miss important neighbor replies
Enhanced visual hierarchy to make neighborhood updates and alerts easier to scan
Adjusted text sizes and contrast for better readability and accessibility
4 Outcome and Reflection
Results:
Onboarding and joining neighborhoods became quick and intuitive
Users felt more comfortable posting and messaging neighbors
Increased casual engagement through simple, low-pressure interactions
Positive feedback on the app’s friendly tone and clear design
Prototype Success Indicators:
85% found the app easy to navigate and understand
Positive feedback on the casual, welcoming tone of the interface
Most users felt confident creating posts and joining groups
High engagement with the feed and messaging features during testing
Reflections:
Trust grows through consistent transparency and responsive communication
Emotional warmth in design is essential to make users feel safe and valued in their community
Accessibility directly impacts who can engage; inclusive design expands participation
Simplifying processes boosts user confidence and encourages repeat interaction
High-Fidelity Prototype:
The final prototype made it easy to discover neighborhoods and connect with people. Key actions like joining groups, going to events, and posting were tested again and got good feedback for being friendly, clear, and easy to use. Even users new to social apps found it welcoming and confidence-building.
What I Learned
Tone matters: People liked the app because it felt soft, friendly, and welcoming — just like we wanted.
Keep it simple: Removing extra stuff and showing the right information at the right time made the app easy to use.
Everyone is different: Designing for people of all ages, tech skills, and lifestyles was hard but important.
Trust is important: Features that help people feel safe and trusted are key to building a strong community.
Small details count: Little things like confirmation messages or gentle reminders make the app better and easier to use.
5 What’s new?
If developed further, HoodHub could explore:
Introduce trust badges or reputation scores to help users feel safer connecting.
Enhance content personalization to surface the most relevant groups, posts, and events.
Develop local moderation tools to keep the community positive and respectful.
Integrate with local services and organizations (libraries, community centers, events) for richer engagement.
Add real-time chat features for more spontaneous, casual neighbor interactions.
Implement push notifications tailored to user interests and neighborhoods to boost activity.
Explore gamification elements to encourage participation and foster friendly competition or rewards.