My Role:
UXR/UXD
Timeframe:
5 months
Tools:
Figma
Category:
Novel App Design
Overview
Novel application design that helps creative people connect.
I led user research for Orbitly across five design iterations, testing three of them: low-fidelity, mid-fidelity, and high-fidelity. I ran moderated in-person think-aloud sessions for the early rounds and unmoderated sessions on usertesting.com for the final one. The research covered how users perceived the app, where the prototypes broke, and which features were missing or needed work.
Problem
Each round exposed a different gap between what we designed and what users understood: Unclear purpose: Users read the galaxy as an explore page, a follow tag, or an interaction gauge, never as a record of their own skills. Confusing structure: Segmented feed and explore tabs made it hard to tell posts, groups, and discovery apart. Unfamiliar language: "Flyby" confused users in every round, even after we added it to onboarding. Missed features: Users didn't notice the galaxy until late, wanted events and saved posts, and found onboarding long and repetitive.
Solution
I turned each round of feedback into specific design changes for the next iteration: Galaxy: I moved it into the profile as part of a person's skill identity, then introduced it during onboarding so users find it right away. Navigation: I split feed and explore into separate core tabs, moved groups, and standardized how posts look in both. Language: I replaced "flyby" with "meet-up" across the app. Missing features: I added event cards in the feed, "nearby" and "happening soon" filters, saved posts, and events and saved tabs on the profile. Polish: I shortened onboarding, removed repeated questions, and fixed the broken buttons.
