Background & Project Scope

This project was developed through Columbia Engineering's UX/UI Program, where our team identified and addressed a significant gap in the dating app market. Working under real-world constraints and deadlines, we followed a comprehensive product development cycle from research to high-fidelity prototyping.

Timeline: 3-week design sprint

Team: Led a cross-functional team of 5 designers, managing research, design, and testing phases.

Deliverables: Comprehensive user research, complete design system, high-fidelity interactive prototype, user testing documentation.

The Problem

Sports enthusiasts often struggle to find romantic partners who share their passion for sports, leading to potential relationship conflicts and misunderstandings. Traditional dating apps don't adequately address this specific need, making it challenging for sports fans to find meaningful connections based on shared interests.

Our Solution

We created TeamMate, a dating app that matches users based on their sports interests, favorite teams, and game-watching habits. The app provides a platform where sports enthusiasts can connect with potential partners who share their passion, making it easier to build meaningful relationships founded on common interests.

Research Plan

We developed a comprehensive research plan to understand both the dating app landscape and the specific needs of sports enthusiasts in relationships.

1. Assess the market need for a sports-focused dating platform
2. Understand how sports fandom affects dating preferences and relationship dynamics
3. Identify key user behaviors and motivations on existing dating apps
4. Evaluate the impact of shared interests in successful relationships

Competitive Analysis

We analyzed leading dating apps to understand their strengths, unique value propositions, and potential gaps in serving sports enthusiasts.

App	Target Audience	Strengths	Weaknesses
Bumble	Women-focused, 25–35, relationship-oriented	60M+ users, safety-focused design, strong brand	Feature overload, limited interest-based matching
Tinder	Gen Z & Millennials, 18–25, casual dating	75M+ users, industry-standard UX, global presence	Limited filtering, basic profiles
Hinge	Young professionals, 25–35, relationship-focused	Quality-focused matching, deep profile options	Slower matching, limited reach

Despite the maturity of the dating app market, none provide deep integration of sports preferences or lifestyle matching — a clear opportunity for TeamMate.

User Interviews

We conducted 5 in-depth interviews with sports enthusiasts. Key insights:

• Users prioritize physical attraction and personality, but expressed frustration with the lack of depth in traditional dating apps
• Shared interest in sports often strengthens relationship bonds
• Differing levels of sports enthusiasm can create scheduling conflicts
• Users want partners who understand their commitment to sports

Brainstorming

Based on our user research, we identified key features that would address user needs:

• Integrated game ticket purchasing for planning dates
• Intuitive swiping interface familiar to dating app users
• Sport-specific dating pools for better matches
• Streamlined onboarding focused on sports preferences
• Team-based matching algorithm
• Game watching schedule compatibility

User Flow

We designed a comprehensive user flow that emphasized a smooth onboarding experience and intuitive navigation through the app's core features — particularly the sports preference setup and the matching interface.

Low Fidelity Wireframes

We began with low-fidelity wireframes to establish the core functionality and test the main user flows. This allowed us to quickly iterate on the app's structure before investing in detailed designs.

Style Guide

We created a style guide to ensure consistency across the app, covering color palettes, typography, and component design. We referenced many dating and sports apps to create a design that would feel both familiar and distinctive to the target audience.

Technical Challenges

While developing the high-fidelity prototype, we encountered challenges implementing natural-feeling swipe physics that matched user expectations from apps like Tinder — handling edge cases such as incomplete swipes, threshold detection, and smooth animations across screen sizes.

We resolved these using Figma's Smart Animate feature to create fluid state transitions.

Testing Plan

We conducted usability testing with 5 participants to evaluate the app's core functionality and user experience. Key test objectives:

1. Evaluate the clarity and efficiency of the onboarding process
2. Assess the usability of the matching and messaging features
3. Test the game ticket purchasing workflow
4. Gather feedback on the overall user experience

Testing Insights

Issues identified:

• Heart and X button colors needed better contrast
• Button functions required clearer visual indicators
• Photo upload requirement created friction in onboarding
• Checkbox design needed refinement

Positive feedback:

• Users appreciated the sports-focused matching concept
• Game ticket integration was well-received
• Profile setup process felt intuitive

High Fidelity Prototype

Key Takeaways

• Prioritizing core functionality and familiar dating app conventions while integrating sports-specific features created an intuitive yet specialized experience
• Complex prototyping challenges with Figma's advanced features enhanced our technical capabilities and design process
• Earlier implementation of quantitative research and comprehensive documentation would have strengthened our design decisions

Future development: Expanding beyond dating to facilitate fan communities and local event discovery; implementing team-based UI themes and integrated live-streaming for shared game viewing.