SCOPE: Astrology Dating App

Spring 2020
UX DESIGN // UI DESIGN // HI-FI PROTOTYPING

SCOPE: ASTROLOGY DATING APP

I designed a dating app that uses astrological data to determine compatibility in various categories between users.

Access the interactive prototype here.

As someone who has been curious about astrology from a young age, I have studied the mechanics of birth charts and often compare what I know about astrological readings to how I see the people around me act. Though astrology cannot be proven science, I do believe that the Barnum effect has influence on people who read their horoscope personalities, even in passing. According to the study Incorporation of Astrology-Based Personality Information into Long-Term Self-Concept by Margaret M. Hamilton, astrological information is widely distributed in our society (in 90% of all media publishings), which causes the Barnum effect. The Barnum effect refers to the tendency to accept certain information as true, such as character assessments or horoscopes, even when the information is so vague as to be worthless.

Through analyzing on my own behaviors while reading my astrological chart, I realize that the main reason I enjoy astrology so much acts as enabler for self reflection. Even if I don’t agree with certain things that are written about my personality, the act of reading it allows me to reflect on who I think I am and who I want to be.

I wanted this aspect of self-reflection to be the core driver of why this app would form more meaningful and long-lasting relationships when compared to the typical dating apps on the market today. Through understanding themselves better, users will more likely craft a more authentic profile and attract the right kind of love interests that are compatible, rather than matching from merely superficial judgements of profile photos.

CASE STUDIES

I looked at the most popular dating app we have today, Tinder, and listed its pros and cons.

Tinder’s mass brand image and user-friendly digital experience makes it accessible to a large audience, thus creating a big pile of users to potentially match with each other. Users on the platform have an abundance of options. However, the driver of matches on Tinder is solely a glance of the user profile, which contains a few portrait images and a short blurb about the user (name, age, location, open line). This can result in trivial interactions that do not lead to deeper or substantial connections. The app also lacks filtering options, resulting in a less personalized browsing experience and matches

With astrology being added to this social experience, users will be able to learn more about themselves and others, capturing their personality, temperament, as well as life’s challenges and opportunities.

With the user’s exactly birth date, time, and location, we are able to determine the exactly location of each planet at their time of birth, creating a full birth chart reading. Birth charts can determine many aspects of a person’s personality, including their basic identities, moods, communication, love & pleasure, sex, philosophy of life, and sense of responsibility. Compatibility can be determined for each aspect between two individuals.

So obviously, the astrology dating app isn’t an original idea. I looked into what was currently on the market and found a relatively new app called NUiT, which matches its users purely by using their birth charts. I listed out its pros and cons.

The great thing about this app is that it gives a comprehensive overview and detailed readings of your and others’ astrological identities as well as overall and categorized compatibilities. However, its current branding can come off as niche to the “woo-woo” crowd, creating a high barrier for user entry. This is not good for dating apps, as it limits the amount of people a user can match with. I also found that, unlike Tinder, users don’t have much agency in creating their profiles. Their astrological interpretations become their rigid persona, which can be off-putting for those who do not fully identify with their birth charts.

A common con for all dating apps I’ve seen is that they all become irrelevant after the users have found their match and turn into couples.

USER RESEARCH

I looked into existing data on dating app users.

I found that users are mostly between the ages of 20 - 30, and the most prioritized components of the dating app experience are the person’s appearance and profile description.

After interviewing a few of my friends who have used dating apps, I created two primary personas and two secondary personas.

The main goals of my primary personas are meeting suitable people who they can potentially get into a real, lasting relationship with. Their painpoints include not being able to find the right match due to lack of depth in user profiles, and trouble crafting their own profiles that depict themselves accurately.

My secondary personas are people who are already in relationships, but need help navigation certain aspects of interaction with their partners, such as communication, emotions, or sex. Astrology can come in handy for people who are already committed to being with each other and want to improve and deepen their connections.

Using the needs and painpoints of my personas, I’ve created high-level task lists for my users.

DESIGN

Working off of my primary user task list, I created a list of all the other subtasks needed and converted them to key features.

The primary tasks turned to the main navigation tabs at the bottom of the app, that would nest other important sub features within. The main tabs are Scope, Friends, Chat, and Profile.

Within the Scope tab, which also acts as the app’s homepage, users will see potential matches within their location proximity. Each presented profile contains immediate information including images, name, age, distance, and their astrological signs and compatibility. The three signs that show by default are the user’s Sun, Moon, and Venus signs, along with the percentage of compatibility with the user’s respective signs. Only matches with good compatibility scores will appear in your Scope feed. Within the Filters feature, user can select location, gender, age, and compatibility categories. Once selected, those categories will reflect in the feed, matching the user with the highest ranking compatibility results.

Under the first fold, the profile reveals both personal information created by that user, along with astrological interpretations chosen by the user to be shown publicly to other Scopers.

User can tap on the heart icon to send a friend request, or close icon to move to the next person.

Within the Friends tab, user can see their requests and existing friends. Under the Requests section, user can choose to accept or deny that request. Once accepted, user can see their friend’s full birth chart, compatibility rates, and daily tips on interpersonal dynamics.

This feature can be useful for existing couples who need help navigation their relationships on a deeper level.

Within the Profile tab, user can access their personal daily reading and full birth chart, along with all its interpretations, under My Chart. This is the portion that helps each user reflect and understand themselves better. Under My Profile, user can curate their public profile with unique personal information that brings out their personalities, as well as selected astrological information provided by Scope.

Access the interactive prototype here.