An action-first social app designed for relocated individuals inside new communities
Proximity does not automatically create belonging
Cities place thousands of people within reach of one another, often through "third places." But for someone who has recently moved, they might not necessarily know how to engage with the locals and become a part of those third places.
However, a meta-analysis of 5,066 effects from 1,114 studies involving 571,260 relocated people found that adaptation was more strongly associated with stress and social resources than cultural exposure alone.
This revealed three friction points:
Seven pivots taught us what the product did not need
The concept for AroundUs emerged through multiple attempts to find the smallest useful interventions.
Findings from our research and user surveys helped shape four working principles:
Designing the first move
Testing the flow without guidance
We designed a moderated usability protocol for three relocated students. The participants completed five of six tasks successfully. The session also exposed core usability friction.
Testing also refined identity minimalism. The participant preferred limited identity information but wanted slightly more context, roughly “5% to 10%” before meeting someone.
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