Candlelight: Seeking Intention With User Experience
2022
Thomas Sawaya, Tyler Williams
The Concept
Project Candlelight is a design solution for a new take on social media. It was born from a reaction to the abundance of content we consume through our digital platforms. With project candlelight we seek to derive value from our design solution by offering a more intentional experience. When you open project candlelight, you use it with a purpose. Candlelight offers users the ability to harvest a positive relationship with social media and reduce screen time without feeling left out.
Story
We set out with a goal to make Project Candlelight a tool to get people off their phones and make room for real life interaction. We were inspired by platforms like BeReal and Snapchat, where imposed limitations like disappearing images and text posts encouraged a unique behavior with the app. We didn’t want users to feel trapped on the app or it too be cluttered with information. Everything you need to share and communicate and nothing more.
How it works
We centered Candlelight around the feature called Instances. Instances allow you to interact with your contacts by taking shape in events, polls, text and video posts. Instances are time based invitations which disappear when you’re done with them. Instances can be meetings, text posts, chats, photos or polls.
Exploration
Prototyping
A variety of different concepts were explored for project candlelight, exploring the interaction with social media and ways to empower the user for a more meaningful interaction. Different options were explored to keep the app streamlined and promote its core value of purposeful interaction.
Working Prototype
Screens Breakdown
Process Work
