Breaking the Seattle Freeze

Build Connections
Through Weather-Smart
Community App

Hilights

Led UX research and design for a 10-week project tackling newcomer loneliness in Seattle through a community-focused app. The solution combines weather-based activity planning with a unique “cheer” feature to encourage real-life interactions.

Time: Oct – Dec 2023 (10 weeks)
Role: UI Design Lead
Involvement: Research, UX Design, UI Design
Team: 3 HCDE Graduate Students

tl;dr

In Summary, here's what I accomplished:

Pioneered “Draw the Experience” research method with 10 participants, uncovering weather’s critical impact on newcomer isolation
Designed the innovative “cheer” feature to bridge online-offline interactions, encouraging real meetups
Led end-to-end design from wireframes to high-fidelity prototype, leveraging my design background

Team accomplishments

Conducted mixed-method research with 43 survey participants
Developed and validated prototype through 3 iterations of user testing

Ever felt that making friends in a new city is like
trying to open a frozen door?

This… is how we feel as newcomers in Seattle.

Why This Topic?

Seattle Freeze is Real!?

As newcomers to Seattle ourselves, my team faced a familiar challenge – the infamous “Seattle Freeze.” But here’s what made us dig deeper: while many blame the social culture, our early research pointed to something more tangible – the weather.

Research Approach

Simple Drawing Revealed What Survey Couldn't Tell

Initial Survey

We conducted an online survey with 43 participants covering five key challenge areas for Seattle newcomers: social connections, weather adaptation, housing, cultural adjustment, and transportation. The results highlighted two predominant challenges:

45% struggled with social isolation
37% found the weather challenging

Hmm…Isolation & Weather?
Numbers Only Tell Half the Story

Interview & Draw the Experience

We combined interviews with visual storytelling, asking 10 Seattle residents (6 months – 3 years) to draw a moment of Loneliness. The revelation?

Every drawing featured rain 🌧

This simple visual exercise revealed what our survey couldn’t – the deep connection between Seattle’s weather and social isolation.

From Ideas to Impact

Narrowed 15 Concepts to One Solution

15 Initial Concepts

We explored solutions ranging from digital apps to physical products, focusing on both weather adaptation and social connection.

Narrowing to 3

We explored solutions ranging from digital apps to physical products, focusing on both weather adaptation and social connection.

15 Sketches in the beginning

We have 15 ideation sketches in the beginning.

Narrow Down

3 Most Promising Ideas

Selected the 3 most promising ideas.

Final Direction

Combined Two Concepts

Neighborhood App: Weather-smart activity planning
Cheer Bottle: Physical interaction encouragement

Why this combination?
While digital solutions are practical, our research showed that purely online interactions weren’t enough. By adding the “cheer” feature, we created a bridge between digital convenience and real-world connections.

Weather-Based Activity Planning

We assist newcomers in planning events considering the weather.

“Cheer” for Real Connections

We encourage newcomers to physically “cheer” each time they meet, boosting their friendship.

Time to make it real…

Design Evolution

From quick sketches to polished screens

Prototype Journey

Low-fi paper sketches
Combined team’s best ideas into mid-fi Figma prototype
High-fi designs with complete user flows

Lo-Fi Prototype

Each team member sketched interface ideas on paper.

Combine Our Favorite Parts

Mid-Fi Prototype

Combine ideas on a whiteboard, then craft a Mid-Fi Prototype on Figma.

Quick Validation

Three users tested our mid-fi prototype with key tasks:

Add a friend ✅ All succeeded
Register for an event ❌ “Find Friends” header confused users
Create an activity ✅ All succeeded

The Fix?
Renamed “Find Friends” to “Find People” and restructured navigation priorities based on user feedback.

Task 1

Add Dragonite as your friend

Task 2

Task 3

Initiate an Activity

Challenge

Only 3 Days for Design

Start with Components

This approach ensures clarity, and consistency across screens, and facilitates faster development, fostering smoother teamwork, especially when time is limited.