Interest-Based Local Groups
Design a privacy-conscious way for adults to discover nearby groups built around specific interests.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
People often want companions for an activity rather than broad social networking. Matching on personal preferences and location can be useful, but it should not expose precise whereabouts or infer sensitive traits.
User context
Sofia recently moved to the city and wants a weekend ceramics group for beginners. She is comfortable sharing her neighborhood, but not her home location or workplace.
Product problem
The service needs enough information to find relevant groups while letting people control what is visible and avoid unwanted one-to-one contact.
Objective
Design interest setup, group discovery, membership review, and first-event planning.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Choose interests and a broad search area
- Browse groups by activity, schedule, accessibility, and membership style
- Review group rules and organizer trust signals
- Request to join and prepare for a first event
Screens and states
- Interest setup
- Group discovery
- Group detail
- Join request
- Upcoming event
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Sofia selects beginner ceramics and weekend availability
- 02
She reviews nearby groups without sharing precise location
- 03
She reads a group's conduct rules and requests membership
- 04
After approval, she receives the public venue details
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Use approximate distance until membership or event access is approved
- Allow users to hide individual interests from their public profile
- Make group moderation and reporting paths visible
- Prevent unsolicited direct messaging by default
Constraints
- Some groups require organizer approval
- Event venues can change
- Sensitive interests must not be used for public matching labels
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Five mobile screens covering private setup through first-event access
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Archivo Black & Archivo Narrow
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Archivo Black & Archivo Narrow
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.