A social hangout platform that allows tweens to express their vibe
Sony, a trailblazer in tech and entertainment, came to us with a bold vision: create Social Hangout, a mobile app to spark authentic connections and creativity among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The twist? They had a big idea but no feature set or roadmap to get there. We took on the challenge, turning their high-level concept into a user-friendly platform designed to meet today's tweens' tech-savvy, socially-driven preferences. Through collaboration and rapid iteration, we helped shape a strategy that balances innovation, safety, and play — laying the foundation for a truly unique digital experience.
Outcomes
Safety FIRST Functionality
From customizable parental controls to data privacy, we ensured that every design choice prioritized safety. Our solution helps parents feel confident while giving tweens freedom within a safe and supportive environment.
Tween-Focused UX Design
We crafted a user experience that speaks to tweens’ need for creativity, social interaction, and safety, ensuring the app feels fun and authentic while meeting the specific behaviors and expectations of this young, digitally-savvy audience.
Aesthetic That Pops
We nailed a playful yet structured design, creating an endless canvas where tweens can express themselves without feeling overwhelmed — balancing creativity and clarity every step of the way.
Authentic Connections for the Next Generation
Sony wanted to create a safe, authentic space for young users to build connections online while respecting their unique behaviors and expectations. Our solution focused on developing a platform that balances fun and safety — prioritizing privacy controls and user safety features while delivering a genuine experience. From the app's playful aesthetics to intuitive design, we ensured every detail resonated with this generation's distinct needs and values.
CMS Made Simple
Contentful provides a robust and flexible infrastructure that allows for seamless content updates and management. With its API-first approach, Contentful enables the development team to rapidly deliver new features, updates, and personalized content, ensuring Every remains dynamic and responsive to user needs. This modern CMS empowers Every to handle growing user demands effortlessly, providing a consistently high-quality and evolving user experience.
Building Trust
Our commitment to safety and COPPA compliance was at the forefront of the app’s design, ensuring a secure experience for young users and their parents.
Recognizing the need for robust parental oversight, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of leading social apps for kids and teens to identify best practices in privacy controls and safety features. We developed an intuitive parental control system that offers two management options: parents can create their dedicated accounts or manage settings directly through their child’s profile. Customizable controls allow parents to set preferences for content visibility, friend requests, and app usage, all protected by a PIN system. This transparency and control give parents peace of mind, ensuring their child’s online interactions remain safe, age-appropriate, and aligned with their family’s values. By prioritizing privacy and user safety, we built a platform that parents can trust while giving tweens the freedom to engage in positive, authentic social experiences.
Three Core Pillars to Turn Vision into Reality
With a broad vision but no predefined feature set, we embarked on an iterative and collaborative process to explore potential product features and functionalities. Our approach centered around the three core pillars of the app: social interaction, creation as play, and safety. We brainstormed and developed numerous concepts, rigorously testing each idea to ensure it met the needs of the target demographic while balancing these essential elements.
Setting the Mood
In our design exploration, we explored numerous concepts to craft the ideal user interface for the app. Central to our vision was the idea of an "endless canvas" where users could freely build their profiles and engage in creation as play. The challenge was to create a canvas experience that felt dynamic and engaging, rather than overwhelming or limitless. We aimed to design an interface that allowed for creativity and personalization while maintaining a sense of structure and purpose.
The Design Studio
To refine our concepts and foster a collaborative approach, we organized a two-day "Design Studio" workshop, bringing together stakeholders from around the globe. This intensive workshop deepened our exploration of the proposed solutions and expanded on the initial ideas. The in-person format facilitated dynamic discussions and a shared sense of ownership among the teams, enabling us to uncover hidden requirements and address project scope in real-time. This collaborative effort was instrumental in honing the product features and ensuring alignment with Sony's vision.
Accelerating design through rapid iteration and feedback
We employed a rapid iteration process during the workshop to accelerate design development. Our team generated multiple low-fidelity wireframes, each focusing on specific aspects of the product. These sessions were crucial for quickly visualizing concepts and user flows, allowing us to make swift decisions and refine our approach. Through continuous critique and iterative feedback, we clarified the product vision. This agile process enabled alignment with the project's goals while adapting to new insights and requirements.
Next Steps and Future Collaborations
The Sony team continues exploring innovative strategies to engage their emerging demographic. Our collaborative efforts have paved the way for ongoing experiments, including the exciting concepts we’ve developed together. We aim to build on this foundation, validating and refining these ideas as Sony moves closer to bringing their vision to market.
Turn Your Idea Into a Tangible Product in Weeks
Do you have a big idea but no clear roadmap for bringing it to life? No matter how big or undefined your concept is, with the proper process and collaborative mindset, you can get from a "big idea" to an actionable product strategy faster than you think. Let's work together and transform your concept into a clear, actionable plan.
