This deliverable represented the culmination of my 8-month senior honours project, the culminating project of my degree. Under the mentorship of Danielle Deveau at the University of Waterloo, I conducted journalistic interviews with ~10 individuals, competitor analysis of 4 apps, surveys with 100+ people, and a 4-person usability study to go from 5 separate belonging concepts to one high-fidelity prototype.

A growing sense of disconnection is evident in North America, with only 16% of Americans feeling attached to their local community. In Canada, the sense of belonging is significantly lower in urban areas (~40%) compared to rural ones (~70%).

While digital technology is often blamed for weakening social and urbanist ties, its impact is more complex and underexplored. And among postsecondary students, little research has examined how belonging can be fostered beyond institutional efforts.

Because the initial idea for my thesis was meant to be more general, instead of student specific, there was a lot of jumping around between UX research, UX design and entrepreneurship.

I conducted a literature review and preliminary competitor analysis to understand the belonging space, before narrowing down on a user and conducting more research to make sure my initial insights made sense for the student population.

Finally, I conducted a concept test to narrow down my ideas and a usability test to determine whether my initial core user flow made sense.

Because the initial idea for my thesis was meant to be more general, instead of student specific, there was a lot of jumping around between UX research, UX design and entrepreneurship.

I conducted a literature review and preliminary competitor analysis to understand the belonging space, before narrowing down on a user and conducting more research to make sure my initial insights made sense for the student population.

Finally, I conducted a concept test to narrow down my ideas and a usability test to determine whether my initial core user flow made sense.