Swerv
Dating-app UX overhaul — cut onboarding nearly in half.
The Brief · Design Challenge"How might we redesign Swerv's onboarding so that users feel seen as whole people — not just profile fields — before their first match?"
Design Principles
Personality before profile
Show who you are before what you look like.
Reduce steps, increase meaning
Every screen earns its place in the funnel.
Behavioral nudges, not dark patterns
Ethical psychology over manipulation.
11 → 6
Onboarding steps
83%
Rated clearer
12
Users tested
6
Friction points mapped
Key Challenges
User Challenges
- 1.Users felt the existing app was generic and transactional.
- 2.Long onboarding created drop-off before first value moment.
- 3.Match quality felt random, not meaningful.
Design & Constraint Challenges
- 1.Client had existing brand constraints to work within.
- 2.Team project required clear ownership of research vs. design vs. testing.
- 3.Behavioral psychology had to be applied ethically — no dark patterns.
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Research artifact
Drop in an affinity diagram, journey map, or synthesis board that shaped the direction.
Situation
Swerv, a dating-app startup, had high onboarding drop-off and low match engagement. Users weren't forming meaningful connections — the experience felt generic and transactional.
Task
As part of team Buncha Buddies in HSE 521, working with client Scott Demyon, I led UX research and the redesign of the Swerv experience.
Action
- Ran user interviews and competitive analysis of Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder to identify unmet needs.
- Mapped the journey from first launch to match → conversation — surfaced 6 friction points.
- Redesigned onboarding to surface personality and values earlier, reducing time-to-first-match.
- Built high-fidelity Figma prototypes with micro-interactions for match animations and conversation starters.
- Ran usability sessions with target users — iterated match-card design on feedback.
- Applied behavioral psychology: variable reward loops for matches, social proof for profile completeness.
Result
- 83% of 12 testers rated new onboarding as significantly clearer.
- Onboarding cut from 11 → 6 steps while capturing more meaningful data.
- Client Scott Demyon validated the redesign direction for development handoff.
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Process & exploration
Sketches, flow diagrams, wireframes, or iteration shots.
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Final outcome
Hero shot of the final screen, artifact, or installed deliverable.
Tech Stack
FigmaMazeMiroNotion
Research Methods
User interviewsCompetitive analysisJourney mappingUsability testingBehavioral psychology
Tags
Mobile UXConsumer AppInteraction DesignUser ResearchPrototyping
Lessons Learned
- "Testing with 12 real users in two days taught me more than weeks of assumption-based design."
- "The hardest design decision was cutting onboarding steps that the client loved but users skipped."