The Proud App
User Research | User Interface Design | Design System
The Problem
LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately impacted by violence, discomfort, and discrimination in their everyday lives. Without knowing what organizations value your identity, everything from choosing a healthcare provider to finding a coffee shop can be a fraught experience for queer-identifying people.
While there are various platforms that highlight queer-owned businesses, safe spaces, neighborhoods, and queer-allied service providers — there is no one application that brings this information together.
"LGBT people nearly four times more likely than non-LGBT people to be victims of violent crime." UCLA Law
Our Solution
My team and I set out to design "The Proud App," an application that connects queer-identifying people with LGTBQ+ supportive organizations.
The Proud App does more than just help you find a fun gay bar for a night out with friends or a cute queer-owned bookstore. The Proud App is designed to empower the LGBTQ+ community across three key verticals so they can:
My Role: UX/UI Designer, Research Analyst
Find supportive local businesses
Connect with informed medical providers
Discover relevant professional services
User Research
User Interviews
Conducted one-on-one interviews to understand users' perceptions and use cases for engaging with an app that promotes LGBTQ+ organizations.
Two out of three user interview participants shared that they’ve experienced discrimination with healthcare providers.
Online Survey
Fielded online survey responses to understand the market need for an application that connects LGBTQ+ people to queer-owned and supporting commercial businesses, medical providers, and professional services.
Nearly all survey respondents said it was important to them to have access to queer-friendly small businesses and social spaces.
More than three-quarters of our survey respondents were interested in an application that helps connect them with queer-friendly businesses, medical providers & professional services.
Personas
We developed personas for each of the key verticals we wanted to address with the Proud App. These personas reflect our target audience and the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. These personas were used to help us ground the app design in a user-centered approach.
User Flow
Design System
The Proud App was grounded in the idea that the design should feel bright, bold, clean, and playful, and the experience should be fun, engaging, informative, and empowering.
LOGO
Evocative of the iconic Pride flag, the Proud logo features a “P” flag shape against a rainbow gradient background.
COLOR PALETTE
Gray-toned neutrals paired with bright accents embody the bold energy of the application. This rainbow of accents creates the gradient seen in the logo. Green was chosen as the primary accent color for its association with growth and freedom.
TYPOGRAPHY
The fun, bold look of “Lexend Bold” paired with the light, playful style of "Lexend Light" creates the unique, unified font style of the Proud app.
ICONS
This playful assortment of outline-style icons signify the primary app categories, menu items, and key interaction points.
The “verified safe space” icon is a unique symbol in this set with a bold gradient background and checkmark in negative, harkening back to the primary logo and the main goal of this application.
For additional icons reference the Solar Icon Set by 480 Design.
