My UX Design Journey – Reflections on the Weekly Sessions
Week 1: Annoying and Great User Experiences
This first week opened my eyes to how thoughtlessly many products are designed. I documented frustrations with everyday interfaces and began seeing design decisions everywhere. The challenge was identifying not just what annoyed me, but understanding why and proposing solutions. I found myself particularly frustrated by apps that prioritize business goals over user needs, like hiding unsubscribe buttons or making privacy settings deliberately difficult to find.
On the positive side, I appreciated platforms that respect user time and attention. This exercise planted the seed for GRATR by making me conscious of how design choices reflect values. Are we designing for human flourishing or corporate profit? That question would guide everything that followed.
Week 2: Ethical Issues in Social Media
This week transformed my thinking entirely. We examined the ethical issues embedded in social media platforms, and I chose to focus on Grindr because of my personal connection to the LGBTQ+ community.
Reading Jaron Lanier’s “Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now” was genuinely shocking. His BUMMER concept (Behaviours of Users Modified and Made into an Empire for Rent) articulated something I had felt but could not name.
Image: Shield representing each principle
The NPR investigation into Grindr’s failures around minor safety was devastating. Over 100 documented cases of exploitation since 2015. Stories like German Chavez being assaulted at 13 were heartbreaking.
This week, I decided GRATR would exist as a direct response to these documented harms. If the problem is behavioural manipulation for profit, the solution must be community ownership and ethical design.
Week 3: Basic Ideas Development
Moving from critique to creation felt both exciting and overwhelming. I began sketching ideas on paper, focusing entirely on functionality rather than aesthetics. How would regional filtering work instead of GPS? What would a values-based profile look like? I mapped out the five core sections (Freedom, Connections, Social Life, Food & Drink, Shopping) and how they would interconnect. The breakthrough was realizing GRATR should not be a dating app at all, but a community centre that happens to include dating as one feature among many. This week taught me that good design starts with clear purpose. Everything flows from answering: what problem are we actually solving? For GRATR, the problem was isolation in social deserts, not simply a lack of dating options.
Week 4: Audience and Personas
Image: Map showing connections lighting up across rural/suburban landscapes, not just concentrated in city centres
Image: A virtual community centre online, representing each section of the LGBTQ+ community in a supportive network structure
Developing user personas grounded my abstract ideas in real human needs. I researched academic studies on LGBTQ+ isolation in rural areas, discovering that individuals outside major cities report significantly higher psychological distress. The statistic that 61% face discrimination in small towns and rural areas was striking. I created three personas: The Isolated Seeker (needing safety and belonging), The Local Organizer (building physical community), and The Ethical Dater (seeking authentic connection). Each persona drove specific design decisions. For example, The Isolated Seeker’s needs led to the 200-mile Distance Expansion feature for mentorship. The Local Organizer’s needs shaped the robust event management tools. This week taught me that demographics and psychographics are not abstract concepts but tools for ensuring design serves actual people, not imagined ones.
Week 5: Learning Adobe XD
This week was genuinely difficult. Coming from an analogue background, Adobe XD felt alien and frustrating. I struggled with basic functions that seemed intuitive to digitally native classmates. My wireframes looked clumsy compared to others. I felt inadequate and considered whether I was in the right field. However, this struggle taught me humility and empathy. If I found the tools this challenging, how must users with accessibility needs feel navigating poorly designed interfaces? My frustration with XD reinforced my commitment to making GRATR accessible and intuitive. Sometimes the most valuable learning comes from struggle. I am still unhappy with what I produced technically, but I understand the principles behind good interface design even if my execution was imperfect.
Week 6: Break Week
Image: Wellness icons (pause button, daily limit gauge, privacy lock) in calming, supportive colours
This break allowed me to reflect on everything learned so far and recharge before the final push. I used the time to refine my thinking about the cooperative model and research existing platform cooperatives like Hylo and Stocksy United.
Week 7: Typography and Hierarchy
Image: UX toolkit illustration showing persona cards, wireframe sketches, and user testing notes
This week forced me to think about how information is organized and prioritized. Creating a screen showing typographic hierarchy with no images was challenging but valuable. I learned that good typography is invisible when done well but disastrous when done poorly. For GRATR, I chose clear, readable fonts appropriate for the grassroots aesthetic. Hierarchy decisions had to consider accessibility, ensuring text was readable for users with visual impairments. I learned that typographic choices communicate values: corporate platforms use sleek, cold fonts; GRATR needed warm, human, accessible typography. Every design choice is a value choice. This week taught me that even seemingly technical decisions about font weight and spacing carry ethical implications when accessibility and inclusion matter.
Week 8: Colour and Final Design Adaptation
Adding colour brought GRATR to life. I chose a warm, inclusive palette inspired by grassroots activist campaigns rather than corporate branding. The colours needed to work for users with colour blindness, so I tested contrast ratios carefully. I adapted the design specifically for the LGBTQ+ community in social deserts, ensuring every element supported the core mission. The final design integrated everything learned: ethical principles, user personas, accessibility requirements, and visual warmth. Seeing the pieces come together was deeply satisfying. This week taught me that design is iterative and holistic. Every element must work together to serve the user’s needs and the platform’s values. GRATR’s design reflects community ownership, safety, and authentic connection visually and functionally.
Conclusion
I have stored many of my research documents in a Notebook on NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/439101fb-c67b-4d86-b18a-3d70210ffd64
Image: Inspiring vista: diverse group silhouettes on a horizon, connected by gentle light threads, looking toward bright future
GRATR represents a fundamentally different approach to social platforms. Where mainstream apps optimize for engagement and profit extraction, GRATR optimizes for community flourishing and human wellbeing. Where apps like Grindr have documented histories of harm, GRATR builds safety and ethics into its fundamental architecture. Where corporate platforms treat users as products, GRATR makes users co-owners with democratic voice.
This project has taught me that user experience design is not neutral. Every design decision embodies values. The choice between infinite scroll and daily limits is an ethical choice. The choice between GPS tracking and regional filtering is a safety choice. The choice between shareholder profit and community ownership is a political choice.
GRATR proves that technology can serve human flourishing. Social platforms do not have to manipulate, exploit, or harm. We can build digital spaces that foster genuine connection, support vulnerable communities, and operate transparently. The question is not whether ethical social media is possible. The question is whether we have the courage to build it.
For LGBTQ+ individuals living in social deserts, isolated and disconnected, GRATR offers hope. Not just another app, but a digital community centre. A space that recognizes their full humanity. A platform that treats them as owners, not products. A tool to transform isolation into connection, one authentic relationship at a time.
Acknowledgments
With grateful thanks to Tina Burton, Nurbanu Asena, and my fellow Year 1 students for their patience support and kindness throughout this journey with a very analogue Digital Media Production Student
References
Lanier, J. (2018). Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. London: Penguin Random House.
NPR Morning Edition. (2021, August 3). “The Hidden Risks on Dating Apps: Why Grindr and Minors is a Critical Conversation.” Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/03/1024108203/how-grindr-a-popular-gay-dating-app-poses-exploitation-risk-to-minors
Platform Cooperativism Consortium. (n.d.). “Vision and Advantages.” Retrieved from https://platform.coop/about/vision-and-advantages/
Hylo. (n.d.). “About.” Retrieved from https://www.hylo.com/about/
Stocksy United. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.stocksy.com/
Harris, T. & Humane Technology. (n.d.). “Impact and Story.” Retrieved from https://www.humanetech.com/impact-and-story
https://www.faisaljamshaid.com/books/10-reasons-to-delete-your-social-media-accounts-right-now
https://www.punkt.ch/it/ispirazioni/libreria/ten-arguments
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