MEETUP
Visualizing the future Meetup
As a platform that has existed for 18 years, Meetup needed to figure out a low-risk way to innovate on the product model without harming our existing customer base or product. The CEO had a vision for a more simple, mobile first product that we might create, and I helped him bring it to life.
Role: Concept, Art direction, UX/UI design, editing Team: 1 animator/videographer
THE CHALLENGE
Clearly communicate the vision of this new product with the entire company (and potential investors).
Key ideas :
Hyperlocal, more spontaneous events
Group led vs organizer led
Activity based events that are low preparation, low equipment, low production value (i.e: running, cycling, discussion groups, writing feedback sessions)
Better specificity and matching between supply and demand based on location, skill level, age, gender, etc
Chat centric interface
We decided the best way to share this vision was to create a concept video illustrating the ideas above. We told the story of a woman who wanted to run with other beginner runners in her neighborhood.
I started off by designing a user experience for the main moments of the story. I then created a storyboard, and worked with a teammate to shoot the video with the interface animated on top.
We shared this video within the company to rally everyone around this idea for a product (2017). Watch it below!
THE IMPACT
An experiment funded
As a result of creating this video, the company also funded a small team for 6 months to try out this lightweight version of Meetup. Although we ultimately spun down the team, we learned a ton, and incorporated those learnings into the core app.
Ultimately the company had too many competing priorities and had to cut the initiative.
Version 1.0 of the Meetup Now app
Version 2.0 of the Meetup Now app
Host experience of version 2.0
