Designed to Be Real
Designing a dating app where being authentic is the real draw — from research to a complete product.
Challenge
The challenge
Dating apps reward perfection — retouched photos, exaggerated profiles, matches by looks. The result: people pretending to be someone they're not, and empty connections. The challenge wasn't to build "another swipe app," but one where showing your real self — even your most "loser" side — is what makes you attractive.
Objective
The objective
- Redefine the profile — show personality, not an edited version.
- Real matching — a system based on real interests and values.
- Complete product — brand, app, monetization and store communication.
Role
I led the design end to end — from research to final UI
Role: Lead UX/UI · Product Designer. Timeline & tools: 6 months · Figma · Adobe XD · Adobe Illustrator · Photoshop. Status: complete design, ready to launch (not yet in stores).
Research
Benchmarking, user interviews and monetization analysis.
Product strategy
Concept, value proposition and monetization model.
UX
Profile architecture, onboarding, matching and stories flows.
UI & Branding
Full visual identity and high-fidelity design.
Research
Understanding why dating apps feel fake — and how they make money
Hands-on benchmark. Used the leading apps first-hand to map patterns, friction and what felt superficial.
User interviews. To understand what people really want and why current apps frustrate them.
Monetization analysis. Studied which apps monetize best and why, which are most used and what models work — to design premium that adds value instead of interrupting.
Perfection pushes people away
Curated profiles breed distrust and small talk.
People connect over taste, not selfies
What you listen to, watch and read says more about you than a photo.
The first move is a barrier
Many struggle to start the conversation; fast swiping doesn't help.
Archetype: introverts who struggle to make the first move, non-superficial people looking for more than looks, and people with slightly off-the-norm interests.
The solution
A profile that shows who you really are — and matching that rewards it
Authentic profile. Personality prompts with humor ("What's your secret superpower?", "If your pet could talk…") plus real photos and videos of your fun side, not a retouched book.
Identity from your taste. YouTube, Spotify and X integrations: your videos, playlists and artists, what you read — your profile is built from your real taste, not from what you say about yourself.
“My ideal loser” (affinity matching). An interests-and-values profiling (lifestyle, music, games, hobbies) that connects on what matters, not just the photo.
Stories to break the ice. Share moments of your day with your matches and get reactions — conversations that start themselves.
Second chance. Profiles you passed can come back: less rushed swiping, more real chances.
Premium model. Superlike, incognito mode, "who likes me," rewind and featured profile — features defined from the monetization analysis, built into the experience.
Brand & communication. I also designed the identity ("Dare to celebrate your differences"), the landing page and the store page — a warm, fun, no-pretense tone, consistent across every touchpoint.
Store page
Validation
Validated with leadership
No formal user testing: the project was presented to the company's owners, who were very happy with the proposal. It sat behind other roadmap priorities, with the full design ready to be picked up and shipped.
Outcome
A complete product, ready to launch
From a concept to a finished design system: brand, end-to-end app, monetization model and store communication — all ready to publish.
What I learned: designing for a specific niche leads to braver, more coherent decisions than designing for "everyone" — specificity isn't a limitation, it's what gives a product its personality. And designing for authenticity is as much a problem of tone, brand and strategy as of UI: you have to design the whole experience so people feel safe being real.
Designed
A profile and matching system built around authenticity.
Branded
Its own identity and tone, from app to stores.
Ready to launch
A complete product awaiting release.