Synexia
A mobile platform designed to spark meaningful, relevant connections in niche professional spaces.
Understanding the Problem
Navigating broad, impersonal platforms often leaves professionals struggling to form meaningful relationships. Synexia addresses this by focusing on niche industries and curated events — helping users connect around shared goals, not just shared job titles.
Generic recommendations and low engagement make it especially hard for professionals in specialized fields to find relevant collaborators. While massive networks boast impressive user numbers, the sheer volume, without smart targeting, often creates more noise than value.
Objective
Synexia aims to solve this by offering a focused, mobile-first platform tailored to niche industry needs. By curating valuable contacts, events, and mentorship opportunities, it empowers users to form meaningful, impactful relationships—without sifting through endless, irrelevant profiles or discussions.
My Role
I guided the design process from conception to final prototypes, translating research insights into practical solutions for mid-level professionals in niche industries.
Methodology
I followed the Double Diamond design process to guide the project from broad exploration to focused solutions.
This structure helped me dive deep into the struggles professionals face on noisy, generic platforms, then refine features that support more intentional, context-driven networking. It also gave me room to iterate and adjust before validating the design through hypothetical user flows.
Discover
User Research
Key Observations
After transcribing the interviews, I organized the feedback into five broad themes to make sense of recurring patterns.
This early categorization set the stage for deeper synthesis and helped define where the biggest opportunities were.
After affinity mapping over 100 notes, I distilled the findings into seven key categories, focusing on the most impactful areas for users and the business.
These are represented by the dark purple boxes below
and formed the basis for the primary features and user flows.
Empathy Map
Users Say... 🗣️
Users complain about the superficiality of broad platforms
and advocate for more specialized networking tools.
Users Think... 💡
Users doubt the efficacy of general platforms
and consider the potential of niche-specific networking solutions.
Users Do... 🤹
Users navigate multiple platforms trying to find suitable professional opportunities and engage in specialized forums.
Users Feel... 😟
Overwhelmed by cluttered platforms,
users feel frustrated when unable to find relevant connections.
Pain Points Uncovered
I identified the following recurring challenges;
Professionals waste time chasing irrelevant leads, which makes networking inefficient and often frustrating.
Users often feel swamped by irrelevant connections and features, making it difficult to identify and engage with meaningful contacts.
Users struggle to make the most of networking opportunities at events due to a lack of tools that facilitate meaningful engagement
before the events.
Competitive Analysis
Key Takeaways and Understandings
Broad Networking Feels Impersonal
Platforms like LinkedIn offer large-scale networking but often lack relevance, making it hard for users to form meaningful connections.
Dating Apps Prioritize Fast & Intentional Connections
Apps like Tinder and Bumble streamline the process of meeting new people with clear intent, a concept that could make professional networking more efficient.
Define
User Story
User Journey Map
Digital Networking and Outreach Journey
The user searches for professionals online, sends outreach messages to potential connections, experiences low response rates, and finds it difficult to prioritize who to connect with or determine their openness to collaboration.
KPIs
To measure the success of my product, I focused on KPIs that reflect both user engagement and business impact. By tracking meaningful connections, mentorship matches, and user retention, I aimed to assess how well the app fosters valuable professional relationships
and sustains long-term engagement.
Connections Made
75% of active users should make at least 3 new connections per month, ensuring the platform fosters meaningful networking.
Mentorship Matches
40% of users looking for mentorship should successfully match with a mentor within their first 2 weeks on the platform.
User Retention Rate
At least 50% of users should return to the app within 30 days of signing up, reflecting long-term engagement
and continued value.
Develop
Mind Map
To bring some order to the chaos of early ideas, I created a mind map connecting user needs, business goals, and potential features.
It helped me see how matchmaking, messaging, and event tools could all work together - not as separate features, but as parts of one cohesive experience.
Sketches
Before diving into high-fidelity designs, I sketched multiple low-fidelity wireframes to quickly explore layout ideas and user flows. This helped me iterate efficiently and validate key interactions before committing to digital wireframes
Deliver
High-Fidelity Screens
These screens were developed to ensure clarity, usability, and a seamless experience for professionals seeking meaningful connections in their industry.
User Profile
The profile screen highlights key professional details, including expertise, career goals, and relevant experiences, allowing users to present a comprehensive picture of their background. It’s the starting point for users to present their skills, experiences, and what they’re looking for in the professional world.
Messaging
Users can initiate and engage in conversations with connections. The app encourages meaningful dialogue and helps build relationships by offering AI-generated suggestions to facilitate seamless communication.
Users can review and manage incoming connection requests, giving them control to decide who aligns with their professional goals and whether they wish to connect with someone.
Events
Users can access attendee lists and message relevant professionals. This ensures they’re prepared and focused when networking at events.
Explore
Users discover daily top picks and collaboration opportunities tailored to their professional interests (e.g., Mentorship).
This helps users easily browse profiles based on shared goals, expertise, and industry, simplifying the process of finding meaningful connections.
Previewing
Users can preview mutual interests, shared events, and overlapping connections before deciding to reach out - helping them assess relevance quickly and with context. This encourages more thoughtful, purposeful outreach rather than scrolling through generic feeds or guessing compatibility.
Matching
Once connected, users are prompted to message right away - encouraging active engagement over passive connections. I included tailored prompts that highlight shared topics and goals to help shift focus away from status or job title (confirmation bias) and toward more intentional, relevant conversations.
What I learned and what’s next
Lessons Learned
I learned the importance of simplicity and clear actions in professional networking apps. Users value easy, purposeful connections rather than overwhelming features. Focusing on messaging over connections was key, and ensuring AI-driven matchmaking feels personal and intuitive proved challenging but essential. Real user testing helped refine the app to meet users' needs effectively.
What’s Next?
Moving forward, I’d love to focus on integrating post-event follow-ups and reminders to further help users stay on track with the connections they’ve made. Adding tools to track the progress of those relationships could provide even more value.
Additionally, incorporating feedback to refine the AI matchmaking and improving event-specific features will be essential. Exploring real-time networking features at events and allowing users to more actively engage during the event will elevate the experience even further. These are just a few ways I can continue building and improving the app.
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