Hubbble, in eight hours
Four designers, research to working prototype, in a single day, a networking platform for designers who find networking exhausting.
Design an app that fits into daily life and helps designers keep up with a field that changes faster than their careers do.
Four interviews, three findings
With one working day we front-loaded research and cut hard. Four interviews plus the provided personas, and I ran a competitive audit of existing growth and networking platforms while the others sketched.
Connections matter for growth — but only when they feel genuine rather than transactional.
People grow through projects, and stay motivated when the work overlaps their own interests.
The valuable spaces are ones where critique and mentorship happen without being formally requested.
Take the awkwardness out of the first message
Everything we built targets the moment people stall: starting the conversation. I scoped four screens so we could divide and conquer, and each one exists to remove one excuse not to reach out.
- Weekly challenge on the home page. A shared prompt gives strangers something to talk about that isn't small talk.
- Swipe to connect. Mutual opt-in means nobody is cold-messaging — the awkward first move is already mutual.
- Profile as a mini portfolio. Your work does the introducing, so you don't have to describe yourself.
- "Hubbbles" — topic communities. Portfolio review, resume feedback, project teams. Asking for help inside a group built for it costs nothing socially.
The design system
The space theme came from the Hubble telescope — a name that stands for looking outward and finding things nobody had seen yet, which is roughly what we wanted the app to feel like.
Adaptability & Priority Setting
The ability to pivot and adjust designs based on user feedback and changing requirements is crucial for creating successful products.
Next Steps
Continuing to iterate on the design system and exploring new ways to integrate user feedback into the development process.
last updated august 2026