Dots · malak ali

The problem

Loneliness usually isn’t about having no friends. It’s about the friction between wanting to see people and actually doing it: finding a time that works, deciding what to do, and being the one who asks first. Each step is small, and together they’re enough to let a month go by.

What we designed

Dots treats your friends as a circle of people orbiting you, and treats free time as something to notice rather than something to schedule.

Opportunities, not invitations. The home screen tells you how many opportunities you have today, meaning windows where people in your circle could get together, with a date, a time and who’s in. Accepting or passing takes one tap.
A week at a glance. A strip of days with colored dots under each one hints at who’s around, so you can spot a good day before anyone has to ask.
Picking what to do. Once you’re in, Dots helps you pick an activity, or you can tell it you’ve already got a plan.

The Dots prototype, from the orbiting circle of friends to picking an activity

Dots home screen: 'Hi Londyn, you have 3 opportunities today', an upcoming opportunity card for Saturday March 23 from 10 AM to 1 PM, and a week strip with colored dots. — Home: today's opportunities and the week ahead

Dots screen reading 'It's a vibe, we love making time for our friends', with buttons for Pick Activity and Already planned. — After you say yes: pick an activity or mark it as planned

What I learned

Designing for loneliness means designing for the moment before someone reaches out. Dots doesn’t add another way to talk to your friends. It removes a few of the reasons not to, and that turned out to be the more interesting product problem.