Calling tool mobile app
Company
Spark Calls
Role
Co-Founder + Designer
Focus
Product
Context
Spark Calls was developed in response to the challenge of maintaining relationships with friends dispersed across various states. The increasing loneliness epidemic and the relocation of college graduates to different cities have made it difficult to coordinate interactions. The project was led by my co-founder, the main developer, and myself as the product designer.
Opportunity
With the rise of the loneliness epidemic, there has been an increase in social apps aimed at addressing this issue. We identified an opportunity to transform a historically difficult-to-coordinate habit into a straightforward iOS app. Our app does one thing: it alerts your friends when you have a few minutes to chat, essentially sending them an open invitation to call you.
Final product
We designed and developed the MVP of Spark Calls within three months, attracting 300 users—primarily friends and family—and achieving a peak weekly DAU of 40. Our major challenge was shifting users' habits from defaulting to TikTok or podcasts during idle moments to using our app to connect with friends. We considered integrating Apple's Screen Time API to trigger alerts after prolonged app usage. However, we pivoted from this strategy after Apple did not approve our request.
Main interface
Adding your activity and sharing to private list
Light and dark mode
Profile screens
Sharing and inviting
Feature announcement video
Product landing page