Owambe
Project Background
01
A mobile app to is designed to revolutionize the way people plan and organize gatherings, making it easier than ever to stay connected with others. Harnessing the power of Gen AI to make the process quick and easy.
As the Lead Product Designer at Owambe, I have transformed initial concepts into a dynamic product while also shaping our brand identity. Leading the design efforts from ideation through ongoing development, I’ve ensured our app empowers users to easily plan and organize gatherings. As an ongoing project, my work continues to refine and enhance the product, which has already earned recognition at one of Canada’s largest tech conferences, Collision (now Web Summit) in our first year.
Info
02
Role
Lead Product Designer
Tools
Figma, HTML & CSS, CMS Systems
Team
2 Founders, 7 Developers, 3 Designers, 2 Marketing Strategists
Project Overview
03
As life takes different paths, staying connected and planning time with loved ones becomes increasingly challenging, highlighting the need for simpler solutions.
Problem
Currently… Launching our MVP
We have built a community of users that are eager for the release of the app. Currently developing the platform for the app store.
Current Product
04
A revolutionary platform designed to simplify planning hangouts with the ones you love.
Acheiving this by providing intuitive tools that simplify coordination, inspire new ideas, and foster meaningful connections.
Owambe was born out of a desire to simplify and enhance social planning for people who love gathering but face the usual hurdles of organizing events. With busy schedules and the growing need for seamless connection, Owambe aims to make planning meetups—whether casual hangouts or big celebrations—effortless and enjoyable.
Owambe’s Origin
The project began by identifying common frustrations with organizing social events, such as coordinating schedules, managing guest lists, and arranging logistics. Recognizing these pain points inspired the team to create an app that could do more than just schedule a date. Through AI integration, Owambe goes a step further to help users streamline their plans, recommend venues, and personalize each experience, transforming how we gather and connect with our communities.
In a world where social media claims to bridge distances and foster connections, it ironically seems to leave us feeling more isolated."
As the pioneering Product Designer on the team, I executed the founders' and stakeholders' vision through strategic brand identity development, comprehensive product design, and thorough research. I delivered a platform that effectively addresses the common challenges and delays people experience when planning events.
Social media has promised to keep us connected, yet as its use increases, it appears we are more disconnected than ever.
Research + Discovery
To create a platform that truly addresses the challenges of planning social gatherings, we began by immersing ourselves in research. Understanding the frustrations and needs of our potential users was essential to developing a solution that feels both intuitive and relevant to their lives. Through surveys, interviews, and competitor analysis, we gathered valuable insights to inform every stage of our design process.
Society faces declining physical and social interactions, especially when we reach our 20s where no one is binded by attending classes, working or being provided by the conventional “pathway” the education recommends, we all start to explore our paths and they are never the same.
To gain deeper insights, we conducted in-person interviews with 17 individuals to explore their experiences and perspectives on planning events with others whether it’d be friends, family, colleagues, etc.
Here is what we found:
Findings & Insights
A lot of participants claimed that finding alignment when it came to planning hangouts was challenging. One person said they often experience “challenges with time availability between friends and time coordination.”
of interviewees noted that coordinating a time that works for everyone was the most difficult part of event planning
87%
78%
of interviewees expressed that a big motivation of going out was spending time with friends and family
One participatant emphasized that a big motivator for them planning and attending events was “to create new experiences and create and maintain relationships.”
Creating a User Persona
After interviewing participants, we created a user persona based on the feedback we gathered. This persona reflects the common behaviors, challenges, and motivations shared by them, helping guide our design decisions.
Keyanna represents the needs and challenges of our audience, emphasizing the importance of creating a tool that simplifies planning, encourages collaboration, and enhances social connection.
And while it is applicable to her current life stage as a student, it something that is useful for other adults like her self in different stages in life.
63%
of interviewees expressed that managing larger groups often led to decision delays or cancellations
Majority of participants had a similar reason as to why they did opt for planning events. One person mentioned that “sometimes people want to choose the majority, It feels like some are people pleasers wanting to appeal to others so sometimes it prolongs the decisions process”
44%
of interviewees relied on sources of social media to find events or things to do with others.
Across participants TikTok was a main source for about 23% of those who relied on social media. One person admitted to a diversified set of sources saying for them that “social media is used to hear about events most of the time or I hear directly from friends and family.”
Building The Brand Identity
Building the brand identity was an exciting two-week sprint to create a cohesive brand name, logo, visual style, tone, and landing page—all before our public launch. Working within this tight timeline, I focused on crafting a brand that felt welcoming and simple, reflecting our goal of making connections easier. The logo, visuals, and tone were all designed to be warm and approachable, resonating with our audience right from the start. With this solid foundation, we were ready to confidently share our product with the world.
The initial vision for the brand included a warm colour scheme featuring shades of orange and red, which were promptly established.
Logo Iteration
A big principle for all design work I do is intentionality so how that was applied for the logo creation of Owambe is remembering the values and missions of the platform. Community, Collaboration, and Connectedness are cores of the whole essence of the platform so the iterations of the logo were meant to represent that.
Owambe is a Yoruba term from Nigeria that loosely translates to "it is there" or "it is happening - the term embodies the spirit of joy, connection, and festivity.
Iterations that I created for the Owambe logo.
Partial Logo
Full Logo
The overarching theme in all of these elements was togetherness—small pieces coming together to create something grand. Whether it involved two or six components, the central idea reflected the core value of people uniting and connecting.
Reaching Our Community - Online Presence & Social Media
To build an inviting online presence for Owambe and connect with our community, I applied design thinking to ensure each element felt engaging, cohesive, and user-centered. Starting with the landing page, I designed an experience that not only introduced the product but also conveyed the energy and ease of planning that Owambe offers.
The landing page was created to build community while also allowing the ability to gather data and see if there is a market fit.
What it contained:
What Owambe is
What features the platform will have as solutions
Ways to get in touch and the team - to enforce community
I created a form of 2 questions to get more insight on potential users or even problems that we may not be aware of that people experience-aside from just taking information.
Landing Page
Social Media Presence
Establishing Owambe’s social media presence was a key step in building brand awareness and engaging directly with the community. By focusing on platforms where our target audience was most active, we were able to foster a sense of connection and excitement around the brand.
Wireframing & Iterations
Once our online presence was live, my team and I got to work brainstorming and experimenting with different ideas for how the platform could look and feel. Here is the ideation process.
Initial drafts of the platform
Lo-Fi Drafts of the Login/Sign Up and Onboarding Process
Some Hi-Fi screens created for V.1 of the Owambe MVP Platform
Preparing for Collision
Through the FBN, we were selected as one of the startups to present Owambe at Collision, one of the biggest tech conferences in Canada. With this exciting opportunity, we had to quickly establish our demo and MVP for display at the conference and prepare for a pitch with the BAI. The pressure was on to ensure that our product was both polished and functional, ready to demonstrate its potential to investors, partners, and industry leaders.
I worked closely with the team to refine the app’s key features, focusing on a seamless user experience and a clear, compelling narrative to highlight Owambe’s value. We also developed a series of materials to support the pitch, including user flows, feature demos, and presentations.
Owambe @ Collision…
Owambe Collision Demo 2024
Expanding our reach at Collision
The demo for collision featured our platform and the first official feature, the scheduling optimizing function - it’s purpose is solving the problem of coordinating schedules, while using the powers of AI to used sync calendar to find best times for all invitees.
Feedback
After presenting Owambe at Collision, we received invaluable feedback from a lot of people who got the chance to demo our product. The experience was both humbling and motivating, as we were able to see firsthand how people interacted with the app and what resonated most with them.
One of the key takeaways was that people appreciated the simplicity and intuitive nature of the platform, recognizing its potential for streamlining event planning. However, some feedback suggested we could improve the flow and also the homepage of the platform, with people seeing it as quite intense in terms of colour choice. We also learned that our MVP, while well-received, could benefit from additional features that would make the platform even more engaging for daily use.
This feedback allowed us to identify areas for improvement and fine-tune Owambe for future iterations. It reinforced the importance of continuous user feedback in shaping a product that truly meets the needs of its users.
Summary of Feedback from Product Testers
One participant mentioned that the main issue was "not knowing what to do with their friends" and expressed interest in a feature that could address this challenge.
Another noted that "the steps for creating events seem like a lot of pages" and suggested simplifying the process for a better experience.
A positive insight was that the platform could "encourage friend groups to create new memories and step out of their comfort zone of usual activities."
It was highlighted as "very helpful for mixing groups and planning collaboratively."
However, feedback indicated that "the interface feels a bit clustered," suggesting a need for a cleaner layout.
New Designs
Following the feedback and insights gathered from the Collision event, we set out to refine and enhance Owambe’s design. With a focus on improving usability and elevating the user experience, I worked on new design iterations that would better align with the feedback we received.
Key updates included refining the app's visual hierarchy to make navigation even more intuitive, simplifying interactions, and introducing more engaging micro-interactions. We also expanded some of the social features based on feedback, ensuring that users could easily connect, share, and plan together within the app.
Before
The previous interface visual layout was cluttered and not as effective for the solution. Some of the interactions were not clear to users
Before
Testers said that the event flow was long and was to many steps in terms of clicking to complete creating an event.
After
To solve the problem, a redesign of the event page was done so now users could start and add information for the event at any point - significantly reducing the steps a user would take.
Before
The previous navigation bar had the features listed - and since they were meant to be integrated into event planning, so they didn’t serve the purpose.
After
As a solution, I transformed the homepage interface to a simplistic, clean and effective visual layout-with the tools being easily accessible on the page.
After
To address this, I designed a new navigation bar with functional pages for users that will be applicable to all versions of redesign & updates in the future.
Road to MVP
The road to our Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is still in progress as we work towards refining Owambe for its official release, due to be available in November 2024. Our primary focus is on perfecting the schedule optimizing feature, designed to drastically reduce the back-and-forth often involved in making plans. By simplifying the process of finding a common time, we aim to eliminate the usual scheduling friction and make social planning as seamless as possible.
Currently, we're finalizing essential features such as user profiles, event creation, and calendar integration, all while ensuring the app’s design remains clean, intuitive, and user-friendly. Each iteration brings us closer to offering a solution that truly addresses the pain points of our target audience.
The MVP release on all app stores is due for release in November 2024 and we’re excited by the progress made so far. We are focused on gathering continuous feedback to refine and enhance the product before launch, with the ultimate goal of transforming the way people plan and connect.