The Shore
An interactive experience to bridge people together globally through messages in a bottle. Express your thoughts and feelings in a safe and inclusive space.
Overview
MY ROLE
Visual and Web Designer
MY TEAM
3 Designers, 3 Engineers
PLATFORM
Web App
The Shore is not just a platform but a movement to combat the growing issue of isolation and disconnection in society. We believe everyone deserves to feel heard, valued, and supported, especially during hardship.
We aim to create a virtual oasis where individuals can take off their masks and share their authentic selves with others who may be going through similar experiences. We recognize the power of vulnerability and the impact that it can have on building human connections.
We hope our project will encourage a culture of empathy and understanding among our users. By providing a safe and inviting space, we hope to inspire individuals to extend that same level of kindness and compassion to those around them, both online and offline. Our vision is to uplift individuals and build a more connected and empathetic society.
Plan
The Problem
Loneliness
More than 60% of Americans reported feeling lonely due to the pandemic
Mental Health
During the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder
Shyness
Somewhere between 40-60% of American adults report being shy, or identify more as someone who is shy
Plan
Our Mission
Providing a safe space
Human connection is more important than ever during times of chaos and uncertainty. Our platform is designed to provide a safe and secure space for individuals to connect, share their experiences, and find comfort in knowing they are not alone.
Fostering empathy
We believe that empathy is the foundation of human connection. Our platform is designed to foster a culture of empathy among our users, encouraging understanding, compassion, and support during times of difficulty.
Prioritizing mental health
We are committed to challenging the stigma surrounding mental health and prioritizing the well-being of our users. Our platform provides a safe and accessible space for individuals to share their struggles and find support, regardless of their background or circumstance.
Plan
The Solution
With The Shore, users can express themselves, release their emotions to the world, and read positive messages sent by other users to uplift them. By creating and sending bottles, users can make connections and discuss their feelings with others. Also, seeing other bottles on the shore shows the user that they are not alone and can be reminded that they don’t have to deal with their stresses all alone.
Iterate
Design Process
Plan
Inspiration board
Our team of designers knew we wanted the space to feel inviting, comfortable, and soothing. So with that, we embraced warm color palettes, soft gradients, and organic imagery. It was essential to make this world feel immersive but still stylized to add character and purposeful tones to the interface.
Design direction inspo board
Style direction iterations
Plan
Style concepts
Once we defined the style direction and color palette, I set out to establish the translations to our design comps. With so many different approaches we could take with our inspiration, I played around with different tones and imagery while keeping our core values of comfort and friendliness in mind.
To ensure that our typography and color choices were as close to our vision as possible, I explored many different font styles, weights, corners, and sizes. While some of the iterations may seem repetitive, this was an essential process for us to narrow down what worked and didn't, ultimately helping us clarify our style even further.
Overall, this was a challenging but rewarding process that allowed us to fine-tune our style and ensure that it truly reflected our brand and values.
Design
Sketch to reality
Assets
Bottle Design
When sketching the bottle, I wanted to consider multiple factors to add a deeper narrative to the item. It was important to imagine how the bottle could age over time and the visual difference between sending out a brand-new bottle to viewing an old one on your shore.
Another essential feature of the bottle design was catering to customization and adding more opportunities for personality. To start, some customizable elements were the bottle color, cord color, and paper. In the future, I thought adding different cork and tag colors would be interesting.
Bottle customization assets
Vector paper mocks
Assets
Paper exploration
I was excited to explore different textures and treatments for creating paper assets. I wanted to experiment with adding depth and dimensionality while also aging them with blended gradients to achieve a weathered, vintage look. I was open to exploring different styles from flat and smooth to imperfect and asymmetrical, this added a unique character to each exploration. As I worked on this project, I enjoyed discovering new techniques for achieving different effects and textures.
Design
Time Tracker
To add another immersion element, we wanted to include a time tracker in the experience, so whatever time zone you're in will be reflected in your shore. A future feature I also wanted to consider was a weather tracker. Still, we focused on the time tracker to keep a consistent mood and tone throughout the site since specific environments may be more unsettling than others for users. So it was best to stick with catered comfort experiences.
Design
Final Screens
