Campfire
A university UX prototype linking content discovery with interest-based communities.
- Year
- 2023
- Discipline
- UX/UI design and research
- Tools
- Figma, Excel
- Status
- Prototype
- Year
- 2023
- Discipline
- UX/UI design and research
- Tools
- Figma, Excel
- Status
- Prototype
Research and prototype
A UTS UX research and prototype project, developed in 2023. A community-focused social platform prototype designed to solve a specific problem: existing platforms either do content discovery well (Instagram, TikTok) or community well (Discord, Reddit), but rarely both. I surveyed 50+ users to map feature preferences across eight major platforms, visualised the gaps in a comparative heatmap, then designed Campfire to combine visual content feeds with interest-based community discovery.
The research brief
Users want visual, scroll-worthy content but also crave niche communities around specific interests (trackday enthusiasts, fishing crews, gaming groups). Instagram lacks robust community tools. Discord has strong communities but terrible content discoverability. No platform bridges both effectively.
Design decisions
Campfire prioritises community cards with visual identity, low-friction follow mechanics, and a hybrid feed that surfaces content within community context. Think Reddit's community structure meets Instagram's visual-first interface.
From findings to prototype
Research methodology that drives design decisions, not just aesthetics. I collected data, identified gaps, prototyped a solution, and documented the rationale in a 2:24 walkthrough video.
Deliverables
2:24 walkthrough video, user research survey data, feature evaluation heatmap, high-fidelity Figma prototype (community discovery, post feeds, profiles), written design justification.