Buckets: Lowering the Barrier to Genuine Connection
A digital product designed to combat modern social isolation by matching users on shared context and asynchronous video catch-ups.
The Loneliness Epidemic
Over 60% of young adults report feeling chronic loneliness. Despite being digitally hyper-connected, social media interactions often feel gamified and transactional, failing to convey tone or build meaningful relationships.
The designathon prompt tasked us with creating a digital product that helps users overcome social isolation without letting long-distance friendships drift apart.
User Research & Friction Points
We interviewed 11 university students and young adults (ages 18–30) to understand friendship maintenance friction:
• Texting Fatigue: Text threads lack emotional engagement, body language, and immediate flow.
• Physical Distance: Transitioning to university pulls friendships apart geographically, making spontaneous hangouts impossible.
• Shallow Remedies: Existing discovery apps feel gamified around vanity metrics rather than shared intent.
Core Hypotheses & Explorations
We framed the core challenge around shared context: "How might we lower the barrier of entry to in-person connections and catch up with busy friends asynchronously?"
We focused on two foundational interactions: matching on hobby intensity ("filling buckets") and low-friction video updates.
Product Features & Interaction Design
1. Interest Matching ("Fill Your Bucket")
Instead of matching on photos, users calibrate "buckets" for hobbies (e.g. 45% photography, 80% bouldering) to connect based on activity depth.
2. Asynchronous Video Mailbox
Users film 1–3 minute asynchronous video journals for close friends, removing real-time scheduling pressure while restoring body language.
Learnings: Depth Over Breadth
A key realization from this sprint: social products don't need to connect users to everyone—they must connect users deeply with the right people. By prioritizing async video and shared hobby context, Buckets created a high-trust paradigm for digital connection.