DISCOVER PROJECT
DISCOVER PROJECT
002/SOCIAL APP
KIKI
How user research and iterative design shaped an app that unifies drag discovery
September 2024
The drag scene is electric—full of creativity, passion, and incredible talent. But here's the reality: if you want to find a show, follow your favorite queen, or connect with other fans, you're juggling Instagram, Facebook, venue websites, and word-of-mouth just to stay in the loop.
After interviewing six drag community members, one thing became crystal clear: this amazing community deserved a space as vibrant and connected as the culture itself.
The drag scene is electric—full of creativity, passion, and incredible talent. But here's the reality: if you want to find a show, follow your favorite queen, or connect with other fans, you're juggling Instagram, Facebook, venue websites, and word-of-mouth just to stay in the loop.
After interviewing six drag community members, one thing became crystal clear: this amazing community deserved a space as vibrant and connected as the culture itself.
services
springboard capstone project, UX DESIGN, INTERACTION DESIGN, UI/VISUAL DESIGN, DESIGN RESEARCH, DISCOVERY, IDENTITY BRANDING, MOBILE APP DESIGN
springboard capstone project, UX DESIGN, INTERACTION DESIGN, UI/VISUAL DESIGN, DESIGN RESEARCH, DISCOVERY, IDENTITY BRANDING, MOBILE APP DESIGN
north star principle
Create a vibrant, authentic digital platform that celebrates and amplifies drag culture, where performers and events shine through intuitive discovery, unified functionality, and accessible design that honors drag's bold, expressive spirit.
Create a vibrant, authentic digital platform that celebrates and amplifies drag culture, where performers and events shine through intuitive discovery, unified functionality, and accessible design that honors drag's bold, expressive spirit.
Create a vibrant, authentic digital platform that celebrates and amplifies drag culture, where performers and events shine through intuitive discovery, unified functionality, and accessible design that honors drag's bold, expressive spirit.
Project Overview
The Challenge: Despite drag's mainstream popularity, fans and performers remain scattered across fragmented platforms, making discovery frustrating and community connection unnecessarily difficult.
My Solution: KIKI—a mobile app that unifies drag discovery and community connection in one beautifully designed space built specifically for how this community actually engages.
The Challenge: Despite drag's mainstream popularity, fans and performers remain scattered across fragmented platforms, making discovery frustrating and community connection unnecessarily difficult.
My Solution: KIKI—a mobile app that unifies drag discovery and community connection in one beautifully designed space built specifically for how this community actually engages.
KIKI brings everything drag-related into one app designed around how this community actually works.
YOU: Personal Drag Hub
Customize profiles, connect with friends, follow favorite queens. Everything currently scattered across apps now lives in one organized space.
EVENTS: Effortless Discovery
Interactive map showing all local drag events with performer details, schedules, venues, and pricing. Save shows, set reminders, never miss performances whether home or traveling.
QUEENS: Direct Connection
Comprehensive performer profiles with galleries and exclusive content. Fans follow queens directly, performers showcase work and grow audiences without fighting algorithms.
KIKI brings everything drag-related into one app designed around how this community actually works.
YOU: Personal Drag Hub
Customize profiles, connect with friends, follow favorite queens. Everything currently scattered across apps now lives in one organized space.
EVENTS: Effortless Discovery
Interactive map showing all local drag events with performer details, schedules, venues, and pricing. Save shows, set reminders, never miss performances whether home or traveling.
QUEENS: Direct Connection
Comprehensive performer profiles with galleries and exclusive content. Fans follow queens directly, performers showcase work and grow audiences without fighting algorithms.
Impact:
No more platform-hopping for fans.
Efficient promotion for performers.
A unified community as connected as drag culture itself.
Impact:
No more platform-hopping for fans.
Efficient promotion for performers.
A unified community as connected as drag culture itself.
APPROACH: the problem
I sat down with six drag community members for in-depth conversations about how they currently navigate the drag world. These included fans, performers, and people who are both. What I discovered was both surprising and frustrating: every single person was juggling 3-5 different platforms just to stay connected, spending valuable time bouncing between apps and websites for basic information about shows and events.
I sat down with six drag community members for in-depth conversations about how they currently navigate the drag world. These included fans, performers, and people who are both. What I discovered was both surprising and frustrating: every single person was juggling 3-5 different platforms just to stay connected, spending valuable time bouncing between apps and websites for basic information about shows and events.
APPROACH: THE PROBLEM
Team refining user journeys
I transcribed each 30-45 minute interview and used AI-assisted affinity mapping in FigJam to identify patterns across all conversations. Through post-it sorting and thematic grouping, the real problem became clear: the drag community wasn't lacking passion or talent—they were drowning in digital chaos.
I transcribed each 30-45 minute interview and used AI-assisted affinity mapping in FigJam to identify patterns across all conversations. Through post-it sorting and thematic grouping, the real problem became clear: the drag community wasn't lacking passion or talent—they were drowning in digital chaos.
Approach: personas
Two personas crystallized the core challenges:
Jordan: Represents passionate fans who travel but can't find drag scenes in new cities—a frustration that came up repeatedly in my research.
Vivian: Embodies the performer struggle I heard consistently—talented artists working day jobs while exhausting themselves promoting across scattered platforms. "I just want people to know I exist," captured the visibility challenge perfectly.
Two personas crystallized the core challenges:
Jordan: Represents passionate fans who travel but can't find drag scenes in new cities—a frustration that came up repeatedly in my research.
Vivian: Embodies the performer struggle I heard consistently—talented artists working day jobs while exhausting themselves promoting across scattered platforms. "I just want people to know I exist," captured the visibility challenge perfectly.
Approach: How might we…?
Reframing Problems as Opportunities Instead of just listing frustrations, I turned them into "How Might We" questions that sparked creative solutions:
"How might we make event discovery effortless for traveling fans?"
"How might we help performers build authentic connections with fans?"
"How might we create sustainable promotion tools for drag careers?"
Reframing Problems as Opportunities Instead of just listing frustrations, I turned them into "How Might We" questions that sparked creative solutions:
"How might we make event discovery effortless for traveling fans?"
"How might we help performers build authentic connections with fans?"
"How might we create sustainable promotion tools for drag careers?"
These questions guided every design decision, shaping KIKI as one space that actually understands how drag fans and performers engage with their community.
These questions guided every design decision, shaping KIKI as one space that actually understands how drag fans and performers engage with their community.
PROCESS: DESIGN
My design process centered on translating user research insights into design decisions that honor drag culture while meeting practical user needs. Each choice was grounded in how the drag community actually engages with events and performers, creating an experience that feels both authentic and functional:
My design process centered on translating user research insights into design decisions that honor drag culture while meeting practical user needs. Each choice was grounded in how the drag community actually engages with events and performers, creating an experience that feels both authentic and functional:
Information Architecture: I organized the app around three needs from research: personal connection, event discovery, and performer engagement. This directly matches how people think about drag—connecting with community, finding shows, following performers.
Visual Identity: Developed a design system celebrating drag's bold aesthetic while prioritizing accessibility. Vibrant purples and pinks capture the energy, expressive typography balances personality with readability, and high contrast ratios ensure outdoor usability.
User Flow Design: Identified "red routes"—essential actions users perform regularly—and optimized core flows. For fans: discovering events and following performers. For performers: creating profiles and promoting shows.
Information Architecture: I organized the app around three needs from research: personal connection, event discovery, and performer engagement. This directly matches how people think about drag—connecting with community, finding shows, following performers.
Visual Identity: Developed a design system celebrating drag's bold aesthetic while prioritizing accessibility. Vibrant purples and pinks capture the energy, expressive typography balances personality with readability, and high contrast ratios ensure outdoor usability.
User Flow Design: Identified "red routes"—essential actions users perform regularly—and optimized core flows. For fans: discovering events and following performers. For performers: creating profiles and promoting shows.
PROCESS: testing
I built an interactive prototype and tested it with drag community members—the people who would actually use KIKI. Watching them navigate the prototype revealed crucial insights about what worked and what needed my attention.
I built an interactive prototype and tested it with drag community members—the people who would actually use KIKI. Watching them navigate the prototype revealed crucial insights about what worked and what needed my attention.
What succeeded: Users immediately grasped the app's purpose and could navigate to core features like event discovery and performer profiles. They loved having a centralized hub for drag events, especially for travel planning in cities like LA or Palm Springs. The three-section structure felt intuitive and performers were excited about having dedicated profile space.
What I refined: Key interface elements like "Save" buttons and event detail text were getting obscured by screen layout constraints on mobile. Event filtering was functional but not immediately discoverable. The absence of a recognizable hamburger menu caused momentary navigation uncertainty. Most notably, the working title "T-Spot" didn't test well—it created unintended associations that prompted me to completely rethink the branding, ultimately leading to "KIKI."
Key improvements:
Progressive disclosure and adjusted layouts to prevent content from being hidden on smaller screens
Streamlined onboarding reduced to a single form screen instead of complex multi-step flows
Added clear, consistent navigation menu to reduce wayfinding friction throughout the app
Complete rebrand to "KIKI" to avoid misinterpretation while capturing the playful, community-centered spirit of drag culture
The result: Testing validated the core concept while revealing targeted fixes that removed friction points. With these refinements—including the crucial naming pivot—the app maintained its appeal while improving usability for both frequent app users and those less familiar with mobile navigation. Users were genuinely excited about finally having a centralized hub for drag events.
What succeeded: Users immediately grasped the app's purpose and could navigate to core features like event discovery and performer profiles. They loved having a centralized hub for drag events, especially for travel planning in cities like LA or Palm Springs. The three-section structure felt intuitive and performers were excited about having dedicated profile space.
What I refined: Key interface elements like "Save" buttons and event detail text were getting obscured by screen layout constraints on mobile. Event filtering was functional but not immediately discoverable. The absence of a recognizable hamburger menu caused momentary navigation uncertainty. Most notably, the working title "T-Spot" didn't test well—it created unintended associations that prompted me to completely rethink the branding, ultimately leading to "KIKI."
Key improvements:
Progressive disclosure and adjusted layouts to prevent content from being hidden on smaller screens
Streamlined onboarding reduced to a single form screen instead of complex multi-step flows
Added clear, consistent navigation menu to reduce wayfinding friction throughout the app
Complete rebrand to "KIKI" to avoid misinterpretation while capturing the playful, community-centered spirit of drag culture
The result: Testing validated the core concept while revealing targeted fixes that removed friction points. With these refinements—including the crucial naming pivot—the app maintained its appeal while improving usability for both frequent app users and those less familiar with mobile navigation. Users were genuinely excited about finally having a centralized hub for drag events.
The design philosophy emphasizes vibrant authenticity, ensuring drag culture takes center stage, with intuitive discovery navigation, unified platform functionality, clear visual hierarchy prioritizing events and performers, and consistent branding that celebrates drag's expressive spirit while maintaining accessibility.
The design philosophy emphasizes vibrant authenticity, ensuring drag culture takes center stage, with intuitive discovery navigation, unified platform functionality, clear visual hierarchy prioritizing events and performers, and consistent branding that celebrates drag's expressive spirit while maintaining accessibility.
The design philosophy emphasizes vibrant authenticity, ensuring drag culture takes center stage, with intuitive discovery navigation, unified platform functionality, clear visual hierarchy prioritizing events and performers, and consistent branding that celebrates drag's expressive spirit while maintaining accessibility.
prototype walkthrough video
Final Design
Community-Centered Research
Community-Centered Research
Community-Centered Research
Unified Event Discovery
Unified Event Discovery
Unified Event Discovery
Iterative Usability Testing
Iterative Usability Testing
Iterative Usability Testing
Cultural Authenticity
Cultural Authenticity
Cultural Authenticity
KIKI testing confirmed what I suspected: drag fans want an easier way to find events—especially when traveling—and performers value having a dedicated, centralized space to reach audiences.
The feedback revealed small but critical friction points like hidden buttons, unclear navigation, and under-discoverable filters. Addressing these made the experience seamless for both app veterans and casual users.
The result is a validated concept with a clear roadmap for refinement—rooted in community feedback and designed to celebrate drag culture while solving practical problems.
KIKI testing confirmed what I suspected: drag fans want an easier way to find events—especially when traveling—and performers value having a dedicated, centralized space to reach audiences.
The feedback revealed small but critical friction points like hidden buttons, unclear navigation, and under-discoverable filters. Addressing these made the experience seamless for both app veterans and casual users.
The result is a validated concept with a clear roadmap for refinement—rooted in community feedback and designed to celebrate drag culture while solving practical problems.
