Snapchat × Concept · Contractor 2025
snapchat
- Role
- Product Designer
UI/UX Designer - Skills
- Design Research
Product Design
UI/UX Design - Timeline
- August 2025 (3 weeks)
- Tools
- Figma
Overview
Designing inclusive, safe, and personalized Snapchat communities for LGBTQ+ youth.
School Communities are difficult to discover and often fail to provide inclusive, affirming spaces for marginalized students. Initial discussions with LGBTQ+ youth of color and our partner, Rainbow Lab, helped us uncover two key pain points.
Low Discoverability
The Communities feature is buried within profiles and offers little incentive for students to reach out, making it difficult to take the first step.
Lack of Inclusive Spaces
Students, especially LGBTQ+ youth of color, struggle to find safe, affirming environments where they can connect authentically.
Market Research
How do online communities promote inclusivity?
Offers vital anonymity for identity exploration through subreddits like r/LGBT, yet remains vulnerable due to inconsistent platform-wide safety guardrails.
TikTok
Provides a high-visibility space for sharing queer stories and advice, though inclusivity is often compromised by shifting moderation and harassment.
Discord
Enables deep, private community building for youth, but relies heavily on individual server moderators to prevent misinformation and maintain a safe environment.
Opportunity
Redesigning Snapchat Communities for enhanced discovery and student engagement.
Online platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and Discord promote inclusivity through visibility and shared interests, but Snapchat's School Communities fall short. The feature lacks discoverability, personalization, and inclusive design — making it difficult for students to find their people.
Solution
Overhauling the onboarding and discoverability experience for students through a tag system.
We redesigned Snapchat's onboarding with tag-based discovery and interest-driven groups to create a safer, more personalized sense of belonging for students.
Core Flows
Discoverability, Group, Connect.
Discoverability + Onboarding
I redesigned Snapchat's School Communities with tag-based discovery and secure tools to foster student belonging through personalized group and peer connections.
Group
I designed a secure 1:1 peer connection system for Snapchat School Communities while leading cross-functional alignment on technical feasibility and student safety.
Connect
I designed a secure 1:1 peer connection system for Snapchat School Communities while leading cross-functional alignment on technical feasibility and student safety.
Figma Prototype
Interactive prototype.
Reflection
What I learned.
Collaborations Across Disciplines
Working with marketers and engineers introduced me to a new layer of collaboration. I learned how design decisions are shaped by technical feasibility and market potential, which helped me think beyond visuals and understand the real-world impact of our work.
Navigating Team Dynamics
During this fast-paced project, our team faced moments of disagreement and frustration. As challenges arose, I stepped in to mediate discussions, realign our goals, and maintain momentum. It was a valuable lesson in leading with empathy and adaptability under pressure.