C'est Moi IRL Networking App Prototype Design

I guess you could say that this idea started right here, in Contra, where I felt like the mobile invite UX could be smoother by including a QR code screen like so many of The Apps™.

From that idea, I designed a mockup in Figma of what I wanted the screen to look like, exported it, stored it in my camera roll, posted about it in the Contra Slack, and moved on.

It wasn’t until I was at a vibe coding meetup that I felt the particularly awkward pain of networking away from my computer… out in the wild… IRL. 😅 Everyone had different accounts and contact preferences. 🤳🏼 We stood around hunting for the right apps on our phones or camera rolls, searching for the most elegant ways to exchange details. 😵‍💫 The process took far longer than it should have—in 2025—but here we are...

The process took far longer than it should have—in 2025—but here we are, living in a landscape scattered with apps and accounts packed into screens of more apps and folders with even more apps.

Every time I’d go to a new event, the same process would inevitably repeat again. I started to notice the different methods people used as well as the different styles of native apps’ QR code screens. Often times an in-app QR invite would have sparse info on the screen or be completely devoid color, life, and personality. In the case of WhatsApp, it’s both… making matters worse there’s currently a bug that doesn’t copy the user’s name when scanning; so those details still need to be manually entered, but are not prominently displayed on the screen.

t almost seemed like flows and designs were not created by people who ever actually used them to connect with other people offline—out in the in the real wold… IRL. Who would’ve guessed? 😆

Before long I started jotting down ideas for an IRL networking app should include:

QR code linking to social or sites

Stylized background for each link

Swiping between profiles

I let the idea simmer…

When Contra announced the #ShareYourWork challenge, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to put in a little vibe-coding time and see how far I could push the concept as a prototype. I went with Figma because I approach product ideas from UI and UX perspective by default and it’s a familiar tool. Thanks to a speed-run of bad UX field-testing of the existing solutions, I had a clear idea of the user-flow I wanted to create.

The first thing I did was to upload the mockup I made in Figma, write a brief explanation of the app concept, added the bullet points I had in my notes, and hit return. From there it was a non-linear process of trial and error to settle on the most stable and feature rich version of the app I wanted to use. Rather than get too focused on the visual elements of design, I purposefully let good enough be good enough and drilled in on the UX and essential functionality:

Legible text & clear calls to action

QR code generation

Rich contextual images

Customizable color themes

Folders to organize favorites

Through a few days of testing and revisiting Figma I had finally whittled it down to what feels like an app that I’ll reach for on a regular basis.

Of course, there are features I’d like to add (some of which worked in previous iterations of the app but kept surfacing bugs in the current version) like image downloads, or features which would require a backend connection or Apple developer account, but those nice-to-haves don’t create new value, they enhance what’s already there.

So, while this might not be a production ready app ripe for even modest commercialization, it is a working prototype that will help me connect with new people I meet. It will save me time and energy from fumbling with my phone and juggling apps so I can spend more time laughing and being present in the moment... not looking at a screen... out in the real world... in real life. And to me that’s priceless.