Scene
Aashna Keswani
Scene
Simplifying hangout planning for friend groups
AI
Mobile App
Experiential Design
Overview
My Role
Visual Design, Product Strategy, Conducting user interviews, Synthesizing data, Prototyping, Design System
Outcome
Reducing planning time from 1 hour to less than 15 mins
Co-Lead
Samyak Aggarwal
Duration
12 Weeks
Mentor
Blake Hudelson
CONTEXT
Friend groups crave meaningful, novel experiences.
But, planning feels more like work, than the fun that comes from it.
80% of friend groups are stuck in an endless loop of "What to do?" and "I don’t know."
THE PROBLEM
💬
Most plans die in the group chat
👯♀️
More People, More Opinions
🕴️
Planning becomes a solo act
CURRENT EXPERIENCE
WHAT PEOPLE SAID
Ash, 26
“Getting everyone to agree on one activity has always been an issue.
Just because you’re a part of a friend group, doesn’t mean you’re all the same people.”
Works 9-5
Lisa, 22
“I live with my friends, so every week we gather in the living room and ask each other what to do.
Eventually, we end up going to Page (the regular bar) and getting takeout!
Student
SO WE ASKED OURSELVES…
How can we make it easy and fun for friend groups to decide what to do, together?
THE EXPERIENCE
1/3
Everyone shakes their phones together to activate Scene
2/3
Scene gives a walk through of the app
3/3
Scene focuses on 4 questions to curate the hangout
Designed for in-person interactions, Scene solves for that narrow yet powerful moment: when people are already together, but don’t know what to do.
From
To
SCENE IS BUILT FOR
Close friend groups who tend to fall into repetitive patterns
🏡
Roommates
👥
College Friend Group
🤙
Post Grad Crews
Let's see it in action
Setting the Energy Level
I want my the hangout to match with my current mood.
Setting the Budget
I want to set a budget, so I don't end up rethinking options because they’re not in my price range.
Setting the Distance
I want to define how far I'm willing to travel, so plans feel convenient and doable.
Selecting This or That
I want to be able to choose between preferences (like indoors vs. outdoors), so the plan aligns with my vibe.
Once you’ve set the tone, its democracy from there on!
Scene curates a set of 4 plans to choose from
Choose the plan you'd like to do
Users can see real time who chooses what
The scene voted for the most is chosen
Your final Scene gives you the down low -
where to go, what to bring & how much you will be spending
BUILDING THE VISUAL LANGUAGE
The branding aims to evoke a space that feels collaborative, spontaneous, and simple.
Figma
WHAT ELSE CAN SCENE DO?
Relive your iconic hangouts, track, split, and settle costs according to the hangout
BEYOND THE APP
Scene also lives in your phone as widgets.
Whether it’s a a quick reminder that it’s been a while since your last hangout, or a playful nudge to shake your phone, Scene notices!
Learnings and takeaways
🤝
Being an effective collaborator
Playing to each other's strengths and allowing for mistakes and wrong turns
🤳
Designing beyond screens
How design could facilitate experiences beyond the phone
👨👨👦👦
Designing for more than one user
Considering collective needs, rather than focusing solely on one user
Like this project
Posted Mar 31, 2026
Simplifying hangout planning for friend groups
Likes
0
Views
0
