Favor: A Free Sharing Economy Platform
For my master's final capstone project, my team and I developed Favor, a mobile app concept designed to foster a reciprocal sharing economy through a unique points-based system. Rooted in user research, our interactive prototype addresses the need for stronger local communities by:
Cultivating a supportive network among neighbors.
Implementing trust-building features to encourage mutual assistance.
Boosting community engagement while offering users a way to save money.
Roles
Lead UX Researcher
UX Designer
Interaction Designer
Timeline
January - April 2025
Skills
Ideation
Literature Review
Survey
User Interviews
Sentiment Analysis
Comparative Analysis
Information Architecture
Prototyping
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Google Forms
The Problem: Financial Strain and Social Isolation
Many Americans face financial strain and social isolation, yet existing systems lack accessible, community-driven ways to share support. There's a need for a trustworthy, non-monetary platform that enables reciprocal service exchanges within local communities.
Our project is motivated by:
💡 Rising living costs, debt, and social disconnection are significantly impacting well-being.
💡 Affordable support services and genuine community connections are often out of reach for many.
💡Current aid models frequently prioritize individual solutions over the power of mutual aid and reciprocity.
Solution: Favor
Favor addresses the challenge of financial strain and social isolation by providing a points-based mobile platform that fosters trustworthy, reciprocal service exchanges within local communities. Our aim is to build a vibrant network where neighbors can easily give and receive help, reducing stress and enhancing connection without monetary transactions.
Here's how Favor works:
Request & Offer Services
Users can easily request help for everyday tasks (e.g., pet-sitting, lawn care, tutoring) or accept requests for their skills to help others.
Service request details can be customized prior to booking. Users can also message directly and securely within the app for easy coordination of favors.
After requesting a service, the provider will receive a notification and can decide whether to accept or decline it.
Request a service
Accept a service
Earn & Spend Points
Favor operates on a unique points system. Users earn points by completing favors for others and spend points to receive services. This ensures reciprocity and fosters a sharing economy.
You can view your current points balance and points transaction history on your profile page.
Wallet on the profile page
Organized Task Management
An intuitive Activity page allows users to track all their upcoming, completed, and pending tasks.
Activities page
Rating and reviews
In order to build community trust and empower informed decisions, users are encouraged to leave feedback on completed favors, helping others identify reliable neighbors and ensuring accountability within the Favor community.
User profile
Trust-Building Profiles
Informative user profiles feature skills offered, certifications, reviews, and number of returning customers, allowing users to build trust in their neighbors.
Leaving a review
Research Process
📖 Literature Review → Reviewed existing research on personal finances in America and issues of social isolation.
🎤 User Interviews → Spoke with 3 members of our target audience to understand common challenges and approaches in their personal finances, as well as their levels of trust and comfort with our product concept.
📋 Survey → Collected behavioral and attitudinal data from 53 individuals in our target audience about their use of mutual aid and financial tools.
💬 Sentiment Analysis → Scraped and analyzed data from Reddit’s r/personalfinance to better understand public sentiment around financial struggles and community support.
🔍 Comparative Analysis → Analyzed 5 currently available gig economy platforms to compare typical user flows in paid service exchange platforms.
Key Research-Based Design Decisions
Emphasis on Reciprocity
Users want to contribute as much as they receive, avoiding feelings of charity or exploitation. Shame around seeking help was a significant barrier.
We prioritized a points-based system to facilitate reciprocal exchanges, creating a sharing economy where a user must provide services in order to earn points to request services.
Creating Trust
Participants extensively research and rely on feedback for decisions. Overly casual platforms bred distrust and scam concerns.
Users who verify their identity have a verified badge. We emphasized robust user profiles with prominent ratings, reviews, and indicators for repeat customers to build community trust.
Design for Fun
Financial discussions often evoked stress, particularly during times of scarcity. Users found traditional financial platforms stark and unappealing.
We crafted a fun, unique visual design language that contrasts with typical corporate financial aesthetics, aiming to create a less stressful and more engaging user experience.