merge · 2024 · mobile ux
A self-initiated concept tackling loneliness in the digital age. Merge connects strangers through voice-only calls — no profiles, no video, no feed. Just the idea that two lonely people talking to each other are, for that moment, less lonely.
Role
Platform
Figma
industry
year
2024
001 _ Problem
Social media promises connection but often deepens loneliness — passive feeds and curated profiles replace real conversation.
002 _ approach
The smartphone stays; the interaction shifts. Voice replaces video, anonymity replaces profiles — removing the parts of social apps that make loneliness harder to admit.
003 _ outcome
A voice-first interaction model that argues for a different default in social design: less performance, more presence. Voice-first, anonymous by structure, and built around a single action — start a call.
qualitative research
Interviews and questionnaires validated online research: Social media promised connection. It empowered isolation.
voice as the missing link
When asked about their most meaningful interaction, 91% named real-time voice or in-person interaction. Text and images could not replace the warmth, nuance, and presence of a human voice.
anonymity reduces pressure
Participants consistently said they'd speak more honestly with a stranger they'd never see again than with people they followed.
Anonymity removes social consequence.
conceptual angle
Two strangers are connected through a voice call.
Research pointed to two potential angles to tackle loneliness: voice and anonymity. Merge is built around both, with everything else stripped away. The case study explores how restraint — no video, no chat, no scrolling — becomes the feature.
style guide
A tinted, pastel colorway balances tranquility and significance.
anonymity
Profiles built from colors, not images.
A profile without a face. Color replaces the photo as the unit of identity — present enough to be remembered, abstract enough to stay anonymous.
Archive
Calls remembered through reflection, not recording.
After each conversation, users log up to five emotions and write a short recap. The act of remembering becomes part of the experience.