Meltingspot platform

I designed Meltingspot to make virtual events feel human, where exhibitors and attendees could connect as naturally as in person.

When the pandemic halted in-person gatherings, the startup Meltingspot saw an opportunity to foster connection online.

My mission was to lead the design strategy and translate a complex concept into a simple, engaging, and scalable platform for virtual events. From initial user flows to the final UI

The challenges

Turning client’s ambitious vision into a tangible MVP involved three core challenges:
Defining the MVP: Translating a broad concept into a focused set of features for a fast launch.
Defining core needs: Identifying the essential jobs-to-be-done for both event organizers and attendees in a digital space.
Recreating real connection: Capturing the spontaneous energy and networking of in-person events through a screen, avoiding an impersonal feel.
The approach

We adopted a user-centered and iterative process to navigate the challenges.
Discovery & Research: We began with a deep dive into user needs through phase-by-phase interviews with both event hosts and attendees. Combined with a competitive benchmark, this research identified key pain points and opportunities in the market.
Synthesis & Strategy: We synthesized our findings into four core insight categories that defined our strategic focus for the MVP. This allowed us to prioritize the right problems to solve before defining any features.
Iterative Design: We started with low-fidelity wireframes to test and validate the core user flows quickly. Feedback from this testing phase was directly integrated into the next iteration, which evolved into a high-fidelity, interactive prototype for development.

01. Discovery

User interviews

40 face-to-face interviews.

Competitive benchmarking

The goal was to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of existing products in order to make more informed decisions.

Findings

User archetypes, needs, behaviors, gain and pain points.

Insights

Main insight categories were identified to understand where the main focus on the mvp should be.

02. Define & ideate

Ideation workshop

Leveraging these insights as our foundation, we conducted a focused one-day virtual workshop via Miro.

User stories and prioritization

Together with the product manager, we worked on a roadmap and prioritization to define main user flows.

Information architecture and wireframes

The user stories and information architecture were defined on wireframes. This prototype was used for user testing.

03. Prototype and test

User test

In the first round, I tested the prototype with 5 diverse users (45 min each), completing specific tasks.

Prototype iterations

Testing revealed key usability issues and clear iteration paths. The biggest challenge? Presenting complex information simply without overwhelming users.