'Splash' by Junjie Xu: Innovation in Social App

Splash

Social App for Junjie Xu

Splash is an instant offline social networking app designed for college students to seamlessly meet new friends with one click matching based on time, location, and preferences. Unlike traditional apps, Splash removes financial and time barriers to socializing, leveraging real time event creation, smart notifications, and second degree connections for trust. The design prioritizes speed, spontaneity, and safety, ensuring frictionless interactions that foster real world friendships.

Junjie Xu 2025 Agency Iron Press Kit № 171868

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Download Press Kit № 171868 Social App for Junjie Xu by Junjie Xu to access high-res images, essential texts, translations, and exclusive interviews—all in one.

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Splash by Junjie Xu

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Social App by Junjie Xu

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Unique Properties

Splash is an instant offline social networking app designed for college students to seamlessly meet new friends with one-click matching based on time, location, and preferences. Unlike traditional apps, Splash removes financial and time barriers to socializing, leveraging real-time event creation, smart notifications, and second-degree connections for trust. The design prioritizes speed, spontaneity, and safety, ensuring frictionless interactions that foster real-world friendships.

Production Technology

Splash was built using Swift for iOS development with a Firebase backend for real-time event matching and authentication. We employed React Native for cross-platform scalability, leveraging Google Cloud Functions for instant event processing. The UI was crafted using Figma, focusing on minimalistic yet engaging interaction flows. Our design methodology followed Lean UX and rapid prototyping, allowing for iterative user testing and agile improvements.

Design Challenge

The biggest challenge was balancing spontaneity with user safety and trust. Unlike traditional networking apps, Splash required instant but meaningful social matching, ensuring low drop-off rates while maintaining a seamless UX. We tackled this by leveraging second-degree connections for social proof, implementing privacy-first phone exchange, and designing a minimal-input event creation process. Rapid iteration and real-world testing allowed us to optimize engagement.

Project Duration

Pittsburgh PA, Sep 2023 - Mar 2024

Operation Flow

Users sign up with their phone number and sync contacts to discover friends. The homepage displays upcoming events, allowing users to join with one click. Event initiators can create meetups in seconds, while AI-powered notifications increase engagement. Users confirm participation by exchanging details and uploading a profile image. Smart reminders ensure attendance. The app fosters real-world connections effortlessly, reducing social friction.

Research

Research Type: Market & UX Research Objective: Validate the demand for frictionless campus socializing Methodology: Surveys, interviews, prototype testing Data Collection: 500-person survey at CMU, 100+ user interviews Participants: College students (18-24) Results: High interest in a free, instant social meetup app Insights: Users prioritize low effort, real-time availability, and social safety Impact: Splash removes financial/time barriers to forming friendships, making socializing more accessible

Inspiration

Splash was inspired by the struggle of making real-life friends on campus without investing excessive time or money. We saw a gap—students craved spontaneous, effortless social interactions. Drawing from Uber’s instant matching model, we designed Splash to remove the friction in meeting new people. Our research included a 500-person CMU survey and 100+ user interviews, refining our MVP for real-world needs. With fast iterations and data-driven UX, we built a seamless, intuitive experience.

Image Credits

Junjie Xu

Project Overview

Splash Social App has been a Iron winner in the Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design award category in the year 2024 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

Iron Recognition

Junjie Xu was recognized with the coveted Iron A' Design Award in 2025, a testament to excellence of their work Splash Social App.

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