Paper pals

is a unique experience that brings friends together through the timeless art of origami. It’s the perfect way for beginners to explore this engaging craft while adding a personal touch to shared moments. From creating special invitations to finding fun ways to bond, Paper Pals transforms ordinary get-togethers into memorable, hands-on experiences.

My Role

Product Designer
Lead Researcher

Team

Clear Shen
Jin Hee Jung

8 Weeks

Timeline

Agile Design Process
User Interviews
Moderated User Testing

Methodts
Tools

Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects

Overview

This project aims to explore how the art of origami can be used to connect friends, inviting them to participate in a fun group activity.

Solution

Onboarding & Create Event

  • Walk through the features of our app. Providing a clear view of what the app can do and its purpose.

  • Users get to create their event and customize their invitations. It saves the trouble of inviting people individually and makes the invitation look fun.

Customized your origami

  • User can customize their origami to make designs truly unique.

  • When the user selects a design, they can choose from a variety of paper colors, patterns, and sound effects to make their origami stand out.

Invitation Ticket & Tutorial

  • After completing the customization, the user can send an invitation with the tutorial.

  • Providing users with step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow, ensuring that they understand each step.

Order the Invitation kit

  • The user proceeds to send out the invite in 2 different ways.

  • The user gets to choose to have the customized material kit delivered to their household and get ready for the party activity.

Receive invitation

  • The recipient will receive the invitation ticket on their messaging app and be surprised by the unique invitation.

What is Origami?

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects. In Japanese, “ori” means folding, and “gami” means paper.

Discovering User Needs

Origami has so many perks! It's not just about creating cool paper designs, but it can also boost mental health, communication skills, and self-esteem.

We aim to introduce this activity to our users in a fun and engaging way. We want them to enjoy the benefits while having a blast and connecting with others through group origami activities!

Desk Research Insights

User Interviews

We did 6 Interviews, and found 3 pain points

Lack of
motivation

User feel lack of motivation to continue with the origami process

Accurate instruction

User need for accurate instructions to help them successfully complete the origami designs

Want to share

User have a desire to share their completed origami designs with others.

Target User:

The user is a creative young professional who enjoys hosting gatherings and adding personal, unique touches to their events. They like connecting and engaging in group activities, and they value spending time with friends. They are enthusiastic about creating memorable experiences for their guests.

User Journey:

Defining the Problem

How might we design an enjoyable digital origami experience for people who lack motivation to do it?

Design the solution

Initial solution: Customized Origami Emoji

Customize

Users can customize their “emoji” and include audio/written message

User Testing:

We tested the prototype with six people to assess three key points:

  1. The relevance of origami in this context.

  2. Whether users desire a more physical element.

  3. Understanding of what to do and where they are.

Digitized origami experience

Omit the process of looking for the material and folding it physically

Subscription plans

Regular delivery of material kits and other origami-related items- books or tools.

Deploying the Product

How can we make this come true?

Customized paper and material kits

Charge for the physical materials while keeping the digital components free

Freemium templates

A selection of free digital templates, paid premium templates

Subscription plans

Regular delivery of material kits and other origami-related items- books or tools.

Partnership

Collaborate with origami paper manufacturers and earn commissions

Reflections and next steps

The design process was an iterative and dynamic journey

After user testing, we decided to revisit earlier stages of the process and reanalyze research results. It ultimately allowed us to develop prototypes.

To conduct additional interviews with experts

To gather more insight, we would like to conduct additional interviews. Feedback will help us revise and expand our ideas.

To design games that can be played during the party

We also want to design more party games associated with origami in the app to retain customers.