01browseSee your cohort
Friendly profiles of classmates in your program. Shared interests stand out, so you know what to say.
Helping shy and commuter students make friends in a big cohort with TStar
A mobile app that helps U of T students make friends in their own cohort, without having to say hi first.
GoalHelp shy and commuter students start friendships.
?Wait for someone to say hiSay hi with one tap
ResultTesters finished both tasks on our mid-fi prototype.
3 / 3
Send a Star12.9sFinish a quest23.4s
My partTeam project, then my own redesign.
Team of 5
Ran the surveySketched quest screensRan tests
On my own
RedesignLaunch film
The problem
Students meet plenty of people, but do not feel connected
Big lectures, long commutes and networking-style events make it hard to turn a classmate into a friend. Our survey showed how common that is.
The solution
TStar, a cohort-only app where saying hi takes one tap
TStar shows students the classmates in their own program and gives them small, low-pressure ways to connect. Nobody has to send a cold first message.
02starShoot a Star
One tap means “happy to chat,” with an optional note. Ignoring a Star sends no notice, so there is no rejection.
03questDo a weekly quest
Small missions like “grab a hotdog with a cohort buddy.” Scan their code, share a photo and earn Star Points for the cohort rocket.
Research
31 surveys and 11 interviews, sorted into themes
I built the survey. Then we wrote every interview note on a sticky and grouped them. Four themes kept coming up.
5people said it
Big cohorts make it hard
“It’s hard to make friends in a large cohort.”
8people said it
Commuting cuts hangouts short
Long rides home mean leaving right after class, and skipping events.
5 of 11interviewees
Faculty events feel like work
“Catered to networking with working professionals.”
7 of 11interviewees
Friend circles stay tiny
Most make 1 to 3 friends per class. “Cohort feels cliquey.”
Persona
We designed for Shy Sherry
She is happy to chat once someone says hi. She will just never be the one to say it first.
Shy Sherry
The passive listener
- Age
- 21
- Program
- Psychology, Year 3
- Lives in
- Mississauga
- Commute
- 1.5 hours each way
I want to make more friends and feel like I’m a part of things, but it’s kinda hard when everyone already has their own group.
Goals
- Feel like she belongs
- Balance school and friends
- Keep a high GPA
Pains
- Huge classes
- Changing timetables
- Too shy for events
Needs
- Low-pressure ways to connect
- Options that fit her commute
StructuredSpontaneous
IntrovertExtrovert
CautiousAdventurous
IndependentCollaborative
Her journey
From going home alone to feeling part of the cohort
We mapped Sherry’s first day of class today, then what it could feel like with TStar.
TodayFirst day of class
Big lecture“Everyone seems to know each other.”
NervousShy
Class discussion“I hope someone approaches me.”
HesitantAnxious
Small talk“I hope I don’t sound awkward.”
Self-conscious
Club event“This feels more like networking.”
Intimidated
Going home“Everyone else seems to have plans.”
LonelyDrained
With TStarA week of term
Before term“So many cool people with cool interests.”
ExcitedCurious
Morning“The answers are so funny.”
Motivated
On campus“This will be a fun experience.”
Confident
After class“I feel less pressured.”
IncludedSupported
Free time“My cohort is so interesting.”
Satisfied
How might we help shy and commuter students start friendships, without the pressure?
Ideas
We ranked every idea by impact and effort
The simplest one won: a tiny “poke” that says you are open to talking. We renamed it Shoot a Star and paired it with small shared quests.
- Home runShoot a Star (the poke), cohort profiles
- Big betBluetooth “who is nearby”
- Quick winsWalk-home buddy, matching prompts
- Marginal gainsBuddy of the week, hobby matchups
Big bets
Home run
Quick wins & marginal gains
Shoot a Star (the poke)Cohort profilesBluetooth “who is nearby”Walk-home buddyMatching promptsBuddy of the weekHobby matchups
Bigger impact →Easier to build →
Paper prototype
Paper first, tested with three students
I sketched the quest and rocket screens and ran two of the three sessions.
“Is My Turn a button?”
Renamed it “Complete Quest”
No way to scan someone else’s code
Added “Show code” and “Scan code”
After a Star, users landed in the inbox
Go straight to that chat
Star icons on random buttons
Stars only where you earn points
Mid-fi prototype
A clickable Figma prototype everyone finished
Three new students did both tasks, once timed and once thinking out loud.
Task 1Send AJ a Star
12.9saverageTask 2Finish Quest Hotdog
23.4saverage3 / 3finished both tasks1small slip
Still, testers asked
“What are Star Points?”
“Does Cancel cancel the Star?”
“How do I start the chat?”
Final design · 2026
I redesigned TStar on my own to answer every open question
Find common ground
Shared interests light up, so you know what to say.
Shoot a Star
One tap says “happy to chat,” and the chat opens right away.
Do a quest together
Scan a buddy’s code, post a photo, and fuel the cohort rocket.
My decisions
Why I made these calls
Every change in the redesign started with something a tester did or said.
01
One action to say hi, not two
- Saw
- Testers could not tell “Shoot a Star” and “Send a message” apart.
- Did
- Merged them. A Star carries an optional note and opens the chat right away.
02
Explain points where people ask
- Saw
- One tester asked, “What does going to the Moon do?”
- Did
- Added a 3-line “How Star Points work” sheet, one tap from the rocket card.
03
Never block a quest on a dead phone
- Saw
- If a buddy’s phone is dead, nobody can scan.
- Did
- Added “Add them by name” so the quest still counts.
04
Stop mistakes before they happen
- Saw
- The only slip in testing was posting before adding a photo.
- Did
- The post button stays off until a photo is added.
05
Give people something to say
- Saw
- Testers said starting a chat after a Star felt dry.
- Did
- Added quick replies like “Want to grab lunch after class?” so the next message is one tap.
Product thinking
How I would know it works, and keep it safe
If TStar launched, these are the numbers I would watch and the guardrails I would build in from day one.
Success funnel
- Stars sentAre people saying hi?
- Chats startedDoes a Star turn into a talk?
- Quests doneDo they meet in real life?
- Back in week 2Does it stick?
Safety built in
- Only people in your cohort can see you
- Block and report on every profile
- “Open to chat” is a switch you control
- Ignoring a Star sends no notice, so there is no rejection
Why not just use…
- Discord or group chats. Easy to join, but big and noisy. Shy students stay quiet.
- Clubs and faculty events. Need time on campus and feel like networking.
- Bumble BFF. Strangers from anywhere, not people in your classes.
- TStar. Only your cohort, a tiny first step, and a reason to meet.
Next step
Testing the redesign
Next, I will run the same two tasks on the hi-fi version with five U of T students, ideally commuters.
WhoU of T students, ideally commuters.
5
Bar to beatThan the mid-fi times on both tasks.
Faster
Send a Star12.9sFinish a quest23.4s
Success means“What are Star Points?” questions.
0
Reflection
What I learned
The hardest part was never the screens. It was understanding how nervous people feel before they say hi, and designing around that feeling.
01
Calm beats features
Matching, games, live alerts→One small, simple action
Taking pressure away helped more than any extra feature.
02
Clear beats clever
“Blastoff”→Names that say what they do
All three testers asked what “Blastoff” meant.
03
Flow is everything
Star, then inbox→Star, then straight to chat
One extra screen can undo a good idea.
04
Gentle design for shy users
Points for everyone→Fun parts stay optional
Quieter students should never feel pushed.
What I would do next
- testHi-fi with real students
- AIOptional first-message suggestions
- questsFit each student’s schedule
- starsTry a daily limit
- retentionTrack use over a full term