Enabling Party Profiles within Partiful

Comforting introverts to be more confident in RSVPing to events

Timeline

April - June 2026

Role

Product Designer

Skills

User Research, Product Thinking, Prototyping, Figma

Team

Ann Yang, Justin Young

Overview


Partiful is an event planning app that makes throwing parties feel less like a chore. Customizable invites, easy RSVPs, group chat built in.

But the invite experience leans heavy on logistics (theme, date, time), rather than vibe. For introverted college students, that missing context is a dealbreaker. This audience isn't antisocial. They want to show up. They just need to know what they're walking into before saying yes.

And this isn't just a wellness thing, it's a business one. Partiful's user activity jumped 600% in 2024, and they're competing in a $30B event market where their moat is UX, not price. Closing the info gap means higher RSVP conversion, less host overhead, and stickier retention. Inclusive design that quietly benefits everyone.

Overview


Partiful is an event planning app that makes throwing parties feel less like a chore. Customizable invites, easy RSVPs, group chat built in.

But the invite experience leans heavy on logistics (theme, date, time), rather than vibe. For introverted college students, that missing context is a dealbreaker. This audience isn't antisocial. They want to show up. They just need to know what they're walking into before saying yes.

And this isn't just a wellness thing, it's a business one. Partiful's user activity jumped 600% in 2024, and they're competing in a $30B event market where their moat is UX, not price. Closing the info gap means higher RSVP conversion, less host overhead, and stickier retention. Inclusive design that quietly benefits everyone.

Overview


Partiful is an event planning app that makes throwing parties feel less like a chore. Customizable invites, easy RSVPs, group chat built in.

But the invite experience leans heavy on logistics (theme, date, time), rather than vibe. For introverted college students, that missing context is a dealbreaker. This audience isn't antisocial. They want to show up. They just need to know what they're walking into before saying yes.

And this isn't just a wellness thing, it's a business one. Partiful's user activity jumped 600% in 2024, and they're competing in a $30B event market where their moat is UX, not price. Closing the info gap means higher RSVP conversion, less host overhead, and stickier retention. Inclusive design that quietly benefits everyone.

Problem Statement

Introverted college students (18-23) often hesitate RSVPing to events because they lack the information and social context needed to assess whether an event feels comfortable and manageable. This uncertainty leads to missed social opportunities for connection and a pattern of avoidance that can weaken their sense of belonging.

🔎 User Research

We ran semi-structured interviews (30 to 45 mins each) with 2 introverted college students and 1 event host who have received or sent a Partiful invite in the past 6 months. These interviews were a mix of remote and in-person, anchored around past RSVP experiences and a walkthrough of a real Partiful invite to surface what info they wished was there.

What did we find?

Familiar faces increase RSVP rates
All three participants needed to see at least one or two people they knew on the guest list before committing.

Vibe ambiguity is a consistent friction point
Guests want to know what kind of social energy to expect, not just what the event is.

Logistics gaps quietly kill RSVPs.
Transportation, duration, and structure came up repeatedly as unspoken anxieties.

🔎 User Research

We ran semi-structured interviews (30 to 45 mins each) with 2 introverted college students and 1 event host who have received or sent a Partiful invite in the past 6 months. These interviews were a mix of remote and in-person, anchored around past RSVP experiences and a walkthrough of a real Partiful invite to surface what info they wished was there.

What did we find?

Familiar faces increase RSVP rates
All three participants needed to see at least one or two people they knew on the guest list before committing.

Vibe ambiguity is a consistent friction point
Guests want to know what kind of social energy to expect, not just what the event is.

Logistics gaps quietly kill RSVPs.
Transportation, duration, and structure came up repeatedly as unspoken anxieties.

🔎 User Research

We ran semi-structured interviews (30 to 45 mins each) with 2 introverted college students and 1 event host who have received or sent a Partiful invite in the past 6 months. These interviews were a mix of remote and in-person, anchored around past RSVP experiences and a walkthrough of a real Partiful invite to surface what info they wished was there.

What did we find?

Familiar faces increase RSVP rates
All three participants needed to see at least one or two people they knew on the guest list before committing.

Vibe ambiguity is a consistent friction point
Guests want to know what kind of social energy to expect, not just what the event is.

Logistics gaps quietly kill RSVPs.
Transportation, duration, and structure came up repeatedly as unspoken anxieties.

📐 Lo-fis/Mid-fis

To ground our design decisions, we mapped the onboarding flow across four key screens — each building on the last to help attendees feel seen, comfortable, and connected before they even walk in the door.
Party Profile
  • Introduces a reusable profile attendees carry across events. Feels lightweight and guided, not formal.
Interest Selection
  • Multi-select interest cards that double as icebreakers and surface shared connections between attendees.
Profile Personalization
  • Playful fill-in prompts (favorite song, party trick) that build authentic personality cues without feeling like a bio.
Party Preferences
  • Vibe tags, setting picks, and crowd size controls that match attendees to events that fit their energy.

🎨 High-Fidelity Prototypes

Building on our lo-fi explorations, our hi-fi iteration focused on two key shifts: reframing the Party Profile as a contextual popup layered over the RSVP flow, and introducing more expressive, personality-forward interactions. Across four updated screens, we moved from quick-tap selections toward open-ended prompts, visual vibe cards, and a match summary that gives users an immediate sense of the profile's social value.
Interest selection
  • A tappable emoji card grid (art, coffee, music, travel, etc.) that replaces manual input with quick visual picks — turning interests into instant social signals for icebreaking at the event.
Add your preferences
  • Uses selectable chips for vibe and setting preferences, plus a crowd size slider — shifting focus from identity to comfort and host utility.
Customize your profile
  • Swaps preset interest chips for open-ended prompts (favorite song, drink, party trick) to surface more personal conversation starters.
Match summary
  • Closes the flow with a profile confirmation that previews similar attendees and top tags, giving users an immediate sense of the profile's social payoff.

🧪 User Testing Results

We ran informal Zoom usability tests with two UCSD students across both hi-fi prototypes. Neither prototype was perfect on its own — participants pulled different strengths from each, pointing toward a combined direction that takes Prototype 1's visual polish and Prototype 2's interaction ideas.
Key Takeaways:
Prototype 1 landed better visually
  • Both appreciated the visual polish compared to Prototype 2's darker aesthetic
Users want Flexibility
  • Preset chips are a good starting point, but participants wanted the option to type custom responses for more niche interests
The popup overlay should not block RSVPing
  • It works when it feels optional or post-RSVP, but feels frustrating when it interrupts the main action
Profile browsing needs to feel casual
  • Both saw value in browsing other guest profiles, but the feature needs to be framed carefully. It should feel like light social context, not formal matching or stalking.
Prototype 1
Prototype 2

🔄 Before and After


Now I'll walk you through the key design decisions made between our mid-fi and final hi-fi screens. Across both screens, the changes reflect two consistent themes:

  • Making the visual experience feel cleaner and more grounded

  • Making each interaction feel more intuitive and emotionally relatable for guests — especially those who are more socially hesitant.

Reflection


I'm super happy to have had COGS127 as my final class at UCSD, especially considering I was able to leave with this completed case study that would usually take more time if it were on my own schedule.

It was truly refreshing to walk through the design process slowly and be held accountable to collecting real user insights through user research and user testing. What I loved most about revisiting this process is having the creative freedom to select a user group and problem to solve.

Additionally, I loved working with Partiful's Design System. It was fun leaning into a colorful yet toned down trend that Partiful executes so well for their audience to enjoy and create fun party invites.

Let’s Chat!

CONTACT

sethssanmiguel@gmail.com

LinkedIn

Instagram

Let’s Chat!

CONTACT

sethssanmiguel@gmail.com

LinkedIn

Instagram

Let’s Chat!

CONTACT

sethssanmiguel@gmail.com

LinkedIn

Instagram

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