Sponty

Overview

Sponty ("No Plans. Just Vibes.") is a mobile app that turns "I'm bored" into "let's hang out" in three taps. Instead of planning days ahead, you post what you're doing right now, grabbing coffee, heading to the park, and nearby friends can join on the spot. This case study covers the design decisions behind making spontaneity feel simple, low-pressure, and safe.

Problem

Making plans usually means a slow back-and-forth of texts, typing out where, when, and who's coming, and committing to something that might fall through. That friction kills spontaneity, so most people just stay home. The challenge: capture the carefree, in-person energy of early Snapchat and Houseparty without becoming another curated feed, and without ignoring real privacy and safety concerns around sharing location.

Solution

Sponty strips hangouts down to a 3-tap flow: pick a pre-built activity (coffee, park, study, food), choose who sees it (friends, close friends, or specific people), and post. Hangouts show on a map with approximate, not exact, location by default, and auto-expire after 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hours. Edge cases were designed up front: posts quietly expire if no one joins, an optional cap keeps groups manageable, and canceling removes the pin instantly.

Role

Owned end-to-end product design, from concept and competitive analysis (what made early Snapchat and Houseparty feel fun) to defining the core interaction model, wireframing the post flow and map/feed views, and designing for privacy and safety edge cases.

Outcome

A focused, single-purpose app: one primary screen (map-first), one core action (post a hangout), one clear lifecycle (post, join, expire). Cutting features like chat and stories keeps Sponty true to its premise, real spontaneity, not another feed to scroll.

Design Decisions

Proofs

Try it

Map home — see where your friends are right now