Content design for dating app investigation
The 6000-word-story is an investigation on how Tinder and Hinge’s parent company, Match Group, has kept a record of bad actors on its app for years yet still failed to reveal key information to its users.
Using that as a foundation, I created 4 sets of social assets focusing on different aspects of the story.
Impact: So far, the posts has reached over 400K audiences on IG and has over 25K engagements. It’s the best performing post on social in the organization’s history.
Post 1: Timeline of the main case
The reporters compared a real harassment case — from in-app reports to conviction — with Match’s efforts to protect its reputation. I extracted key time stamps and put them side by side for to highlight the story visually for its launch. Things in my mind while writing and designing:
Address the readers directly to resonate with them as this is an issue faced by many
Lead the cards with the Steven Matthews case as it’s really enticing
Use red to showcase the case timeline to add a sense of seriousness, then grey for Match’s actions to create contrast
Mention the tests around banned accounts (slide 6) to highlight Match’s failure in preventing bad actor from rejoining the app (on top of failing to disclose critical info that help keep their users safe)
Impact: The post was accepted as a collaboration post by The Guardian and Pulitzer Center. As of March 5, it has got over 24K engagements (14K likes, 152 comments and 8K shares).
Note: if you are in Canada, you might not be able to see the post on Instagram due to policy changes.
Post 2: The company’s failing report system
One of the story’s major takeaway is how Match has a cross-platform, central database for the harassment reports but chose not to disclose these information despite years of criticisms. I simplified the language and visualize the company’s process to deal with the reports. My thoughts:
Emphasize the info gap between Match and its users
Instead of paragraphs, visualize the process with steps (I referenced different process maps)
Highlight why the system is failing (lack of resource and effort) and connect it to its recent layoffs
Post 3: The case of Steven Matthews
I want to go back to the case as it’s really enticing and would definitely make people wanting to read more. I focused on the story and emphasize on the fact of how all the assault could’ve been prevented. Then, in the caption, I led the reader to the full story to find out more about how this has happened.
Post 4: Investigative tests & results
Another major finding of the story is how the reporter experimented the banning process on Tinder and found it’s relatively easy to open a new account on the platform. Rather than using paragraphs of text, I used dialogue bubbles to stimulate some of the questions asked by users / readers. This could help with readability and also make each slide shareable on its own. The posts are designed but yet to be scheduled.
Other Projects Like This
Art, Community, and Boston Chinatown
A documentary about community artists in Boston who use art to uplift Chinatown community voices.
Growth Redesign
Landing pages designed for an end-to-end subscriber experience to boost engagement and conversion.