Splash ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ by Junjie Xu

Splash ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ by Junjie Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ in ᱢᱚᱵᱟᱭᱤᱞ Competition Category.

ᱞᱚᱦᱟᱢᱚᱵᱟᱭᱤᱞ· 2025

Splash ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ

by Junjie Xu

A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ Winner in ᱢᱚᱵᱟᱭᱤᱞ Category

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The Design

About Splash ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ

ᱥᱮᱨᱮᱧ ᱚᱱᱚᱞ: ᱥᱯᱞᱮᱥ ᱢᱮᱱᱛᱮ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ ᱠᱟᱱᱟᱭ ᱡᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱠᱚᱞᱮᱡ ᱥᱮᱴᱟᱹᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱛᱟᱭᱚᱢ ᱜᱟᱛᱮ ᱦᱟᱹᱴ ᱨᱮ ᱱᱟᱶᱟ ᱜᱚᱴᱮ ᱠᱚ ᱥᱮᱞᱮᱫ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ ᱾ ᱭᱩᱡᱚᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱯᱷᱳᱱ ᱱᱚᱢᱵᱚᱨ ᱛᱮ ᱥᱟᱭᱱ ᱟᱯ ᱦᱚᱸᱭ ᱠᱚ ᱟᱨ ᱦᱚᱢ ᱯᱮᱡ ᱨᱮ ᱮᱱᱮᱢ ᱟᱫᱤ ᱦᱩᱭᱩᱜ ᱠᱟᱱ ᱡᱚᱢᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱧᱮᱞ ᱫᱟᱲᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ ᱾ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱛᱮᱞ ᱠᱞᱤᱠ ᱛᱮ ᱡᱚᱢᱟ ᱨᱮ ᱡᱩᱲ ᱦᱩᱭᱩᱜᱼᱟ, ᱟᱨ ᱱᱟᱶᱟ ᱢᱤᱴᱟᱯ ᱠᱚ ᱴᱷᱮᱴᱟ ᱥᱮᱠᱮᱸᱰ ᱨᱮ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱫᱟᱲᱮᱭᱟᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱢᱮᱲᱟᱣ ᱦᱚᱸᱭ ᱴᱟᱴᱠᱟᱹ, ᱴᱷᱟᱹᱶ ᱟᱨ ᱚᱠᱛᱚ ᱨᱮ ᱚᱨᱚᱠ ᱛᱟᱦᱮᱸᱱ ᱨᱩᱡᱷᱟᱹᱛᱟᱲ ᱠᱚ ᱵᱟᱵᱚᱛ ᱦᱩᱭᱩᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱵᱟᱨᱮ ᱫᱚᱨᱟᱡᱟ ᱡᱩᱲᱟᱶ ᱠᱚ ᱟᱨ ᱠᱷᱟᱹᱥ ᱯᱷᱳᱱ ᱱᱚᱢᱵᱚᱨ ᱟᱫᱟᱱ-ᱯᱨᱚᱫᱟᱱ ᱠᱟᱛᱮ ᱵᱷᱚᱨᱚᱥᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱨᱚᱠᱷᱟᱹ ᱮᱢ ᱫᱟᱲᱮᱭᱟᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱦᱮᱪ ᱠᱟᱛᱷᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱛᱮ ᱦᱟᱡᱟᱨ ᱦᱩᱭ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱟᱠᱟᱛᱟᱲ ᱮᱢᱚᱜᱼᱟ ᱾ ᱥᱯᱞᱮᱥ ᱚᱰᱤᱥᱦ ᱟᱨ ᱮᱱᱰᱨᱚᱭᱮᱰ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱠᱮᱢᱯᱟᱥ ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱠᱩᱲᱤ-ᱜᱟᱲᱤ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱴᱟᱠᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱚᱠᱛᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱵᱟᱫᱷᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱚᱰᱚᱠ ᱮᱫᱟᱭ ᱾

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ

Splash ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ ᱫᱚ A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ ᱧᱟᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱᱟ, ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱫᱚ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱠᱚ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱮᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱ ᱥᱚᱢᱟᱱ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾ ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱫᱚ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱᱟᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱵᱷᱟᱵᱱᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱠᱟᱢᱤ ᱡᱷᱟᱞᱠᱟᱣ ᱠᱚ᱾ Splash ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱥᱚᱥᱶᱟᱹᱲ ᱱᱮᱴᱣᱟᱨᱠᱤᱝ ᱮᱯᱞᱤᱠᱮᱥᱚᱱ ᱫᱚ ᱠᱚᱞᱟ, ᱣᱤᱜᱭᱟᱱ, ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱟᱨ ᱴᱮᱠᱱᱚᱞᱚᱡᱤ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱥᱤᱢᱟ ᱵᱟᱲᱦᱟᱣ ᱟᱨ ᱫᱩᱱᱤᱭᱟ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱜᱚᱲᱚ ᱮᱢ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Splash is an instant offline social networking app designed for college students to seamlessly meet new friends with one-click matching based on time, location, and preferences. Unlike traditional apps, Splash removes financial and time barriers to socializing, leveraging real-time event creation, smart notifications, and second-degree connections for trust. The design prioritizes speed, spontaneity, and safety, ensuring frictionless interactions that foster real-world friendships.
Dimensions & Packaging: Platform: iOS (Swift), Android (React Native)
Backend: Firebase (Firestore, Authentication), Google Cloud Functions
Event Matching Algorithm: Real-time interest and availability-based pairing
User Authentication: Phone number-based login with OTP verification
Privacy & Safety: End-to-end encryption for phone number exchanges
Data Storage: Cloud-based with GDPR compliance
Package Size: 40MB initial app download
Tags: social networking, campus friendship, offline socializing, real-time event matching, college networking, friend meetup app, spontaneous meetups, Firebase app, community building, event-based networking
Production Technology: Splash was built using Swift for iOS development with a Firebase backend for real-time event matching and authentication. We employed React Native for cross-platform scalability, leveraging Google Cloud Functions for instant event processing. The UI was crafted using Figma, focusing on minimalistic yet engaging interaction flows. Our design methodology followed Lean UX and rapid prototyping, allowing for iterative user testing and agile improvements.
Design Challenge: The biggest challenge was balancing spontaneity with user safety and trust. Unlike traditional networking apps, Splash required instant but meaningful social matching, ensuring low drop-off rates while maintaining a seamless UX. We tackled this by leveraging second-degree connections for social proof, implementing privacy-first phone exchange, and designing a minimal-input event creation process. Rapid iteration and real-world testing allowed us to optimize engagement.
Research: Research Type: Market & UX Research
Objective: Validate the demand for frictionless campus socializing
Methodology: Surveys, interviews, prototype testing
Data Collection: 500-person survey at CMU, 100+ user interviews
Participants: College students (18-24)
Results: High interest in a free, instant social meetup app
Insights: Users prioritize low effort, real-time availability, and social safety
Impact: Splash removes financial/time barriers to forming friendships, making socializing more accessible
Inspiration: Splash was inspired by the struggle of making real-life friends on campus without investing excessive time or money. We saw a gap—students craved spontaneous, effortless social interactions. Drawing from Uber’s instant matching model, we designed Splash to remove the friction in meeting new people. Our research included a 500-person CMU survey and 100+ user interviews, refining our MVP for real-world needs. With fast iterations and data-driven UX, we built a seamless, intuitive experience.
Project Duration: Pittsburgh PA, Sep 2023 - Mar 2024
Operation Flow: Users sign up with their phone number and sync contacts to discover friends. The homepage displays upcoming events, allowing users to join with one click. Event initiators can create meetups in seconds, while AI-powered notifications increase engagement. Users confirm participation by exchanging details and uploading a profile image. Smart reminders ensure attendance. The app fosters real-world connections effortlessly, reducing social friction.
Team Members: Junjie Xu
Image Credits: Junjie Xu