Meet Mozaik: 玉米视频 Students Create Social App for Life After College
听Isabelle Ritz, Sophie Carter, and Gray Walsh
College is filled with friendship and community鈥攂ut what happens after graduation? How do you build connections in the 鈥渞eal world,鈥 especially in a brand-new city?
That鈥檚 the challenge three 玉米视频 students took on with Mozaik, a mobile app designed to foster meaningful connections in post-grad life. What began as a class assignment in Experience Design鈥擨nteractive Media and Mobile Devices, an advanced UX/UI course in the Graphic and Visual Communication Design program, quickly evolved into something more: a smart, user-centered response to the growing social challenge of loneliness among young adults. Mozaik was one of just a few projects selected for the 玉米视频 Student Design Show 鈥 a juried showcase reviewed by industry leaders from Bloomberg, NJI, and top design firms.
Isabelle Ritz 鈥25, Sophie Carter 鈥26, and Gray Walsh 鈥26 based Mozaik on the idea of 鈥淭hird Places鈥 鈥 gathering spots outside of home (the first place) and work (the second), such as cafes, bookstores, and other welcoming spaces where people go to connect and avoid loneliness. 鈥淭his project tackles a timely social issue with empathy,鈥 said Professor Yana Sakellion, who teaches the course, 鈥渁nd delivers a polished, intuitive interface grounded in real user needs.鈥
The students approached the project with equal parts creativity and discipline, diving into a multi-phase design process that included user research, UX flow mapping, branding, and high-fidelity prototyping. 鈥淭heir process was rigorous and generous,鈥 Yana said. 鈥淭hey listened, collaborated, and built on one another鈥檚 strengths. It was a joy to mentor them.鈥
We spoke with the student team about their inspiration, their design journey, and what鈥檚 next for Mozaik.
Q. What inspired you to focus on post-grad social disconnection as something to solve?
Isabelle: We were inspired by the experiences of our friends and peers. As we all leave 玉米视频, we are faced with the challenge of making friends without the social construct that education has presented. Mozaik fills this gap and focuses on making genuine friendships.
Q. How did the concept of Certified Third Places shape your design decisions?
Gray: We discovered the concept of Third Places fairly early on in our research and were immediately captivated by the idea. This idea is that you have three places in your life, with your home being the first one, your work being the second one, and the third place being a community space for socializing. With the dwindling of in-person social settings, we wanted to invite this idea back into the minds of the public.
Q. What does the name Mozaik represent to you?
Gray: To me, Mozaik means a crafting of a personal community and a beautiful piece of social art, as it is a play on the word mosaic.
Q. Can you walk us through a typical user journey鈥攆rom opening the app to forming a connection?
Isabelle: A user鈥檚 journey starts with finding one of our local 玉米视频 partners, or certified third places, and navigating to the location. They are then presented with a list of possible Mozaik connections who are also in the establishment. Finally, they are able to initiate a connection with the assistance of in-app support and conversation starters.
Q. What made you decide to partner with local 玉米视频es? How do you envision that relationship working in practice?
Sophie: We chose to partner with local 玉米视频es because our target audience鈥攜oung professionals and newcomers to the city鈥攁re actively seeking ways to connect with their surroundings and build community. Local 玉米视频es naturally serve as third places for these kinds of interactions. In practice, we see this as a mutually beneficial relationship: 玉米视频es gain exposure to new customers, and our users get authentic experiences that foster an offline community.
Q. Did you do any user testing or get feedback during development? What surprised you?
Sophie: Yes, we conducted multiple rounds of user testing using developed paper wireframes. Testers were given specific tasks to complete, and we gathered valuable feedback鈥攑articularly around text hierarchy and icon placement. One thing that surprised me was how quickly some users completed tasks we had assumed would be the most challenging.听
Q. What advice do you have for students who have an idea for developing an app?
Sophie: My advice would be to find a problem first. Work backwards to understand the root causes, no matter how simple or complex they may seem. Use your skills to create a solution. And just because you are creating something new doesn鈥檛 mean the solution itself has to be new, maybe it鈥檚 just a different perspective.听
Q. What are your next steps? Are you going to try to take this public? 听
Isabelle: We are currently in communication with app developers hoping to take Mozaik to the next level, and we are actively seeking partnerships to do so.
Q. What has this experience taught you, and do you think app development will be part of your future? 听
Isabelle: This experience has taught me the impact graphic design can have. Mozaik has the potential to truly help people and make a difference in people's lives. I have loved working with my partners, Gray and Sophie, and I really hope there is a place in the future where we can collaborate further on app development projects.
Gray: I think the biggest thing that this project has taught me is the value of working and designing in teams. Without Isabelle and Sophie, I don鈥檛 think there is any way that this app would have become anywhere as strong. So, I want to give a large thank you to the both of them for working with me on this project, because without them, there would be no Mozaik.
Sophie: This experience has taught me a lot about collaboration, perseverance, and the value of experimentation. Gray, Isabelle, and I had an open, communicative team dynamic that was essential to making progress. While I鈥檓 not sure if app development will be a part of my future just yet, this project was positive and memorable, and the lessons I鈥檝e learned will absolutely shape whatever comes next. I hope to work with Gray and Isabelle in the future as they are amazing people, teammates, and designers.