Create a short-form content competitive social media platform
Creative direction, branding, and UI/UX design
Studio Cadenza 2022–present
Amongst a rising demand for competitive video platforms in today’s social media landscape, TopThis aims to allow users to showcase their untoppable skills, with an initial focus on a variety of topics such as snowboarding and skateboarding. There is a demand for a challenge-based social media experience. Who is our audience, and what steps do we take to create an athletic but youthful brand? How can we create the best experience for users to share content with their friends and community, in an engaging and fun way? How can we straddle the line of being completely unique, and sharing familiar similarities of platform a target user might already be familiar with, like TikTok?
The TopThis! brand is powerfully driven by Obviously, created by the type foundry Ohno Type. We use every weight of the variable font as a background textures. Our vibrant color palette works well on the light and dark mode of the app, as is athletic as it works well within the digital space. TopThis! is our main brand identity, as well as the call to action for users to prove themselves to their friends and community.
Of course, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, are ahead of the game when it comes to short form content, and yet we are increasing user desire for interactive and competitive content. Though social media is arguably competitive on it’s own, we have the Leaderboard to prove it. Every topic, whatever a user’s specialty is, has a daily, weekly, monthly, and all-time leaderboard, so that every user, no matter how established or high the follower count is, has a chance to top the leaderboard. Every video can have 1–5 “stars” ranking, and the total determines the leaderboard placement. Users are awarded trophies based on topic and rating, as well as bragging rights with their peers.
The Studio Cadenza team is small but mighty. As I took on much of the process of this project, the rest of the team and myself held meetings with stakeholders, to keep us moving through the design tasks. Using hand drawn, lo-fi wireframes, the flow of the app was mapped out, and assisted with making sure all UI elements were being considered, as well as the experience being perfected. Beginning with initial sketches, low fidelity wireframes, high fidelity wireframes, and building out a prototype, the product went through many different iterations and plans for future versions along the way.
