hopin
University Carpooling Platform
Hopin is a university-provided carpooling service that connects students without using traditional payment. Instead of money, riders give drivers stickers or comments as appreciation, which can be exchanged for campus coupons. The design emphasizes community trust, playful branding, and simple ride-booking.
The Challenge
Students often avoid carpooling services because of payment friction and lack of trust.
Existing apps either rely on direct payments or lack features that promote social connection.
Design Questions:
- How can we bring this sustainable shift into students' daily mobility?
- How can we make carpooling more appealing to students?
My Role
As the sole designer, I:
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Led the entire design process from research to prototyping
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Conducted user research, including quick surveys and feedback sessions with students
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Defined the information architecture and user flow
- Developed branding with a sticker-based visual language
1. Project Background
Increase in Sustainable Mobility Method
With the recent growth of the sustainable mobility market, the adoption of eco-friendly transportation methods has significantly increased. The rise of bike-sharing programs, electric scooters, and improved public transit options has played a key role in this shift.
2. Research & Insights
Exploratory Research - Interview
To learn the differences in lifestyles based on their chosen modes of transportation and how they think about their current transportation, I interviewed two groups of students in their 20s living in a big city: those who own a car and those who don’t.
Key findings:
- Students with cars often offer rides to friends, but prefer the convenience of driving over public transportation.
- Students without cars feel anxious about commuting (especially during strikes) and dislike crowded public transport.
“How can we make carpooling more appealing to students?”
From interviews, I found that convincing car owners to switch to public transport was unrealistic.
Instead, the design opportunity lies in making casual carpooling between students more friendly, rewarding, and safe.
To understand students’ perceptions and experiences with carpooling and refine the service concept, I conducted surveys with 43 students.
3. Problem Statement
Carpooling among students is limited due to trust issues, scheduling friction, and transactional dynamics.
Goal:
Build a trust-based, non-monetary platform where students feel comfortable offering or requesting rides.
4. Design Strategy & Goals
- Reward with Stickers & Comments rather than money
- Create a playful, youth-friendly visual identity
- Streamline ride booking to 3 steps or less
- Enable driver recognition via a sticker leaderboard
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Ensure safety with campus-only sign-ups
5. User Flow
I created a user flow to visualize how students connect, ride together, and share appreciation in a few steps.
It emphasizes a smooth and friendly experience, reducing friction in the booking process.
6. Service Value Map
This map illustrates how value flows among students, the university, and campus stores.
By connecting shared rides with shared rewards, every participant benefits, making the campus mobility ecosystem more engaging and sustainable.
7. Key Features
Based on the design strategy, Hopin introduces five key features that make student carpooling simple, social, and rewarding.
Students can search for available drivers or riders along their route and explore their profiles with details like languages and personal preferences.
This feature makes it easy to find compatible people and send a request to ride together without complicated steps.
Real-time GPS tracking keeps both drivers and riders informed about each other’s location and estimated arrival time. It helps reduce uncertainty during pickup and ensures a smooth, stress-free connection.
Riders can express gratitude through fun and personalized stickers instead of traditional payment.
This small gesture encourages positive social interactions and builds a sense of community on campus.
Students can book rides in advance by setting ride times, selecting routes, and using filters for preferences like music or smoking.
It supports both spontaneous and planned rides, giving users more flexibility and control.
Each student’s profile keeps track of ride history, stickers collected, and coupons earned through the service.
The more rides a student gives, the more rewards they can unlock and redeem at campus stores.
7. Reflection & Next Steps
This project helped me grow in:
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Conducting end-to-end research, from user interviews and surveys to identifying key service opportunities.
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Designing a complete UX flow, including value mapping, user journey, and prototyping, while ensuring a consistent visual tone.
- Creating interactive prototypes that clearly communicate the service experience.
Recognition:
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This project is nominated for UX Design Awards Autumn 2025 and is currently under jury evaluation.
If extended further, I would:
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Test the prototype with students to validate usability and social engagement.
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Explore gamification strategies like seasonal sticker packs or achievement milestones.
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