Project
Independent case study
MY ROLE
Product Designer
TIMELINE
1 Week
TOOLS
Figma
OVERVIEW
Common Ground is a mobile planning experience designed to help groups of people decide what to do together without becoming running into differences interests. It reduces repeated suggestions, unanswered questions, and the confusion that often comes with coordinating plans.
One person begins by selecting a date, location, and budget. The other participants confirm what works for them and privately choose their interests. Common Ground then compares everyone’s responses, identifies where the group’s preferences overlap, and uses that information to create a shared itinerary.
The idea behind Common Ground is simple: making plans should feel like part of the experience, not an obstacle that everyone has to overcome before it begins.
PROBLEM
Different schedules, budgets, locations, and interests makes planning difficult. Suggestions get lost, louder voices can shape the plan, and the group often settles for the easiest option—or the plan through out all together.
SOLUTION
The organizer sets the plan’s basic parameters, while friends can participate without creating an account. Common Ground gathers each person’s constraints and interests, identifies the strongest matches, and presents a coordinated itinerary that the group can review, share, or adjust together.
FLOW ONE: CREATE A PLAN
The organizer selects activities, sets the date, location, budget, and group size, then reviews and shares the plan. Clear parameters replace an open-ended group chat with a focused starting point.
FLOW TWO: JOIN A PLAN
Invitees confirm what works, suggest changes, and add their own picks—without creating an account. Once all participants have submitted their preferences, Common Ground combines their responses and reveals what the group shares.
OUTCOME
Common Ground makes the group’s overlap visible and turns it into an actionable itinerary. Instead of negotiating through scattered messages, friends leave with a plan they helped shape and can confidently join.