Project Type
Personal
Timeline
Oct 2026
Team
Solo, design and build
Tools
React + Vite
Claude Code
What I did
- Designed the loop from a voice check-in to a circle and back.
- Defined Co's five signals and the rule that she asks only for what's missing.
- Built the prototype in React with Claude Code.
Problem
New city, no one to call
A move, a new job, a fresh start. CoPatible is for people in the middle of one: fine on their own, still short on friends nearby. Profiles and event lists never ask how you feel right now.
Insight
Match the moment first
The useful match isn't only someone with your hobbies. It's someone who wants the same kind of evening. So you say how you feel, and Co answers with a small circle and a real plan.
The check-in
Say it out loud, once
Voice comes first, with a photo as the fallback. Co listens for five signals, mood, energy, activity, social and timing, each a two letter tile: solid is heard, outline is asking, dashed is missing.
Co asks only about what's missing, two questions at most. In the prototype the signals are simulated: the transcript is scripted, and each signal goes missing about a third of the time.
Design language
Calm, set in print
A calm broadsheet: Newsreader and IBM Plex Mono on newsprint, ruled lines instead of rounded cards, and no shadows, glows, blur or gradients.
Color works like card stock, so it carries meaning. Canary is Co, each kind of circle has its own stock, and a pink highlight marks the key phrase.
What I left out
Less to fill in, nothing to perform
The category screen
Cut, because the check-in already says what you need.
A text box
Replaced by a photo, which carries more context than a typed line.
Picking people afterward
No "Stay connected?" pick for each person. Feedback asks how it felt, and the chat stays open.
Public profiles
Profiles stay private, with no follower counts or leaderboards. Nobody should have to perform.
Final Design
From how you feel to who you meet
One question, then you're in
No profile up front. The basics wait until after your first match, when they can improve the next one.
Voice first, with the words on screen
A few spoken sentences carry what a form needs a field for each, and you check what Co heard before anything is matched.
Every question has a visible reason
The tile Co is asking about turns from dashed to outline, and she stops at two.
Co explains every match
A note in Co's voice says why the circle fits, so the match percentage is never the only reason to go.
The moment is what you share
Co's memory card keeps one line from a past circle, and sharing passes it along as a private moment, never a profile.
Reflection
Co is defined by what she doesn't ask
CoPatible is a study in asking. Co asks two questions at most, and her tiles show what she heard and what is still missing. The bet I would test first: an AI product earns trust by showing what it heard and asking only for what it missed.
Try it live
Check in with Co, right here
The prototype itself, not a recording. The mic records nothing: the transcript is scripted and the signals vary, so each run can ask different questions.