Summary:

In 2010, Apple unveiled the iPad, a revolutionary device that redefined the tablet landscape. While many companies scrambled to adapt, Lolay, a digital innovation agency, saw an opportunity to craft a truly unique experience. They partnered with eHarmony, a leading online dating platform, to develop the first-ever iPad app specifically designed for fostering meaningful connections.

Challenges:

eHarmony, known for its in-depth personality matching algorithm, wanted to leverage the iPad's capabilities to create a more engaging and immersive dating experience. The ground-up effort to rebuild a majority of the eHarmony application on a new surface presented unique challenges. The interface needed to be intuitive for both tech-savvy and novice users, while also maintaining eHarmony's commitment to privacy and security. Additionally, the app had to go beyond simply replicating the existing website experience and capitalize on the iPad's strengths.

Navigating the uncharted territory of iPad app development presented both challenges and exciting prospects. Lolay had to leverage a nascent platform, limited design guidelines, and user expectations shaped by established web applications. However, they also saw an immense opportunity to create an intimate, immersive, and intuitive dating experience that fully took advantage of the iPad's real estate and touch interface.

Approach:

Lolay's team embraced a user-centric approach. Through extensive research and user interviews, they identified key pain points in the existing eHarmony experience. They understood the need for a more visual, profile-driven approach on the iPad, catering to users' desire for richer first impressions and intuitive navigation.

Armed with these insights, Lolay crafted a unique design language. They prioritized large, high-quality profile pictures, interactive swiping gestures for browsing profiles, and a clean, uncluttered interface that maximized screen real estate. The app also leveraged the iPad's camera and microphone, enabling video profiles and in-app video calls, fostering a more personal and engaging connection.

Key features included:

• Rich profiles: Users could browse through detailed profiles, complete with larger photos and videos, creating a more personal connection.
• Interactive matching: The app gamified the matching process, incorporating swiping gestures and interactive photo elements to make finding potential matches more engaging.
• Enhanced communication: Lolay introduced features like in-app video chat and voice calling, allowing users to connect directly within the app.
• Location-based features: The app leveraged location services to suggest compatible matches nearby, fostering real-world connections. 
• Contextual transitions: The goal of the experience was to guide users through a series of key steps and actions without feeling confused or lost.

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Solution:

Lolay partnered with eHarmony in three major areas of software development, ranging from from front-end development to API integration: 

• Front-End Development: Lolay built a custom native front-end architecture that leveraged all the latest iOS development tools and SDKs. Many of the components were modularized and reusable. 
• Back-End Development: Lolay worked closely with the eHarmony engineering team to develop fast APIs with compact payloads that would yield fast response times and low data usage when users were on cellular data.
• API Development and Integration: Lolay integrated with hundreds of API endpoints and resource calls, and built a first-generation caching utility that dramatically increased performance for all eHarmony users.

Innovations:

1. Relationship Questionnaire: Lolay reduced the relationship questionnaire footprint and speed of completion by over 300% through visual answers and automated flows to next questions and pages..
2. Richer Profile Exploration: The iPad's larger screen provided an opportunity to showcase user profiles in a more visually compelling way. Lolay incorporated high-resolution photos, detailed bios, and compatibility scores, making it easier for users to assess potential matches.
3. Advanced Photo Album: A first of its kind, Lolay developed a mechanism to deliver matches through a unique photo album view with infinite scroll capabilities and easy gestures that allowed users to quickly take action on matches for next steps. 
4. Ease of Communication: Lolay paved the way for fast and easy communication between matches, leveraging prefills templates and auto-complete responses. Lolay also helped introduce the first face-to-face video chat and in-app voice calling, allowing users to connect with potential matches in a more personal and engaging way.
5. Intuitive Navigation: Since a native iPad application does not have the same engagement model as a traditional website or web application, Lolay pioneered custom animations, transitions and contextual elements that seamlessly moved a user through complex flows and stages with ease.

Impact:

The eHarmony iPad app, a product of Lolay's innovative thinking and deep experience within the digital dating domain, set a precedent for the future of online dating. It demonstrated the power of tailoring technology to specific platforms and leveraging their unique features to create an exceptional user experience. 

• Boosted user engagement: Over 50% increase time-in-experience compared to web. The app saw a significant increase in time spent per session and overall user engagement compared to the website.
• Increased conversions: 11% lift in free to paid conversions. The app led to a higher conversion rate from free users to paying subscribers, leading to millions of dollars of additional revenue during the first year after launch.
• Positive press coverage: Over 8 million news/press impressions. The app received widespread acclaim from tech and media outlets, solidifying eHarmony's position as a tech-savvy dating platform.
• Industry recognition: Lolay's work on the app was recognized with several industry awards, including a Webby Award for Best Mobile App.