betweenus
BetweenUs was my first vibecoding app solution: a card game for couples and friends that uses thoughtful questions to encourage conversation, empathy, and a deeper understanding of one another. I designed the UX/UI, shaped the brand, developed the app, and learned a new way of building products through the process.
Client
Betweenus
Year
2026
Project type
UX/UI, Branding, App Development & Vibecoding
Credits
Joslyn Valente
UX / UI
Branding
App Development
Vibecoding
Problem
People often want to have more meaningful conversations with the people they love, but do not always know how to begin. BetweenUs explores how a simple card-game format can create a gentle structure for couples and friends to ask better questions, share honestly, and build empathy without making the interaction feel forced or clinical.
Role & Scope
I designed the complete app experience, including the UX/UI, interaction model, card-game structure, branding, and product direction. I also developed the app myself as my first vibecoding solution, using the project to learn new software and understand how quickly an idea can move from concept to working product.
Outcome
BetweenUs became a focused product experience built around conversation rather than competition. The app gives couples and friends a simple way to start meaningful discussions through question cards, while the visual identity and interface make the experience feel warm, approachable, and easy to return to.
Timeline
Product discovery, card-game concept, UX/UI design, branding, vibecoding, prototyping, and ongoing learning.
Context & Constraints
The challenge was to make emotional conversations feel easy to start. The product needed enough structure to guide people, but enough openness for the conversation to belong to them.
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The game needed to work for both couples and friends without assuming the same level of intimacy or emotional openness.
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Questions had to encourage honesty and empathy without feeling invasive, performative, or overly serious.
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The app needed a simple interaction model so people could focus on one another instead of learning a complicated interface.
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As a first vibecoding project, the product was also a learning environment for exploring new software, development workflows, and faster iteration.
Process
01
Discovery & Problem
The starting point was a simple observation: people can care deeply about one another and still run out of ways to have meaningful conversations. I explored how a familiar card-game format could provide a low-pressure reason to ask questions that might otherwise never come up.
02
Research & Principles
The experience was guided by a few principles: keep the interaction simple, make the questions feel human, create room for different levels of vulnerability, and let the conversation remain more important than the interface.
03
Ideation & Creation
I shaped the product around a deck of conversation cards. Each turn creates a small invitation to answer, listen, and respond. The system had to feel playful enough for friends and intimate enough for couples without forcing either audience into a separate product.
04
UX/UI & Branding
I designed the app interface and brand together so the visual language could support the emotional purpose of the product. The direction aimed to feel warm, clear, and welcoming, with enough character to make opening the app feel like an invitation rather than a task.
05
Vibecoding & Learning
BetweenUs was my first vibecoding app solution. I learned new software while developing the product, using the speed of the workflow to test ideas, adjust the interaction, and understand how design decisions change when the designer is also building the product.
Learnings
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The best product idea can begin with a very small human truth: people want to connect, but often need a reason to start the conversation.
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When the product is about empathy, the interface should know when to get out of the way.
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Designing and building at the same time changes the quality of iteration. Vibecoding made it easier to test ideas in context and learn from a working product rather than only from static screens.
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A flexible product can serve different relationships when it gives users control over depth, pace, and interpretation instead of trying to prescribe the perfect conversation.
What I'd do differently
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I would test the question categories with more couples and friend groups earlier, especially across different ages and levels of familiarity.
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I would define a stronger learning plan for the software stack at the beginning, so more time could go toward refining the product’s emotional details and interaction quality.
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