Overview
ROLE
Product Design (UX/UI)
TOOLS USED:
Figma, Illustrator
This project is a fictitious scenario, completed as part of UX studies at Reichman and Google's High-Tech School.
Background
Moving abroad is exciting but challenging—many Israeli expats struggle with loneliness, cultural gaps, and difficulty finding relevant information. Belongi is a community-driven mobile app designed to help them feel at home wherever they are.
By fostering social connections, offering event discovery, and providing access to essential resources, Belongi transforms relocation into a smoother, more connected experience.
Problem
Relocation often leads to isolation and disconnection, especially for those leaving behind familiar cultural and social environments. Many Israeli expats face difficulties in building new social circles, accessing relevant community information, and maintaining their cultural identity. Existing solutions, such as Facebook groups and fragmented expat forums, lack a centralized, structured approach to fostering real connections. This results in frustration, information overload, and a longer adjustment period.
“How might we help Israeli expats build meaningful connections and feel at home abroad?”
Overview
Competitive research
User interviews
Research & Insights
To understand the real challenges expats face, we conducted in-depth research using multiple methods:
Competitive Research
User Interviews
Persona #1
Dana Schwartz, 33
Bio
Dana moved to Illinois with her husband for his postdoctoral research, leaving behind her close-knit family and social circle in Israel. Adjusting to a new country has been challenging, and she often finds herself searching for ways to connect with people who share her cultural background.
Goals:
To Integrate into the local environment through language and shared experiences.
Build a new social circle as a substitute for family and friends in Israel.
Frustrations:
Scattered information—relying on multiple Facebook groups and blogs feels overwhelming.
No single platform that centralizes all community activities
“We had to adapt quickly to the new society, but I still wanted to stay connected to my Israeli roots.”
Persona #2
Adi Cohen, 27
Bio
Adi moved to the US with her family at the age of 8 due to her father’s job, leaving behind her childhood friends and familiar surroundings. Growing up in a new culture was challenging, and she often felt caught between two identities—trying to integrate while still maintaining her Israeli roots. As an adult, she looks for ways to reconnect with her heritage and find social events that bring together fellow Israelis in her area.
Goals:
Feel a sense of belonging in her new home.
Find local social events for her and her family.
Frustrations:
Lack of child-friendly community events.
Struggles adapting to the local culture and forming friendships.
“The ones who truly helped me were always Israelis”
Home away from home
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Home away from home 〰️
Design Process & Wire-framing
I started by sketching out low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the user journey. My goal was to make sure the onboarding flow felt natural and easy to follow, guiding users step by step without overwhelming them. For the home feed, I balanced personalized recommendations with content from followed communities, ensuring a mix of discovery and familiarity.
I also spent time refining how users find and join communities or events, making sure it felt effortless. Since smooth navigation was key, I opted for a bottom navigation bar, keeping access to key sections intuitive and consistent.
User Flow
UI Design
Future Considerations
While this version of Belongi presents a fully designed and functional onboarding experience, there are opportunities for future refinement. Potential next steps include further personalization in content recommendations, optimizing the community discovery experience, and integrating more user engagement features to enhance interaction within the app.
What I learned
To read between lines while interviewing people. To let them speak even when it seems they are going off-topic, because what they are saying can be useful and give a different as well as unexpected perspective to the problem to solve.
I found that balancing personalization with clear navigation in the For You feed is crucial for increasing engagement and helping users easily discover relevant content.