All Here: A Virtual Social Platform for Long-Distance Intimacy

Creating Experiential Connections in a Digital World

All Here stands out as an online virtual social platform that focuses on helping users maintain long-distance intimate relationships. What sets it apart is its ability to create a social atmosphere with a sense of scenario realism through virtual images and rooms. The application revolves around the elements of emotional expression, gesture interaction, common tasks, and interactive memories, forming a comprehensive framework for maintaining intimate connections.

During the conceptual design phase, Chengbo Li and Huicong Hu conducted extensive research, including brainstorming sessions, mind mapping, and scene interviews. These efforts ensured that All Here would effectively address the challenges faced by individuals in long-distance relationships. The detailed design phase involved utilizing design tools such as Figma, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Experience Design to bring their vision to life.

All Here is designed specifically for the iOS system, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience for Apple device users. The application's user interface design and emotional design principles create an immersive environment that fosters emotional connections and enhances the user experience.

Upon entering the app, users can invite their friends to create different types of intimacy rooms, which are displayed on the home page. Avatars representing the users and their friends simulate their presence in the virtual rooms, replicating their real-life situations. The home page also allows users to upload their schedules and view the schedules of their friends. This feature consolidates the schedules of friends in a visual format, making it easy to identify common free time for interaction.

Additionally, users can upload their moods, which are displayed alongside their avatars. Clicking on a friend's image enables users to chat, interact symbolically, view common tasks, and access their personal pages. All Here encourages unique forms of interaction, such as sharing heartbeat rates and matching music to enhance the emotional connection between friends.

The application also facilitates the creation of joint tasks between friends. Users can define the task content, duration, and frequency, inviting their friends to participate. The progress of task completion is visually displayed, adding a sense of collaboration and achievement to the relationship. Furthermore, All Here automatically records all interactions between friends, creating a collection of shared memories.

Chengbo Li and Huicong Hu embarked on the All Here project in October 2021, completing it in January 2022 in Shenzhen. Throughout the design process, they employed user-centered design methodologies, conducting situational interviews with target users to extract design requirements. The project's success relied on understanding user concerns, needs for long-distance intimacy maintenance, and factors influencing user growth.

The design of All Here presented several challenges, with the primary focus being the user experience. While the application leverages technical means to provide a social platform, the emphasis remains on emotional experiences during user interactions. Chengbo Li and Huicong Hu overcame these challenges by continuously iterating and refining their design, combining practice and exploration to achieve a superior user experience.

All Here has garnered recognition for its innovative approach to long-distance intimacy. The design was awarded the Iron A' Design Award in the Mobile Technologies, Applications, and Software Design category in 2022. This prestigious accolade is a testament to the application's well-designed, practical, and innovative nature, meeting professional and industrial requirements while contributing to a better world.

All Here is not just a mobile application; it represents a new solution for maintaining long-distance intimacy in the face of global challenges. By providing a virtual social platform that prioritizes emotional connections, All Here redefines the possibilities of mobile social design.