“Experience design that cuts through the social noise. The interface and modes are tuned to our existing social app behaviors and take it a step further, drawing these together with a focus on place. Nice to see this design avoiding the look and feel of ‘maps.’” —juror Keri Elmsly

“One of the most thorough pieces of student work I came across.” —juror Harold Jones

Overview: You may already Tinder, Snapchat, Yik Yak, Periscope, Kik, Whisper and Nearby, but do you Plip? Unlike most social media apps, Patrick Blanchard’s Plip doesn’t use hashtags or followers to connect people; instead, it anchors anonymous text posts, or “plips,” to specific coordinates. So if you need to launch an urgent plip one morning after work (“Ugh why do I have to see cute dog guy at 8 a.m. when I just got done with an overnight shift?”), other users within the immediate vicinity can collect your plip, favorite it and reply back (“OK, so who is cuter, the dog or the guy?”). Users can collect plips by setting distance and age (e.g., plips no more than 50 feet away and no older than two days) and easily view their app stats, such as the number of plips collected and what their most popular launch days are. Sharing your cute dog guy sightings with those around you just got a whole lot easier.

•The interface is based on existing social media interactions. 
•Plip connects local communities and facilitates dialogue in shared spaces.
•The app also records the distances users walk.

Comments by Patrick Blanchard: 
What are the project’s core features? “It rethinks how people connect digitally by activating communication through their shared physical spaces.”

What was the thinking behind the navigation structure? “Plip features fresh interfaces that have obvious roots in existing social media interactions. This introduces new methods of experiencing social content and sharing online while remaining accessible to new users.”

Are there any special navigation features? “A cool color palette positions Plip within the realm of popular social media giants, and unique shades of blue and purple combine in ways that give Plip a sense of individuality.”