All work
CASE STUDY · CONCEPT · DESIGN ASSIGNMENT
BEEN A WHILE
A concept card for the friend you never stopped caring about, just stopped texting.
PROBLEM
People go quiet on old friends not because they stopped caring, but because the gap feels too awkward to break with a text.
MY ROLE
Solo project: survey, desk research, concept, UX and UI, a working prototype and a user test.
METHODS
A survey of 7 people, desk research, a user test with voice-note follow-ups, and two rounds of changes.
TIMELINE & TOOLS
3 days, design assignment for a greeting-card company, Oct 2026 · Claude, HTML, CSS, JS, Netlify, Supabase
7
people surveyed about moments they wanted to say something but didn’t
5
short steps to build a card, with help at every step
1
user test, on the tester’s own phone, unassisted
4
gaps found in the user test, all fixed in the next build
Try the prototype
ON THIS PAGE
The challenge
Research
Insight and concept
The receiver
The sender
Design details
Working with AI
Testing
After launch
What I learned
The challenge
The assignment: create a new interactive card experience for a digital greeting-card company, around something people want to express, starting with people rather than screens, then build a working mobile-first prototype in 2 to 3 days. Been a While is my own concept for it.
The result is a working, mobile-first prototype, tested with a real user and improved twice. My tester said she would send it: “it is very personalised and a fun way to reconnect.”
AT A GLANCE
Problem: people go quiet on old friends because the gap feels too awkward to break with a text.
Solution: an interactive card where shared memories do the awkward part. Wipe the dust off an old photo, play “Still true?”, read an honest note, and reply in one tap.
CONSTRAINTS
2 to 3 days from brief to a working prototype
Mobile-first: most cards are opened from a WhatsApp link on a phone
No server at first, so the whole card had to travel inside its link
One person doing the research, design and build
Starting with people
I surveyed 7 people aged 18 to 32 about moments they wanted to say something but didn’t. I asked about real moments, not what card they’d like, because people can’t invent products in a survey. One answer stayed with me: “Hey, it’s been a while since we spoke… Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.”
What I found
What it meant for the design
5 of 7 said an old friend they’ve drifted from is the hardest person to open up to
Design for reconnecting: the one message the brand’s card range doesn’t cover yet
5 of 7 stayed quiet because “a text felt too small”
The card has to carry more than a text can: memories, a game and a note
4 of 7 “didn’t know the right words”
Every step of the builder offers prompts and ready-made starters
Only 28 to 37% of people who draft a message to an old friend send it (Sandstrom & Aknin, 2024, ~2,500 people), and people underestimate how much others appreciate being reached out to (Liu et al., 2022)
The hard part is pressing send, so sending and replying have to feel light
The insight
People don’t go quiet because they stopped caring. The gap just feels too awkward to break with a text.
WHAT THAT MEANS
Who it’s for: someone who misses a friend they drifted from after moving cities, changing jobs, or just life. What they want to say: “I’ve been thinking about you. I miss you. No pressure.”
Why a card, not a text: a text puts all the weight on a few words. This card carries the awkward part: memories say “I remember us” first, and replying takes one tap.
The opportunity: the brand’s range covers birthdays, love, apologies and festivals, but nothing for the hardest message of all, the first one after a long silence.
THE CONCEPT
The friendship got a little dusty
The receiver’s side: a dusty envelope, the dust-off, memories, “Still true?”, the note and a one-tap reply. Use the arrows to move between screens.
The receiver wipes the dust off an old photo with their finger, so time apart becomes something they physically clear away. I first explored a “You got through it” card from the open answers, but chose reconnecting because it’s where my survey and the research agreed most strongly. It’s also personal: friends drift as you grow up, nostalgia hits, and a plain text feels empty.
The receiver’s journey
Playful first, sincere last, because 3 of 7 didn’t want to seem too emotional. This is what the friend sees when they open the link.
Moment
What the receiver does
Why
A dusty envelope
Sees their name and “It’s been a while. About 2 years, actually.”
The sender’s own rough timeframe, never an invented day count
The dust-off
Wipes the dust off an old photo with a finger
Time apart becomes something they clear away
Memories and “Still true?”
Flips through memory polaroids, then plays “Still true?” about old in-jokes
Play makes it easy before it gets sincere
The note
Reads “I didn’t know how to text you after so long, so I made this instead”
The honest peak of the card
The reply
Replies in one tap, or makes a card back
It ends with a conversation, not just a reveal
The full journey, from the dusty envelope to the reply. It unfolds through the dust-off, memory polaroids and the “Still true?” game, and peaks with the note.
Making it easy to send
THE SENDER BUILDS IT IN 5 SHORT STEPS
The friend: their name and roughly how long it’s been.
A photo, or an illustrated mood if there isn’t one.
Up to 3 memories, with prompts and an idea picker if they get stuck.
“Still true?” lines, each with an optional funny answer.
The note, with Warm, Funny or Simple starters in English or Hinglish.
The builder in 5 short steps, the changes after the user test, and what I added after launch. The before-and-after slide shows the yellow assignment version.
Need
Help in the builder
Why
Stuck on a memory
Memory prompts and an idea picker
4 of 7 didn’t know the right words
Stuck on the note
Warm, Funny and Simple starters, in English or Hinglish
No essay needed: “Pick one and we’ll write the first text for you.”
Unsure how it will look
A “See how they’ll see it” preview on every step
My tester couldn’t picture the result
Example text in the way
Example text selects itself when tapped
Deleting it slowed my tester down
Design details
Copy that sounds like a friend: “Some things gather dust. Wipe it away.”
Honest details: the sender’s rough timeframe, never an invented day count.
A nudge before sending: “Most people are happier to hear from an old friend than we expect.”
Visual system: Calistoga for headings, Plus Jakarta Sans for reading and Caveat for handwriting.
Eight original illustrations, each hiding a “two of us” detail, like two pairs of slippers on the beach.
Accessible: 44px tap targets, labels on every field, keyboard support, reduced motion, and “Tap here to reveal instead” for anyone who can’t swipe.
Working with AI
I used Claude for desk research and to build the prototype, and treated every output as a draft to judge. AI jumped straight to card ideas; I ran a survey first. One long form became 5 short steps, like the brand’s own card builder. A “730 days since we talked” counter went, because people only remember roughly.
Colour directions I rejected, then the same concept built by AI alone vs. with my direction (assignment version).
I rejected four colour directions before one felt right. For the assignment I matched the brand’s warm yellow; for my portfolio I gave the card its own identity, a “faded photograph” palette of warm paper, terracotta and faded blue, so the colours feel like an old photo you’ve just found. The palette lives in a few design tokens, so the change took minutes. Given the same concept without my direction, AI built a flat WhatsApp mock-up with none of the atmosphere.
Testing and iterating
A survey respondent built a card on her own phone, unassisted, then answered follow-ups by voice note. She said she’d send it, and she found what I’d missed.
WHAT SHE FOUND, AND WHAT CHANGED
She couldn’t add her own answers to “Still true?”, so senders can now add a funny 4th answer. Her verdict: “actually even better.”
The card she made for me wouldn’t open, so it now has a real link that carries the whole card.
Deleting example text slowed her down, so it now selects itself when tapped.
She couldn’t picture the result, so every step now has a preview.
HONEST SCALE
7 survey respondents and 1 user test. That’s small, so I treat these findings as signals to test further, not proof.
After launch
After submitting, I sent a card to myself on WhatsApp and found the link only half-worked. With no server, the whole card, photos included, was packed into the link, making it thousands of characters long, and WhatsApp stopped recognising it partway. I added a small database (Supabase) so cards are saved online and the link carries only a short id.
Before
After
What it means
Links of about 30,000 characters
Links of 58 characters
WhatsApp recognises the whole link
Photos squeezed to fit inside the link
Photos keep their full quality, and voice notes can be a minute long
The card looks the way the sender made it
Then I closed the loop, because a reconnect card only works if it starts a conversation. The receiver can make one back, with both names filled in. “Cards you’ve sent” shows when a card is opened and how they answered, with no account needed, and answers are saved only when the receiver chooses to send a reply. Simple counts of cards made, opened and replied, with no names or messages, mean success is conversations started, not cards sent. Cards open only from their link, and senders can delete one at any time.
What I learned
Every gap my tester found was about the other person in the conversation, which is exactly what this card is about.
Next, I’d run a proper test of the receiving side: sit with someone while they open a real card from an old friend.
Then I’d watch the open and reply rates over a few weeks, because real usage beats survey numbers.
TRY IT ON YOUR PHONE
Open been-a-while-hiral.netlify.app on your phone
Make a card for a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while
Send it on WhatsApp and see what they reply
Been a While is my own concept, created for a design assignment. It isn’t an official product of the company that set it.
LET’S TALK.
I’m looking for product and UX design roles in Mumbai, remote, or where relocation makes sense. I reply within a day.
© 2026 Hiral Mamaniya
Designed and built in Framer
All work
CASE STUDY · CONCEPT · DESIGN ASSIGNMENT
BEEN A WHILE
A concept card for the friend you never stopped caring about, just stopped texting.
PROBLEM
People go quiet on old friends not because they stopped caring, but because the gap feels too awkward to break with a text.
MY ROLE
Solo project: survey, desk research, concept, UX and UI, a working prototype and a user test.
METHODS
A survey of 7 people, desk research, a user test with voice-note follow-ups, and two rounds of changes.
TIMELINE & TOOLS
3 days, design assignment for a greeting-card company, Oct 2026 · Claude, HTML, CSS, JS, Netlify, Supabase
7
people surveyed about moments they wanted to say something but didn’t
5
short steps to build a card, with help at every step
1
user test, on the tester’s own phone, unassisted
4
gaps found in the user test, all fixed in the next build
Try the prototype
The challenge
Research
Insight and concept
The receiver
The sender
Design details
Working with AI
Testing
After launch
What I learned
The challenge
The assignment: create a new interactive card experience for a digital greeting-card company, around something people want to express, starting with people rather than screens, then build a working mobile-first prototype in 2 to 3 days. Been a While is my own concept for it.
The result is a working, mobile-first prototype, tested with a real user and improved twice. My tester said she would send it: “it is very personalised and a fun way to reconnect.”
AT A GLANCE
Problem: people go quiet on old friends because the gap feels too awkward to break with a text.
Solution: an interactive card where shared memories do the awkward part. Wipe the dust off an old photo, play “Still true?”, read an honest note, and reply in one tap.
CONSTRAINTS
2 to 3 days from brief to a working prototype
Mobile-first: most cards are opened from a WhatsApp link on a phone
No server at first, so the whole card had to travel inside its link
One person doing the research, design and build
Starting with people
I surveyed 7 people aged 18 to 32 about moments they wanted to say something but didn’t. I asked about real moments, not what card they’d like, because people can’t invent products in a survey. One answer stayed with me: “Hey, it’s been a while since we spoke… Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.”
5 of 7 said an old friend they’ve drifted from is the hardest person to open up to
WHAT IT MEANT FOR THE DESIGN
Design for reconnecting: the one message the brand’s card range doesn’t cover yet
5 of 7 stayed quiet because “a text felt too small”
WHAT IT MEANT FOR THE DESIGN
The card has to carry more than a text can: memories, a game and a note
4 of 7 “didn’t know the right words”
WHAT IT MEANT FOR THE DESIGN
Every step of the builder offers prompts and ready-made starters
Only 28 to 37% of people who draft a message to an old friend send it (Sandstrom & Aknin, 2024, ~2,500 people), and people underestimate how much others appreciate being reached out to (Liu et al., 2022)
WHAT IT MEANT FOR THE DESIGN
The hard part is pressing send, so sending and replying have to feel light
The insight
People don’t go quiet because they stopped caring. The gap just feels too awkward to break with a text.
WHAT THAT MEANS
Who it’s for: someone who misses a friend they drifted from after moving cities, changing jobs, or just life. What they want to say: “I’ve been thinking about you. I miss you. No pressure.”
Why a card, not a text: a text puts all the weight on a few words. This card carries the awkward part: memories say “I remember us” first, and replying takes one tap.
The opportunity: the brand’s range covers birthdays, love, apologies and festivals, but nothing for the hardest message of all, the first one after a long silence.
THE CONCEPT
The friendship got a little dusty
The receiver’s side: a dusty envelope, the dust-off, memories, “Still true?”, the note and a one-tap reply. Use the arrows to move between screens.
The receiver wipes the dust off an old photo with their finger, so time apart becomes something they physically clear away. I first explored a “You got through it” card from the open answers, but chose reconnecting because it’s where my survey and the research agreed most strongly. It’s also personal: friends drift as you grow up, nostalgia hits, and a plain text feels empty.
The receiver’s journey
Playful first, sincere last, because 3 of 7 didn’t want to seem too emotional. This is what the friend sees when they open the link.
A dusty envelope
WHAT THE RECEIVER DOES
Sees their name and “It’s been a while. About 2 years, actually.”
WHY
The sender’s own rough timeframe, never an invented day count
The dust-off
WHAT THE RECEIVER DOES
Wipes the dust off an old photo with a finger
WHY
Time apart becomes something they clear away
Memories and “Still true?”
WHAT THE RECEIVER DOES
Flips through memory polaroids, then plays “Still true?” about old in-jokes
WHY
Play makes it easy before it gets sincere
The note
WHAT THE RECEIVER DOES
Reads “I didn’t know how to text you after so long, so I made this instead”
WHY
The honest peak of the card
The reply
WHAT THE RECEIVER DOES
Replies in one tap, or makes a card back
WHY
It ends with a conversation, not just a reveal
The full journey, from the dusty envelope to the reply. It unfolds through the dust-off, memory polaroids and the “Still true?” game, and peaks with the note.
Making it easy to send
THE SENDER BUILDS IT IN 5 SHORT STEPS
The friend: their name and roughly how long it’s been.
A photo, or an illustrated mood if there isn’t one.
Up to 3 memories, with prompts and an idea picker if they get stuck.
“Still true?” lines, each with an optional funny answer.
The note, with Warm, Funny or Simple starters in English or Hinglish.
The builder in 5 short steps, the changes after the user test, and what I added after launch. The before-and-after slide shows the yellow assignment version.
Stuck on a memory
HELP IN THE BUILDER
Memory prompts and an idea picker
WHY
4 of 7 didn’t know the right words
Stuck on the note
HELP IN THE BUILDER
Warm, Funny and Simple starters, in English or Hinglish
WHY
No essay needed: “Pick one and we’ll write the first text for you.”
Unsure how it will look
HELP IN THE BUILDER
A “See how they’ll see it” preview on every step
WHY
My tester couldn’t picture the result
Example text in the way
HELP IN THE BUILDER
Example text selects itself when tapped
WHY
Deleting it slowed my tester down
Design details
Copy that sounds like a friend: “Some things gather dust. Wipe it away.”
Honest details: the sender’s rough timeframe, never an invented day count.
A nudge before sending: “Most people are happier to hear from an old friend than we expect.”
Visual system: Calistoga for headings, Plus Jakarta Sans for reading and Caveat for handwriting.
Eight original illustrations, each hiding a “two of us” detail, like two pairs of slippers on the beach.
Accessible: 44px tap targets, labels on every field, keyboard support, reduced motion, and “Tap here to reveal instead” for anyone who can’t swipe.
Working with AI
I used Claude for desk research and to build the prototype, and treated every output as a draft to judge. AI jumped straight to card ideas; I ran a survey first. One long form became 5 short steps, like the brand’s own card builder. A “730 days since we talked” counter went, because people only remember roughly.
Colour directions I rejected, then the same concept built by AI alone vs. with my direction (assignment version).
I rejected four colour directions before one felt right. For the assignment I matched the brand’s warm yellow; for my portfolio I gave the card its own identity, a “faded photograph” palette of warm paper, terracotta and faded blue, so the colours feel like an old photo you’ve just found. The palette lives in a few design tokens, so the change took minutes. Given the same concept without my direction, AI built a flat WhatsApp mock-up with none of the atmosphere.
Testing and iterating
A survey respondent built a card on her own phone, unassisted, then answered follow-ups by voice note. She said she’d send it, and she found what I’d missed.
WHAT SHE FOUND, AND WHAT CHANGED
She couldn’t add her own answers to “Still true?”, so senders can now add a funny 4th answer. Her verdict: “actually even better.”
The card she made for me wouldn’t open, so it now has a real link that carries the whole card.
Deleting example text slowed her down, so it now selects itself when tapped.
She couldn’t picture the result, so every step now has a preview.
HONEST SCALE
7 survey respondents and 1 user test. That’s small, so I treat these findings as signals to test further, not proof.
After launch
After submitting, I sent a card to myself on WhatsApp and found the link only half-worked. With no server, the whole card, photos included, was packed into the link, making it thousands of characters long, and WhatsApp stopped recognising it partway. I added a small database (Supabase) so cards are saved online and the link carries only a short id.
Links of about 30,000 characters
AFTER
Links of 58 characters
WHAT IT MEANS
WhatsApp recognises the whole link
Photos squeezed to fit inside the link
AFTER
Photos keep their full quality, and voice notes can be a minute long
WHAT IT MEANS
The card looks the way the sender made it
Then I closed the loop, because a reconnect card only works if it starts a conversation. The receiver can make one back, with both names filled in. “Cards you’ve sent” shows when a card is opened and how they answered, with no account needed, and answers are saved only when the receiver chooses to send a reply. Simple counts of cards made, opened and replied, with no names or messages, mean success is conversations started, not cards sent. Cards open only from their link, and senders can delete one at any time.
What I learned
Every gap my tester found was about the other person in the conversation, which is exactly what this card is about.
Next, I’d run a proper test of the receiving side: sit with someone while they open a real card from an old friend.
Then I’d watch the open and reply rates over a few weeks, because real usage beats survey numbers.
TRY IT ON YOUR PHONE
Open been-a-while-hiral.netlify.app on your phone
Make a card for a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while
Send it on WhatsApp and see what they reply
Been a While is my own concept, created for a design assignment. It isn’t an official product of the company that set it.
LET’S TALK.
I’m looking for product and UX design roles in Mumbai, remote, or where relocation makes sense. I reply within a day.
© 2026 Hiral Mamaniya
Designed and built in Framer