When a friend checks into a venue, it sparks curiosity to explore that place further. Yet, with City Guide now housing all the information about a place, users communicated that the experience often frustrated them. Could Swarm prioritise key elements that align with its core purpose while still offering a venue page without overlapping the content of its sister app?

In 2014, splitting the original Foursquare app into City Guide and Swarm allowed the company to separate functionality between personalised local recommendations and social check-ins. While this provided a more focused experience in each app, the product team received recurring feedback after the split: users were frustrated with the transition between the two apps and wanted a more efficient way to gather venue details within Swarm before navigating to City Guide.

01—Discover

Understanding the Problem

Before we dive in, it's important to note that Swarm did have a venue page, of sorts, at launch. As shown below, users could access specific details about a venue, including its address, the total and unique number of visitors, and a row showing if any friends had previously checked in. Additionally, information about the current Mayorwas displayed at the bottom of the modal, along with a City Guide button that allowed users to browse a more comprehensive listing.

Unfortunately, many users were unaware of the additional information available in Swarm, as the venue name on the check-in detail (second screen) didn't appear to be interactive, leading to missed engagement opportunities. When users did access the page, they expressed dissatisfaction, feeling that the information provided was inadequate and didn't give them enough to form a clear opinion about the venue.

02—Define

User Research and Insights

Whether you were a seasoned Foursquare veteran or a recent sign-up, the call for more information echoed loudly through app store reviews. Users exploring competitor apps highlighted a clear opportunity: Swarm needed to offer more venue details to remain relevant and competitive. This feedback challenged us to reconsider a foundational question: could Swarm evolve while still honouring the purpose behind the app split?

However, this wasn't simply about adding more information but rethinking how venue exploration could align with Swarm's social DNA while complementing City Guide's functionality. We resolved to bridge the gap between the two apps, ensuring Swarm could provide immediate, actionable insights about venues without compromising its focus on social discovery.

To guide this initiative, I facilitated a series of workshops to address a key challenge: how could we add meaningful venue details to Swarm without duplicating City Guide's functionality? By aligning stakeholders on this goal, we crafted user stories that focused on simplifying the venue discovery process while reinforcing Swarm's social-first identity. Through competitor analysis, I identified design patterns that balanced rich information with social interactivity. These findings helped shape early creative explorations, where mood boards and content blocks helped visualise how Swarm could uniquely present venue details without compromising its playful, social tone.

03—Ideate

Identifying an Entry Point

We explored several approaches to presenting venue information, each reflecting different priorities. One idea centred around an interactive bottom sheet that revealed more content as users pulled it up, offering a modern, more engaging experience. Another approach involved a static area, which displayed all relevant details upfront for simplicity and clarity. A third offered a simple modular card that would provide an entry point into a new view to reduce cognitive load on an already busy check-in detail.

Each concept raised interesting questions about Swarm's purpose and how venue details should integrate with its core social features. While dynamic elements like the bottom sheet introduced new paradigms, they did so at the risk of Swarm's social focus with features like stats and comments from friends potentially being obscured or deprioritised. Conversely, the static area and card designs were straightforward but less engaging, potentially missing opportunities to enhance interaction.

Through iteration and testing, we found that the mini venue card struck the ideal balance between engagement and simplicity. It provided a concise snapshot of key information without detracting from Swarm's social features, seamlessly aligning with the app's flow and identity.

Designed to support Swarm's core purpose as a lifelog, the mini venue card supported two distinct modes: "haven't visited" and "visited." For venues a user hadn't visited, the card would emphasise the actions of their friends, and for venues already visited, the card would transform into a more personalised experience, inviting users to add a rating and leave a tip.

This dual-mode approach ensured that venue interactions felt dynamic and meaningful, whether users explored new places or reflected on their experiences.

Content as a Framework

Recognising the growing demand for richer venue information, we decided it was imperative to move beyond the limitations of our existing modal-based venue page and transition to a more expansive view. To maintain focus, we streamlined the venue details to highlight social features like tips, ratings and saves. For those seeking more in-depth information, we would continue to lean on City Guide, which enabled users to explore comprehensive content without disrupting Swarm's social flow.

At the heart of the redesign was the goal of immediately immersing users in a sense of community, and we opted to do this through user-generated photos. However, we also had to account for venues where photos might be unavailable or hidden for privacy reasons—such as gyms, hospitals, or law offices. To address this, we adapted City Guide's approach, using blurred placeholder images to preserve the lively, colourful aesthetic while respecting user privacy.

Directly beneath the photos, I explored adding interactive buttons for saving, rating, and leaving tips—actions that naturally aligned with Swarm's social log role by capturing personal and community-driven opinions about venues.

• Save: With us concurrently developing a saved/visited feature, this felt essential. Saving a venue represents user intent and bridges City Guide, where saved places could be categorised further.
• Rate: Ratings, likes and saves represent a meaningful form of social commentary as they help users quickly gauge whether friends or like-minded individuals enjoyed a venue. Leave a Tip: This is the most detailed form of social commentary, allowing users to share personal insights and recommendations. This action was essential to fostering community engagement and enhancing the page's value.

These actions reflected our goal to narrow the gap between Swarm and City Guide while staying true to Swarm's playful and social-first focus. By prioritising meaningful interactions, we aimed to create a page that felt dynamic and true to users' experiences.

Beneath the action bar, I introduced a face pile—a powerful, wordless signal highlighting friends who had checked in at the venue, enhancing Swarm's social capabilities. The face pile could also be a visual separator before transitioning into our next text-heavy block. If no friends had checked in, the face pile wouldn't render, ensuring a clean, streamlined layout.

Fast Facts, Faster Decisions

The venue information section was designed to highlight the most critical details users need—operating hours, contact information, a website, a map, and a complete address—all in one place. We aimed to present enough information to support decision-making while avoiding unnecessary complexity. Insights from competitor analysis revealed that showcasing key venue details earlier in the user journey significantly improved usability, reinforcing our decision to prioritise this content upfront.

I iterated through multiple sketches and mockups to streamline the layout, exploring ways to combine the map and venue details into a cohesive, user-friendly section. Guided by user feedback, we devised a design that balanced simplicity and functionality. The map became a dynamic element, allowing users to quickly pan, pinch, and zoom to explore their surroundings. Tapping the address block triggered an action sheet with quick access to navigation apps like Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Citymapper, making it effortless to get directions.

This concise, interactive approach aligned with Swarm's focus on spontaneous, social decision-making, contrasting with City Guide's more detailed and comprehensive venue pages.

Showcasing Social Content

As with most social networks, actual value emerges from cultivating a robust friend graph, and this section celebrates those connections by featuring tips from both you and your friends. Each tip includes the user's avatar, name, venue rating, and a short, tweet-length passage of text. Users can upvote a tip to show their agreement or appreciation, and the most recent upvote is displayed to highlight ongoing engagement.

Above the tips, a set of pills highlights key themes or popular topics related to the venue. These pills provide a quick snapshot of what people are discussing, offering users an easy way to grasp the venue's most talked-about aspects.

04—Test

Testing and Feedback

From the beginning, I prioritised low-to-medium fidelity designs, opting for black-and-white layouts that allowed for rapid iterations and unbiased feedback during internal reviews. This approach kept the focus on functionality and usability rather than aesthetics.

To gather diverse perspectives, we established a steady feedback loop, sharing weekly builds with employees and fortnightly updates with Superusers. Superusers were given a dedicated Slack channel to share images, screen recordings, and detailed feedback. This collaborative space not only uncovered usability challenges early but also generated innovative ideas that influenced the direction of the design.

Combining these insights with internal feedback gave us a comprehensive understanding of user needs. This iterative process ensured the design was continuously refined, aligning with user expectations and delivering an intuitive and impactful feature at launch.

Design Revisions

05—Release

Room for Improvement

Foursquare's belief that 'the places you go are the best indicator of who you are' highlights the power of location in shaping connections and inspiring exploration. Seeing a friend check in at an unfamiliar venue often sparks curiosity and encourages discovery.

With the reintroduction of the venue page, we've streamlined access to key information, including photos, tips, and ratings from friends, making it easier than ever to decide whether to visit a place. While this enhancement simplifies decision-making, there remains an opportunity to improve the Swarm experience by introducing new features that enhance venue discovery—a core action for our users.