Naomi Ling

A Yale student reimagining human-centered design, particularly in startups and Edtech. 


Currently · Co President of Design at Yale
Currently ·  Lead UI/UX Researcher @ dbrand x YUCG
Summer 2025 · Lead UI/UX Designer @ Dayli, an AI-powered startup that simplifies group scheduling 
Summer 2025 · Product Management Intern @ Yale University Press, conducting web usability testing 
Spring 2025 · Project Designer @ Yale Intramural Sports x Design at Yale
Spring 2024 · Cram Presentation Designer (<10% acceptance) @ Fiveable, which has helped millions of students study for AP exams 



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Dayli: Mobile App Case Study

Link to App Demo

Overview

My Role: Lead UI/UX Designer  

Duration: July 2025 — Present

Tools: Figma

The Challenge: To design a beautiful mobile experience. Dayli needed to feel smart and intuitive, but also calm and personal. The goal was to help users stay on top of everything without the stress that usually comes with scheduling.

Research & Concept Foundations

Understanding User Motivations

To ground the design, I interviewed 25 potential users — young adults and college students ages 18-24 who enjoy meeting friends, exploring new spots, and being social, but also struggle with planning friction.

Key takeaways included...
  • Overplanning kills momentum. People lose interest when coordination takes too long.
  • Context builds trust. Users want to know who’s free and what kind of hangout it is before committing.
  • Spontaneity thrives on simplicity. Users prefer quick, low-commitment actions like “I’m down” or “Join now” rather than filling out event details.

These insights led to three guiding principles.
  1. Immediacy over precision – focus on quick discovery and action.
  2. Context over clutter – highlight people, not logistics.
  3. Trust through transparency – always show who’s involved and what to expect.


Ideation & Flow Design

After defining the principles, I mapped out the information architecture and user journey for the mobile interface. 

  1. Onboarding and profile setup
  2. Adding friends on the “Friends” tab 
  3. Creating and messaging a group
  4. Sending a hangout invitation (“Anyone down for coffee?”)
  5. Voting on the best time and date for everyone


Mobile Prototypes  

Mid-Fidelity Prototype



I wanted Dayli to feel light, social, and dynamic. The palette draws from warm gradient tones — sunset orange, red, and yellow — inspired by the idea of day shifting into night. Rounded edges, people-centered graphics, and subtle motion cues help make interactions feel human and fluid.

The typography is clean and friendly, with subtle emphasis on clarity and rhythm. I added micro-interactions like button ripples and hover fades help the app feel alive.

High-Fidelity Prototype

Once the mid-fidelity prototype was approved by both the software developers and CEO, I moved into creating the high-fidelity prototype in Figma. This stage focused on refining visual consistency, motion design, and interactive realism to bring Dayli’s personality to life.

I collaborated closely with developers during this phase to ensure that every design element was implementation-ready. We established spacing tokens, type scales, and reusable components in a shared Figma library to maintain cohesion across mobile and web platforms.

The final prototype emphasized... 
  • Micro-interactions that guide emotion. Gentle fades, ripple effects, and slide transitions help users feel in control without distraction.
  • Consistent color rhythm. Gradients shift subtly as users move through screens, reinforcing the “day to night” theme.
  • Contextual clarity. Tooltips, inline confirmations, and active states reduce uncertainty and encourage quick decision-making.
  • Realistic content. All placeholder text and imagery were replaced with real sample data to test authenticity and trust.



Usability Testing & Iteration

After finishing the high-fidelity prototype, I ran quick usability tests on the mobile app with 8 participants focusing on clarity, discoverability, and emotional tone.

Findings:
  • Users sometimes misunderstood “availability windows” as scheduled events. I added microcopy like “Let people know when you’re free — no pressure to commit.”
  • The invite modal originally had too many options; I reduced the invitation to “Yes” or “No.” 
  • Users sometimes struggled with integrating Dayli more naturally into the conversation, so I reduced the friction of calling Dayli by letting the user @ “Dayli.” 

After iteration, both mobile and web flows felt faster and more intuitive, with users completing key tasks 35% faster.


Final Deliverables

  • Full mobile prototype (Figma) with high-fidelity UI for iOS and Android
  • Interactive component library and design system 


Reflection & Future Tasks 

This project taught me how to balance spontaneity and clarity while designing an interface that encourages organic connection without confusion or overwhelm.

The hardest challenge was translating the feeling of real-time social energy into pixels — designing not just for usability, but for emotional resonance. I’m proud to say that Dayli’s design is now a space where planning less actually leads to connecting more.

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