Pinwheel

Designing a location based social network

Solitary Man was tasked with building the brand identity and product strategy for Pinwheel. At the time, it was a revolutionary idea to create a social network based not on a friend graph or interests, but on location.

The idea came from realizing that most people are disconnected from their surroundings. We hardly know our neighbors, let alone what is happening nearby. The idea was there; the next step was executing it in the most meaningful way possible.

Figuring out what matters most

We studied how humans communicated before the technology revolution and found that useful information traveled by being amplified or relayed from one group to the next. That became the starting point.

In the modern world, humans are much more visual, so we focused on the camera as the default sharing tool. Users could share a photo or video and add text when more context was needed.

Each post started with an initial geographic reach radius. With each like or comment, that radius grew, amplifying useful local content so more people nearby could see it.

We also had to reinvent communication around location. Users could see people they were connected with nearby, as well as new people who opted to be available to chat, creating new connections and ways to discover local activities, places, and businesses.

Location, location, location

Building Pinwheel's underlying technology and working through complex user problems based on location pushed our creativity and allowed us to create a unique product experience that delighted users every day.