Teach me how to
WEDDING
novelty conversation-based card game
24 prompts | 2 journals | 1 pamphlet
Context
California College of the Arts
Market Insight Studio
Life Event Design Challenge
Team
Time
Location
Role
Skills
Tools
3 CCA Graduate Students
Sep - Dec 2024
San Francisco, CA
Lead Product Designer
Physical Product Design
Game Design
Prompt Design
Design Research
Qualitative Analysis
Rapid Prototyping
Usability Testing
Procreate
Adobe InDesign
Miro
Canva
Exploration
For my Market Insight Studio project, my team and I were tasked with creating a design solution for a broad life event challenge — kept intentionally vague to allow rapid, in-depth exploration. *No apps allowed.*
Weddings are universal yet deeply personal, steeped in tradition and emotion — but few of us have experienced one firsthand. I explored the personal, emotional side of weddings, beyond convention. Modern couples seek celebrations that reflect their love stories, challenging materialism and tradition. My research spanned etiquette, attire, and inclusive weddings, uncovering the layers that make them meaningful.
Mind mapping on Miro and on paper
Research
I discovered that couples found it challenging to negotiate for a space between cultural traditions and personal values, many of which may be intertwined in the first place. Some couples may want to make a statement against wedding norms steeped deeply in heteronormativity; others may want little deviation from a proven formula passed on through their family. Yet across the board, all couples essentially had to position themselves — albeit in different spots — within the multidimensional cultural matrix of weddings. At the same time, I discovered that all couples wanted a “personal touch” to their Big Day.
Their main problem lies in finding an accessible means to articulate these complex, difficult topics with each other, and seeking out help from wedding resources and networks in their unique spaces.
Interviewee highlight quadrants
Frame & Reframe
Our problem statement —
How might we facilitate open dialogue for couples to discover their personal values and explore their individuality within the cultural status quo while planning their wedding?
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Through the technique of laddering up and down, we were able to navigate across a wide range of user insights, and recognize current blockages hindering them from planning their perfect wedding with ease.
Design
To answer the problem statement, the team conducted extensive brainstorming to pinpoint something fun, engaging, new, effective. Why don't we gamify it? We ultimately landed on the idea of a conversation-based card game that's easy to build and play, effortlessly in-person and free of technology.
We envisioned that we could use these cards to achieve two major goals. The cards could serve as a prompt to help promote dialogue between the couples as a way to discover their unique personalized vision of their wedding. They could further facilitate discussion around practical logistical topics important to have pre-wedding. These conversations can often be laborious, and often are not discussed nor thought about.
As lead product designer, I took charge of consolidating our ideas and transforming them into a tangible, enjoyable game experience for our target demographic of pre-wedding couples.
Mood board for concept inspiration
Initial concept sketch
> Iteration I: Simple Deck with 10 Conversational Q&A Flip Cards
I started with a simple deck of 10: 4 focused on core values, 2 on marriage practicalities, 3 on wedding planning, and 2 warm-up questions to start. I also included a simple instruction pamphlet, and a pair of journals for participants' to take down notes. Our prototype was designed to test:
(i) Whether a gamified approach would help couples facilitate open dialogue better than in a regular setting.
(ii) Whether open dialogue around difficult pre-wedding topics helps couples feel more prepared for their big day.
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Left: Instruction manual; Right: physical mock-ups
Scroll for a selection of sample cards; Made with Procreate, Adobe InDesign, Canva
Our in-class participants enjoyed the concept of our card game, and appreciated its potential to encourage couples to open up about deep/difficult topics. However, they found that the cards lacked an interactive element that could truly drive home the intimate connection that it strives to create between couples. They also wished that there were more scenario prompts and immediate activities other than purely Q&A format cards, which can make the game feel more like an interview than a free-flowing conversation at times. Finally, our participants wondered if the big, complex questions of core values and cultural backgrounds could be interwoven more subtly into questions centered around the wedding.
Ashna and Will; Role-play couple
Chiran and Shruti; Role-play couple
> Iteration II: Expanded Deck with 24 Date-Night-Inspired Cards
Thus, we integrated all of our feedback from Round 1, and decided to create an expanded deck of 24 cards. We also updated our instruction pamphlet accordingly, expanding it from a rather cramped bifold to a wider, more visual trifold. We kept our two simple journals as is. Complete with open-ended questions, role-play scenario prompts, speed rounds, and spontaneous mini activities, the deck compiled all the crucial wedding elements to consider, while leaving room for breathing space and variation.
Scroll for a selection of sample cards
Following our iteration, participants enjoyed the variety of questions, prompts, and activities, feeling that it encapsulated everything. They were laughing, making eye contact, and holding open, relaxed postures that encouraged discussion and engagement. The journals worked well as a place to gather information and jot down thoughts, providing a space to reflect on their ideas. Participants loved the quote cards and spontaneous activity cards, finding it sweet and meaningful to take a break and look back on how far they've come. The scenario cards were also well-received, sparking their imagination with prompts centered on the wedding day. Speed rounds were great for teasing out intuitive responses and playing with a sense of urgency. While this sometimes led to more questions than answers, it wasn’t seen as negative — it prompted deeper curiosity.
Christina and Asa; Real long-term couple
Celinda and Alma; Best friends role-playing as couple
> Iteration III: Integrating a Cloud Album with Key Planning Takeaways
Across our two rounds of usability testing, our product achieved a 100% user adoption rate. For our product's next steps, participants expressed interest in having a solid action plan after the card game, including a way to cap off their experience. Our next critical assumption:
Would couples planning a wedding value a personalized list of key takeaways based on their engagement with the game?
We plan to provide additional resources with creative ideas and inspiration for couples. We also want to create a central cloud space to compile insights that can be shared with wedding planners or kept for future reference. Finally, we would like to experiment with AI to generate tailored wedding plans that align with the couple's vision, offering a seamless and innovative logistics experience to complement the hands-on, physical card game.
Hand-off
Bringing our product into the real world: Next steps and further research
> Value Proposition
Our “Teach Me How to Wedding” card game transforms the wedding planning experience into a fun, engaging, and meaningful journey for couples. We help them discover their shared values, navigate cultural traditions, and personalize their celebration while fostering deeper communication. Designed for couples overwhelmed by the traditional planning process, our product relieves stress by sparking creativity and connection, ensuring the wedding reflects their unique love story.