Ripple

Inspiration

Loneliness and social isolation are a silent crisis on campus. At UBC, students are surrounded by thousands of peers every day, yet many struggle with eating disorders, insomnia, social anxiety, academic burnout, depression, body image concerns, and difficulty forming genuine friendships. These challenges are deeply personal, and because of fear of judgment, many students suffer quietly, believing they are alone in what they’re going through.

Ripple was inspired by the realization that everyone has struggles, but nobody talks about them. Existing social platforms prioritize visibility and comparison, while traditional mental health resources often feel clinical, impersonal, or difficult to access. We wanted to build something that felt human, gentle, and safe, a space where small moments of connection could create meaningful change, like ripples in water.

At its core, Ripple is driven by a simple mission: to eradicate loneliness on campus by helping students realize they are not alone and giving them safe ways to connect.

What it does

Ripple is a privacy-first wellness and connection app designed to help students find genuine community through shared experiences rather than superficial social interactions.

Users begin fully anonymous with usernames like calm-otter, removing social pressure and fear of judgment. Students privately select the struggles they are dealing with, which are used to recommend relevant wellness events such as cooking classes, insomnia support sessions, anxiety workshops, and peer circles, both in-person and online.

Connection is event-first: users can only message one another after attending an event together, ensuring interactions are grounded in real shared experiences. As trust builds, users can optionally choose to share their real name or profile information with specific connections. Identity is never forced and always remains under the user’s control.

Ripple also features anonymous encouragement messages that appear on users’ home screens, fostering a culture of support without requiring vulnerability or self-disclosure. There are no followers, likes, or metrics which eliminates social comparison anxiety entirely.

How we built it

Ripple was built as a mobile application using modern web and mobile development tools, with a strong focus on accessibility, emotional safety, and ease of use. Our design system uses calm pastel colours, minimal UI elements, and friendly mascots to create a welcoming, non-judgmental environment.

Throughout development, we followed a user-first and trauma-aware design approach, continuously asking whether each feature reduced pressure, promoted safety, and encouraged meaningful connection. We intentionally avoided engagement-driven mechanics in favour of thoughtful, purpose-driven interactions.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was designing for vulnerability without exposure. Balancing anonymity with meaningful connection required careful consideration, especially when determining when and how users should be able to communicate or share their identity.

We also faced challenges in ensuring that wellness events felt supportive rather than clinical and that online sessions remained safe, moderated, and inclusive. Designing for mental health required us to be intentional about even the smallest UX decisions.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating a platform that prioritizes emotional safety over engagement metrics. In particular, we are proud of our progressive identity model, which allows users to move from anonymity to trust-based connection at their own pace.

We are also proud of building an experience that feels calm, human, and approachable, one that reframes mental health support as community-driven rather than clinical.

What we learned

We learned that small design choices have a huge emotional impact. Removing social metrics, delaying messaging until after shared experiences, and allowing users to control their identity all significantly changed how safe the app feels.

Most importantly, we learned that connection does not need to be loud or performative to be powerful. Sometimes, the smallest interactions: a shared meal, a quiet conversation, or a kind message, can create the biggest ripple.

What's next for Ripple

Next, we plan to expand Ripple by partnering with UBC wellness groups, student clubs, and campus services to host more diverse and accessible events. We also aim to improve moderation tools, expand AI-assisted facilitation for virtual sessions, and explore ways to scale Ripple to other campuses while maintaining its privacy-first values.

Our long-term vision is simple:
no student should feel alone.