Devpost question What are KitKit's distinctive design elements?
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TL;DR
KitKit is designed around one question: how can we help friends have more real conversations? That is what its design should be judged by. KitKit makes the first move when both friends are available. I use surprise to make picking up exciting, and a 45-second limit to make it a small commitment with a natural ending. KitCalls are spaced apart to keep them worth paying attention to. A small, mutual Circle focuses those moments on people who choose each other. Invitations and gifts give friends reasons to reach out and reply in their existing conversations. There is intentionally little to do between calls. The design has served its purpose when it helps friends spend more time together.
A small car that fits into a tight parking space can be a great design. So can a family car with room for three children and everything they need for a weekend away. Make the first car bigger, and you might make it worse. Make the second smaller, and you might do the same. Good design depends on what you are designing for.
How an app looks and feels matters, but good design should serve its purpose. For KitKit, that purpose is helping friends have more real conversations.
The call experience
I started with a simple belief: staying close takes moments when we show up for each other. You can care deeply about a friend and still keep putting off the next conversation. I designed KitKit to help turn that intention into time together. That is why I chose voice calls as the main interface. You hear the laugh, the hesitation, the excitement, and you can respond in the moment. For a little while, you are both there.
KitKit calls both people when they are available, so neither friend has to take the first step or negotiate a time. But choosing calls raised another design question: how do you make someone want to pick up?
A KitCall connects you with someone in your Circle, and you only find out who once you both answer. I wanted the question of who it might be to make picking up feel exciting. Keeping the identity a surprise also lets us try another available friend if the first does not answer, giving the person who picked up another chance to connect.
I deliberately spaced KitCalls apart to keep them exciting and worth paying attention to. You choose when you are available, but the exact timing is a surprise.
A KitCall starts at just 45 seconds, so picking up is a small commitment. The time limit also gives you a natural stopping point without either person having to find a way to end the conversation.
Spending more time together becomes a choice. You can extend, call again, arrange a longer conversation, or make plans to meet. I want even a short hello to leave you glad you answered and wanting to talk again.
Invitations and gifts
The same thinking shaped what happens around the calls. I designed invitations and gifts to start conversations, too. That is why you share them through WhatsApp, iMessage, or wherever you already talk to your friend.
When you invite someone, the message accompanying the link tells them you want to talk more. Sending it is already an act of reaching out. Before they install KitKit or answer a call, you have opened a conversation about wanting to stay close.
Gifts take that idea a step further. You add a personal note, then share the gift's link through your existing conversation. Your friend opens it and reads the note, giving them something personal to reply to in WhatsApp or iMessage. The gift creates a reason to reach out, and the note creates a reason to reply.
A small, mutual Circle
Choosing who to share these moments with matters, too. Your Circle starts with eight places, and you do not have to fill them. I kept it small to encourage you to think about each person you add and the relationship you want to make time for.
The choice is mutual: you choose them, and they choose you. I wanted that to feel like a small commitment to keep showing up for each other. Keeping the Circle small focuses the opportunities to talk on those relationships, giving them regular chances to deepen.
Sustainability
Keeping the core experience free was another design commitment. Calls cost money to provide, so I had to find a way to support KitKit financially while keeping those everyday opportunities to connect accessible. That same thinking shaped the monetization model, which I describe in the HAMM Award answer.
Closing
There is intentionally little to do in KitKit every day. I want it to work in the background of your phone and your mind, and create moments when you give your attention to someone you care about. If a short call leads to a longer conversation somewhere else, or plans to meet, it has served its purpose. That is what I want KitKit's design to be judged by: whether it helps people make more room for each other.