Between Us
Overview
Digitalizing the experience of writing and receieving hand-written letters.
“Between Us” is a digital letter writing experience for friends. A space to write, receive, and unlock heartfelt letters over time. Even when life gets busy, “Between Us” lets you stay emotionally close through thoughtful words, gentle surprises, and intentional connection.
This app is a product of the 2025 CreateSC designathon hosted by USC!
Try out our Figma prototype here!
CreateSC Designathon Theme
We were challenged to transform everyday physical experiences into innovative digital interfaces. Beyond recreating the function of tangible items, this theme was an invitation to capture the feeling of physical interactions and translate those meaningful, sensory moments into digital spaces that feel just as fulfilling.
Ideation
Inspiration
As college students studying in Boston, away from homes in California, New York, and abroad, we’ve all felt the quiet ache of distance. Between classes, jobs, and life moving fast, it’s hard to find time to keep up with the people who matter most.
Texts get buried, calls get postponed, and suddenly it’s been weeks since we last caught up with loved ones. "Between Us" was born from that feeling. We wanted to create something that helped us stay close to our people in a way that felt meaningful, creative, and intentional, even when time zones or schedules pull us apart.
We were inspired by the intimacy of handwritten letters and the way time capsules preserve moments of reflection, care, and emotional depth. In contrast, digital platforms today prioritize speed, curation, and polish. Between Us invites users to slow down and be intentional, with their words, with their memories, and with each other.
Visual Identity
Branding Guide
Learnings
Accomplishments I'm Proud Of
We’re proud of designing a soft, nostalgic brand identity that brings our concept to life, using realistic visual assets, handwriting-inspired typography, and a calming pastel color palette. We fully prototyped all of our core flows, from writing and sending letters to receiving and archiving them! Most of all, we’re proud to have created a concept that feels personal to us, and deeply relevant to the challenges of staying emotionally connected in today’s fast-paced, attention-driven digital world.
What I Learned
We learned that sometimes less is more. While we started with a wide range of feature ideas, we realized the importance of being more convergent in our thinking to thoughtfully narrow down what belonged in a meaningful MVP. We also discovered that time, space, and anticipation, when intentionally designed, can transform digital interactions into moments that feel personal, sacred, and emotionally resonant.
