Making It Real: The Launch Party
Before launching, I wanted to feel the brand in the real world. So I threw a party—not just any party, but a live prototype of the experience I wanted to create.
The Challenge
How do you create romance on a $250 budget?
My Role
Designer, strategist, and event producer—every detail was personal.
The Approach
I designed an immersive, romantic experience to test the brand's emotional resonance and build an early community.
How I Made It Happen
Every decision was made through the lens of the user experience, balancing brand identity with a shoestring budget.
- Securing Buy-In & Resources: I pitched the concept of an experiential launch to the Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction department. With the trust and support of Professor Laura Vinchesi, I secured $250 in funding. This required a clear budget proposal and articulation of the event's strategic value.
- Setting the Mood: I created a visual language on Pinterest, then used candles and flowers to turn an academic space into something magical. The challenge was not just to decorate a room, but to fundamentally alter its perceived function and feeling.
- Interactive, On-Brand Catering: A standard catering service was too expensive and impersonal. The food needed to be an experience in itself.
- Concept: I designed an all-pink, sweet, and interactive menu. This included a "Self-Hwachae Bar" (a Korean fruit punch) where guests could create their own desserts, and hand-dipped chocolate strawberries.
- User Engagement: This approach turned food service into a shared, fun activity, fostering the exact kind of lighthearted connection the app promotes. It was more memorable and on-brand than a passive catering line.
- Bridging Digital & Physical: I built a giant love letter prop and ran a restaurant discovery raffle, making app features tangible and fun.
- Strategic Outreach: I executed a multi-channel outreach campaign targeting key communities within Carnegie Mellon (HCI, Entrepreneurship, AI Ventures) and the broader Pittsburgh tech scene. I sent personalized invitations to founders, VCs, and professors.
- Crafting a Compelling Presentation: I designed presentation slides and prepared script that not only showcased Romantic Dinings, but also clearly communicated its purpose and impact to the audience.
What I Learned
The launch party was a resounding success, exceeding all my initial goals.
- Validated the Brand's Core Value: The overwhelmingly positive feedback on the atmosphere, the interactive food, and the tangible props confirmed that the core brand identity of "thoughtful, intentional romance" resonated deeply with the target audience.
- Built a Powerful Early Community: The event attracted a diverse mix of students, faculty, founders, and industry professionals, creating a strong foundation of advocates and potential early users for Romantic Dinings.
- The Power of Experiential Prototyping: My biggest takeaway was the immense value of testing an emotional concept in a physical space. The event provided richer, more immediate feedback on the brand's "feel" than any digital prototype could have. It proved that a brand is not just a UI, but an experience.
Wearing Every Hat
Over three months, I iterated on countless prototypes, and single-handedly produced a launch event, all while managing my Master's degree coursework. Through late nights of debugging, designing, and drizzling chocolate syrup, I discovered that passion, when combined with resilience and community, is the ultimate driver of innovation.