Pairs is one of Japan's largest matchmaking and dating apps.
I designed a feature that lets users add photos and comments to 'Mytag'—a way to showcase their interests on their profile—helping them convey not just what they like, but how much and how they like it.
I also designed a new browsing experience that helps users discover potential matches through shared interests.
Mytag is a feature that lets users add their interests to their profile, giving them a way to express who they are to potential partners.
But while it was easy for users to show what they liked—coffee, movies, and so on—there was no way to convey how much they liked it, or what made it special to them.
As a result, even when users shared common interests, there was no way to gauge how deep that shared interest really went for the other person, making it hard to feel confident enough to send a like.
To address this, we made it possible for users to add photos and comments to Mytag.
By pairing photos with their own words, users can now convey the depth of their passion—something Mytag alone couldn't capture—moving beyond a generic label like 'I love traveling' to something more specific, like 'I visit Okinawa every year.'
Mytag sits at the bottom of the profile, making it easy to miss without scrolling.
So when users added photos and comments to Mytag, I made sure those also surfaced on the profile picture itself—creating multiple touchpoints where people could naturally discover someone's interests while browsing potential matches.
To drive more traffic to the Mytag detail page, I redesigned the Mytag screen. By showing the profile photos of active members, I created a visual hook that made users want to take a closer look.
We also gave users free daily Like! access, along with a steady stream of fresh content, as reasons to keep coming back.
I designed a vertical-scroll browsing experience called 'Photo Hopping' that lets users send a Like! based on shared niche interests and quirky details, rather than just looks and profile specs.
By using intuitive, familiar interaction patterns and eliminating unnecessary distractions, I created an experience that lets users fully immerse themselves in the content.
To keep first-time users from getting lost, I designed a tutorial that guides them through the feature on their very first visit.
I also added an animation to the Like! action, turning the moment of connecting over a shared interest into an exciting experience.
Immediately after launch, the initial conversion rate improved from 27% to 32%, maintaining this high standard for over a year. It also contributed to improvements in the core funnel for Like! sends and matches, driving revenue growth across paid plans.