Design Project
Salams App Visual Refresh
Project Overview: Salams is a Muslim marriage/dating app with over 5 million users worldwide, designed to help Muslims connect in a way that blends faith, values, and modern matchmaking. While the platform had a solid user base, its design was outdated, with legacy screens and inconsistent UI elements that needed refinement to improve usability and engagement.
The goal of this project was to refresh the UI while strengthening the brand identity and ensuring a seamless, intuitive experience. We aimed to create a warm, sincere branding approach that would resonate with a privacy-conscious community, making users feel comfortable and confident in sharing their information.
My Role: As the lead UX/UI designer on this project, I was responsible for:
Leading the UI redesign to align with modern design principles.
Conducting a comprehensive audit and comparative analysis to inform design decisions.
Enhancing visual consistency across the app for a seamless user experience.
Working closely with product managers and engineers to execute the refresh effectively.
Team: Product Managers, Engineers, Animator, and Marketing Team.
Tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator.
Audit & Comparative Analysis
Evaluating the Existing App: Before beginning the redesign, we conducted a comprehensive audit of the existing Salams app to identify pain points and areas for improvement.
Key findings included:
Visual inconsistencies across different screens.
Navigation difficulties, making it harder for users to explore features.
Lack of hierarchy in key information, leading to confusion.
Opportunities for enhanced engagement by incorporating new communication features.
Visual & Profile Design Competitive Analysis: To make sure the Salams refresh aligned with current design standards and user expectations, I looked closely at how other dating and networking apps approach both visual design and profile experience—two core areas we wanted to improve.
Since the heart of this project was about updating the look and feel of Salams, I focused on what felt modern versus outdated, and how the app could feel more consistent, clean, and welcoming—all while staying true to its faith-centered roots and supporting more intentional, active matches (not just passive swiping).
This research directly informed design decisions like:
Implementing cleaner, more structured UI layouts
Improving onboarding flows to reduce drop-offs
Introducing richer profile features to support meaningful connections
Design System & UI Library
Why a UI Refresh? Before the refresh, Salams faced several challenges:
Outdated Aesthetic: The UI felt dated and didn’t reflect modern design trends.
Inconsistencies: Buttons, colors, and typography varied across screens.
Legacy onboarding and off-boarding flows created friction and disrupted the overall user experience.
To address these challenges, I introduced a thoughtful, system-wide approach that focused on clarity, consistency, and ease of use:
Developed a clean, modern design system that refreshed the app’s look while staying true to its brand and values
Built a shared UI library to bring consistency across screens and create a more polished, cohesive experience
Reworked the onboarding and offboarding flows to feel smoother and more intuitive, helping users move through the app comfortably and confidently
High-Fidelity Key Screens
Bringing the refreshed components together, these key screens showcase how the updated system plays out across real product moments, focusing on clarity, personality, and a more intuitive/cleaner user experience.
Outcomes & Impact
The goal was to create a seamless experience that felt intentional and aligned across product and marketing by something that not only retained users, but reflected the heart of the brand.
Gave Salams a refreshed, modern look while staying true to its faith-driven values.
Built a shared UI library to bring consistency and ease across the app, for both users and the team.
These updates helped boost brand awareness in a real way, sparking organic interest (especially during Ramadan) and even showing up in a viral video that hit over 2 million views :)
The refresh brought in tons of positive feedback, both from real users and internally which helped lay a stronger foundation for growth. The design felt more intentional, culturally aware, and warm, making hesitant users feel more at ease sharing information.
What’s more, the new system made it easier for the team to design and ship consistently, speeding up future updates, keeping things aligned, and improving key revenue-driving screens in close collaboration with product. These changes contributed to a significant revenue lift, with improvements impacting screens tied to millions in earnings.
We also redesigned flows tied to subscription upgrades, cross-grading, and A La Carte features like Boosts, Super Likes, and Telegrams. Through updated visuals, tone, and layout, we shifted these paywall screens from feeling transactional and “money hungry“ to something more thoughtful and clear. The visual branding helped guide a friendlier, more seamless experience by making monetization feel less pushy and more value-driven.
Key Takeaways & Challenges
One of the biggest challenges was designing within the limits of a legacy system, this refresh was mostly a facelift, so there were constraints around time, effort, and how much we could actually restructure. That meant every change had to be intentional and impactful, even if it was subtle.
It also pushed me to strike the right balance between what feels modern and what feels serious. Salams users are purpose driven and privacy-conscious, so the design had to feel warm and inviting, but never gimmicky. I learned how to advocate for clarity, restraint, and simplicity, while still keeping the experience visually engaging.
Working closely with product and engineering also taught me a lot about collaboration and momentum: how to move fast without losing intention. It made me sharper in both systems thinking and storytelling, especially when designing for faith-centered, culturally nuanced spaces.
Being the only designer on the team came with a lot of responsibility—every screen, system, and decision passed through my hands. It was a challenge, but one I’m really proud of. The project not only brought clarity and consistency to the product, it also played a part in us getting acquired by Match Group, LLC.
Test Project Prototype
