The Birth Story
User Evaluative Research, Branding, UI/UX Design
The time of birth can be an exciting, exhausting, and emotionally charged time, and important medical information and memories often gets lost in the fog. Within the design system Myana created in partnership with University of Pittsburgh researchers and design studio Dezudio, my partner Elijah Benzon and I conceptualized a micro-app that would support birth parents in recording the medical and contextual information of their birth story, and allow them to capture and process the emotions of the experience.
Role
Co-Designer
Course
Interaction Design
Studio
Duration
5 weeks
Tools
Illustrator, Figma
User INterviews
We interviewed two mothers who had given birth within the
past year. We received insightful feedback on our proposed
wireframes:
Adding zoomed out and exportable overview of the timeline outside the app
Simplifying journal entries function to avoid confusion
Adding private mode to entries to allow for more intimate processing
"I wish I could just click and go,
instead of having to choose."
First concepts
Final Features
Client goals
Contextual Information
Gather contextual details about the birth, such as who was
there, when it happened, how long it took, and where it
occurred.
Medical Information
Collect detailed medical information about the birthing parent
and baby during labor and delivery, including medications,
diagnoses, pain management, and postpartum treatment plans.
Emotional Processing
Capture the emotions and feelings of the birthgivers and others
during the birth process, and help the birthgiver reflect on their
birth experience, process challenges or trauma, and focus on
growth, healing, and positive takeaways.
The Birth Narrative
Provide a way for users to log the events and narrative of
labor and delivery.
Feature Overview
+ Onboarding
Our overview and onboarding introduces
users to what they will get out of the app,
informs the birthing parent know that they can
private certain entries, and lets users practice
the main card flip interaction used in the
moment and medical entries.
Timeline
The home page of app involves timeline of
card entries entered by the user. Users can
choose between recording medical
information, remembering a moment, or
reflecting on how they feel. We used natural
language to describe each category, and each
card in the timeline includes the
corresponding emotion colors.
Journal Entries
+ Moments
Users can journal how they are feeling in the
currently or reflect on how they were feeling
at a previous time. Images, documents, and
voicenotes can supplement the entires.
Color-coded emotions can be attached to each
entry, which will appear on the card in the
timeline. For quick entries of big or small
moments, users can use the moments feature
to write, add images, links, or voice notes.
Medical Information
+ Smart Suggestions
The home page of app involves timeline of
card entries entered by the user. Users can
choose between recording medical
information, remembering a moment, or
reflecting on how they feel. We used natural
language to describe each category, and each
card in the timeline includes the
corresponding emotion colors.
Card Flip
Our micro-app includes a card flip feature that
allows the birthing parent to journal on the back
of medical information and moment entries,
providing space for personal reflections alongside
factual details.
Filter + Gentle Nudges
Users can filter their timeline by journal entries,
moments, or medical information. Gentle nudges
will also appear periodically allowing users to
quickly see certain information, such as medical
information for a 6-week appointment after birth.
Export
Users can view an overview
of their birth story through
colored entries, with options
to export details and download
a full PDF of their story. They
can also be mailed a card of
their story that can be used to
hold important papers or as
memento of their journey.
Capture your story.
Reflect on the moments.
Remember for a lifetime.