Role
Client
Tools
Duration
Product Designer
Personal project
Pen & Paper
Photoshop
Figma
Principle
2021.6 - 2021.8 （2.5 month）
- Understanding the Challenge -
In my psychology class, I watched a documentary that records several new moms talking about their postpartum depression journey. When all the mental and physical pain starts to appear, they "feel so sad when they know that they should feel so happy." Everyone around them tells them the situation is normal and they will feel better soon. However, the thoughts of suicide come into their mind...
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Baby Blues
feel a little bit worried, sad, and fatigued. Things get better.
≠
but will become
Postpartum Depression
severe mood swings, exhaustion, and a sense of hopelessness. Things get worse.
makes moms emotional
Sleep Deprivation
makes moms angry
does not happen immediately
Bonding with Babies
does not happen at all
make them overwhelmed
Changes in their Life
make them feel worthless
about unimportant things
Moms Worry
if they are fit to be mothers
80 %
moms will experience baby blues
16 %
moms will develop into PPD
1 in 6
moms are affected by postpartum anxiety
20%
of postpartum deaths is because of suicide
33.4%
started having symptoms during pregnancy
I asked myself:
How might we design a system which helps relieve baby blues and prevent new moms from going into the postpartum depression stage?
- Solution -
ANIMATE is a comprehensive system that provides support for new moms. It is in the format of a mobile application and hardware products. It helps prevent them from reaching the postpartum depression stage by helping them adapt to both mental and physical changes at the baby blues phase.
- Research -
To get a more comprehensive understanding of moms' mental and physical changes after pregnancy and giving birth, as well as the factors which cause them to go into the postpartum depression stage, I utilized the method of desk research, non-directed personal interview, persona, and journey map to analyze the audience's behavior.
What causes postpartum depression?
Emotional Factors
New moms may be more likely to develop postpartum depression if they’ve had a mood disorder in the past or if mood disorders run in their family. Emotional stressors may include:
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you or your child has serious health problems
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social isolation
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financial burdens
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lack of support
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ignorance by family members
Physical Factors
One of the biggest physical changes after giving birth involves hormones. While moms are pregnant, the levels of estrogen and progesterone are higher than usual. Other factors are:
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low thyroid hormone levels
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sleep deprivation
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inadequate diet
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underlying medical conditions
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mommy's wrist
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lactation
Non-directed Interview
At the main time, I took advantage of personal interviews to really dive into other people's minds. I chose non-directed interviews to learn more about the real-life situations of a new mom or mother-to-be. Here are some excerpts from them：
" I feel extremely stressed. My husband is super busy with his work and I am taking care of the baby all day long. I am so afraid that I will do something wrong. I am really exhausted..."
" I am almost isolated from the outside world right now. I am no longer able to hang out with my friends during the weekend. All my time is occupied with taking care of the baby. "
Communicate
Moms may be tempted to keep their feelings to themselves, especially if they are reserved people. But it might be helpful to talk things over with someone they trust. They may find out that they’re not alone.
Rest and relax
Both body and spirit need a good night’s sleep. If the baby doesn’t sleep for long periods, get someone to take a shift so mom can sleep. Meditation and massage may help ease tension and help you fall asleep.
Fight isolation
Remaining in seclusion with feelings can feed into depression. It’s not necessary to have a whirlwind social life, but do try to maintain your closest relationships.
Cut back on chores
If moms are not up to chores and errands, let them go. Use the energy to take care of basic needs for the baby. If at all possible, enlist the help of family and friends.
Competitive Analysis
It is worth mentioning that few products on the market specifically target new moms and help them deal with baby blues. Most of the products focus on babies and teach moms how to take care of the baby. Three of the following products touch upon mom communities and are worth studying.
Takeaways
Function Wise:
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Target specific mom groups who have a high risk to develop into PPD
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Provide help in different directions and give corresponding practical suggestions
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Avoid being too general in information and resources
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Give users more freedom and encouragement instead of making compulsory plans directly
Design Wise:
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use warm and bright branding
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design with a human-centered mind with a simple but clear user experience and user interface
Persona & Journey Map
The persona depicts two types of situations: new mom Jennie and mother-to-be Sue by concluding their basic situations, goals, needs, pain points, and personalities. The journey map envisions the changes moms will experience, the related people, the pain points, and the opportunity area from pregnancy to after-birth. I described the observed user experience and highlighted the pain points.
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Key Insights
After reviewing what I got from research, persona, and journey map, I concluded four key insights.
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- Findings -
Opportunity Area
Four opportunity areas can be developed from the key insights.
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Reframe design question
Combing the four opportunity areas above, I got the reframed design challenge question.
How might we design an interactive system that helps improve physical condition, empower self-care knowledge, encourage family members to give support, build a social circle, and empower moms with confidence?
- Design Proposal -
BrainStorm
According to the HOW MIGHT WE statement, I started to brainstorm ideas freely on the miro board.
Deliverables
I wanted to practice my storytelling skills by showing my design as stories of the above personas. Based on the pain points spotted and reframed design question, the proposed stories are
Story Board
After having a general idea of what to do, I visualize the experience of a mom from pregnancy to after-birth child care.
1. New moms who lack the related knowledge can check the knowledge resources as well as asking questions.
2. When the baby cries, the sound detecting system will automatically send an encouraging message to the mom.
3. New moms can join community groups based on location and gain support from others.
4. The massager helps mom relieve physical pain and mental depression as well as help take care of the baby.
5. Mom's mood, diet, and sleep will be tracked to ensure her mental and physical health.
6. The daily and weekly health reports will be produced and sent to Mom and Dad. They will get suggestions of what to do.
7. Mom's partner will therefore be more active to take care of Mom and baby as he keeps receiving reminders from the system.
8. By helping mom physically and mentally, the ANIMATE caring system prevent postpartum depression.
User flow
Based on the stories I am going to tell, a user flow diagram was developed to guide me through the product design.
Interactive Device Product Design
After giving birth to babies, the issues of lactation bothers most moms for half a year to a year, which is exactly in the time period in which PPD might be developed. A special design massager can not only relieve the physical pain of moms but also help moms go through this hard stage.
The curvy rubber surface fully adapt to the shape of breast
The camera monitor connected with phone
The bandage can be pulled back
The bandage connector & supporting parts
The specially designed massager help moms relieve the pain when feeding babies.
Use the bandage on the back of the massager and the camera function to monitor the baby when moms need to be away from the babies.
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Device
Low-Fidelity Mockup
After reviewing what I got from research, persona, and journey map, I concluded four key insights.
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Adaptation to all stages
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Health Everyday
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Community
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Health Report
Branding
Animate is to give spirit and support, is to encourage, is to give vigor and zest to, and is to move to action. The branding of ANIMATE is round and smooth, embodying the caring and support which new moms will receive. The heart shape of the logo emphasizes the love new moms are surrounded by. The combination of two hearts forms a butterfly shape, which embodies "vigor" mom and makes them freer.
Logo & Logo Type: Lemonada
Typeface: Poppins
Color Palette
Title: 24pt
Subtitle1: 16pt
Subtitle2: 14pt
Body text: 12pt
High-Fidelity Mockup
02.
Health Everyday
According to the number of days a user has been a mom or the number of days a user has been pregnant, the platform will send a piece of knowledge every day. By encouraging the user mom to record their sleep, mood, and diet, the ANIMATE will monitor their health condition every day.
03.
Mom Community
Knowledge resources and Q&A platforms are available for mom users when they feel confused about the situation. By joining groups nearby, users can have more connections with other moms around and do some group activities together.
04.
Health Report
After tracking everyday health conditions, the report will be produced and feedbacks will be given based on the result. Moms can share reports with any of her contact. By adding connection in the setting page, the report and help notification can also be sent automatically to specific people, such as mom's husband.
05.
Devices
The massage is designed to relieve the physical pain of lactation. To use the camera monitor function connected with the mom's phone, the bandage at the back of the massage can be pulled out to wrap around the baby's bed. It also has a sound detection system that can track the baby's crying and send encouraging messages to the mom from the perspective of the baby.
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06.
Encouragement & Notification
The platform will send encouraging messages to mom users from time to time or when the baby cries. The platform will also send notifications to remind moms to do the daily health assessment and help share reports to Mom's partner automatically after setting up.
- User Testing-
After designing the prototype of the product, I conducted user testing among moms who are experiencing different stages from three aspects. The feedback gives me directions on further iterations of the product.
Mommy's thumb
One of the most important pieces of feedback I got from new moms is a physical pain called mommy's thumb or mommy's wrist. This is a type of tendonitis in the wrist happening a lot in new moms as they over-use the hand to carry babies. Wearing a splint or resting the heads are common treatments for curing, which will limit the movement of the thumb.
- Reflection-
Be sensitive towards everything I see
The inspiration for this project came from watching a short video that records the conversation between new moms and their husbands. I myself have no experience in this topic, but great empathy as a female guides me into the research and the development of this product.
Small features can have big impacts
Pay attention to every detail obtained from the research and user interviews. Designed from small things which bothered the users can sometimes make a big impact on their lives, such as the encouragement system of the ANIMATE product.
Mockup Detail
Health Everyday
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Community
Health Report
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Device
Mine & Notification
