PROBLEM
Nowadays in modern western society people raise their children pretty much alone, as opposed to the old days or to traditional societies nowadays where every member of the family has a role in raising the kids. “It takes a village”.
meeting with moms in the same situation can help you feel like you are not alone, and also you can offer each other help and relevant tips to address your common issues.
RESEARCH
94% of the mothers I questioned would like to meet other moms with the same number of kids and close by age. 63% would like to meet moms with the same fields of interests. Moms who live in the city have more need to get to know other moms than moms living in a small village, due to stronger community life. Moms on maternity leave have more need to get to know other moms than working moms, due to less free time and some of them know other moms from the educational framework of their kids.
OVERVIEW
After giving birth and being on maternity leave, many moms feel alone taking care of their cute baby all day without an adult to talk to. On my second maternity leave I opened a whatsapp group for moms on maternity leave in the neighborhood and around it, exactly for addressing this problem - so myself and other moms can meet with each other. It completely changed our experience of this period for the best, especially during coronavirus which isolated us even more from our friends and family.
PERSONAS
Ashley Reed
34, teacher, married +3
BIO
Jane just moved in a new city with her husband and 3 young kids. She’s working in a full time job as a high school English teacher. Her husband is a CEO in a start up and usually comes late in the evenings.
WANTS & NEEDS
She would love to meet other moms living close by especially with kids around the same age as hers.
PAIN POINTS
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She’s a bit shy around groups
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Has a tight schedule, working a full time job.
Sam Oswald
28, actress, married +1, on maternity leave
BIO
Ashley is carrying her first pregnancy and she is one month before labor. She’s expecting a daughter and is very excited. She is an actress in a theatre. Her partner is a director in the theatre she works in.
WANTS & NEEDS
Ahsley is feeling anxious as her birth is coming closer. She would love to meet other moms to be, like her in her neighborhood, especially more experienced moms to learn from them about birth and motherhood which she has no clue about.
PAIN POINTS
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Her baby screams in car rides so she prefers to go to near places by foot.
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She doesn't like to talk about herself and avoids one on one communication.
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Takes her a long time to organize stuff to get out of home and she never knows when that will happen.
WIREFRAMES
USER FLOW
USER INTERFACE DESIGN
SOLUTION
The app is tailored made for moms and takes into consideration their pain points such as a ride in the car with a screaming baby - I translated it into a feature showing every user their preferred walking distance, above that maximum walking time set by the user, the garden or mom will be shown with a car icon stating the time of drive. The number of kids and their age is stated high in the hierarchy of information inside each personal profile, as concluded by the research I have conducted.
The app also gives freedom for every user if to get to know moms in a group meeting in the garden in a spontaneous fashion or to get to know a mom in a more planned meeting, one on one. These needs can change from user to user or even address one user's needs but in different time. For example, Sam is more fluid with her time today and can meet with who ever is in the garden now, but tomorrow she can plan her time and want to get to know another mom more deeply.