Web App Design
Kids First is a web platform designed to help separated or divorced parents coordinate shared parenting responsibilities with greater clarity and consistent communication.
The project responds to common co-parenting challenges such as missed updates, unclear schedules, and emotionally charged communication about a child’s routines, appointments, and responsibilities. Kids First brings these needs into one structured space through shared calendars and communication tools.
Context
WEb app design family coordination user-centered UX
Methods
Problem framing
user research
wireframing
prototyping
user journey mapping
Timeline
2024
Role
Product Design
Ux research
ui/ux design
My contribution
• Evaluated the onboarding flow to identify usability friction,
• Redesigned the registration experience to improve clarity,
• Translated user needs into journey maps, wireframes, UI screens, and interactive prototypes
• Used usability feedback to iterate on the flow and reduce confusion during account setup
Tools Used:
Figma: UI design, wireframes, and prototyping
Mural: journey mapping and collaborative workshops
Maze: usability testing and feedback collection
Slack: team communication and agile collaboration
The problem
Co-Parenting Needs a Better System
Separated or divorced parents often coordinate child-related responsibilities across scattered channels: text messages, personal calendars, verbal reminders, and shared documents. When information is fragmented, important updates can be missed, responsibilities become unclear, and communication can become emotionally charged. Kids First aims to create a more structured and child-centered space for managing shared parenting tasks.
Key friction points
Scattered communication
Updates are spread across messages, calendars, emails, and informal reminders.
Unclear accountability
Parents may not know who is responsible for pickups, appointments, tasks, or payments.
Emotional friction
Sensitive conversations can become stressful without a neutral, structured space.
Product goals
Centralize parenting information
Support calmer communication
Keep the child at the center
Understanding the Co-Parenting Ecosystem
Kids First was designed for a multi-user family coordination system, where different people may need different levels of access, visibility, and responsibility.
Primary users
Separated or divorced parents managing shared parenting responsibilities, especially those navigating conflict, emotional tension, or inconsistent communication.
Need: Reduce conflict and coordinate parenting responsibilities clearly.
Design implication: Prioritize structured communication, shared calendars, and task ownership.
Secondary users
Co-parents with more cooperative dynamics who need a structured way to stay aligned on schedules, routines, tasks, and child-related updates.
Need: Stay organized and aligned around routines, schedules, and updates.
Design implication: Make reminders, shared tasks, and child-related information easy to manage.
Tertiary users
Extended family members, such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles, who may need limited visibility into family events, routines, or shared caregiving responsibilities.
Need: Stay informed without having access to everything.
Design implication: Support limited visibility, privacy controls, and permission-based access.
Finding Opportunities in the Co-Parenting App Landscape
To better understand how Kids First could position itself in the co-parenting space, I conducted a competitive audit of existing platforms focused on shared custody, family scheduling, communication, documentation, and expense tracking.
The audit helped identify common feature patterns, pricing models, platform availability, and areas where existing tools felt either too legal/administrative, too expensive, or too fragmented for everyday parenting coordination. These insights helped clarify where Kids First could differentiate: by offering a more approachable, child-centered, and easy-to-use coordination experience.
What the Competitive Audit Revealed
I compared existing co-parenting platforms across feature sets, pricing models, platform availability, and value propositions.
Logistics were well covered, emotional ease was not
Many competitors supported calendars, expenses, or documentation, but fewer addressed the need for calmer, structured communication.
Pricing could become a barrier
Several platforms relied on paid plans or subscriptions, which may limit access for families seeking simple coordination support.
The opportunity: child-centered simplicity
Kids First could differentiate by reducing complexity and organizing the experience around the child’s routines, needs, and shared responsibilities.
Design Challenge
How might we help separated parents coordinate child-related responsibilities in a way that reduces ambiguity, supports calmer communication, and keeps the child’s needs at the center?
Redesigning the Onboarding Flow
The registration flow was a critical first step because parents needed to enter sensitive family information, verify their account, and connect with a co-parent before accessing the platform.
Key improvements
Clearer form validation
Required fields, password rules, and input errors were surfaced earlier to prevent failed submissions.
Improved verification logic
The resend email flow was redesigned with clearer system feedback and timing rules.
Reduced account setup confusion
The flow clarified what users needed to do next after sign-up, verification, and account confirmation.
Better co-parent account handling
The redesign considered how parent accounts could be connected or merged more efficiently.
Designing Across Devices
Parents often need to check schedules, messages, and upcoming events quickly throughout the day. I redesigned the dashboard to work across desktop, tablet, and mobile, preserving the core information hierarchy while adapting navigation, spacing, and content density for smaller screens.
Supporting Calmer Communication with an AI Tone Meter
Because co-parent communication can quickly become emotionally charged, I explored an AI tone meter that helps parents review potentially harmful language before sending a message. The feature encourages users to pause, reflect, and rephrase while keeping the conversation focused on the child’s needs.
Shared Calendar for Clearer Coordination
I refined the shared calendar to make parenting schedules easier to scan and manage. Color-coded events help parents distinguish between children, event types, and responsibilities, especially in families with multiple children.
As the product expanded and the team grew, it became clear we needed a shared visual language. I took part in building a style guide and design system to ensure consistency, speed up collaboration, and reduce repetitive decision-making across screens. It included components, colors, type, spacing rules, and usage guidelines—helping us scale the design efficiently.
This project taught me how to:
Details are time consuming. The details will often take a long time, think about the 80/20 rule. It is best to design for the whole story first and worry about the details later.
This project taught me how small UX decisions, like button copy or layout clarity, can shape first impressions and build trust in emotionally complex contexts.
I realized that the overly detailed calendar design slowed down the team and made collaboration harder. This experience showed me the value of having a clear design system to streamline work and maintain consistency.
While working on the AI tone meter, I became curious about natural language processing, a field I knew little about. It sparked my interest in how AI can enhance UX and led me to start learning more.