BONA

Nothing as a Typical Family

AMU

Amu is a digital platform supporting underrepresented parenting communities. The prototype provides a safe, engaging space for parents to share experiences, access guidance, and build supportive networks.

Role

UX Designer

Team

Debbie Kim

UX Designer

Yeji Hwang

UI Designer

Tools

Illustrator

Figma

Canva

Duration

April, 4, 2025 -

April, 6, 2025

Tufts Producthon 48hr Competition

Onboarding & Setup

The onboarding flow begins with simple login options. Parents then personalize their profile by selecting caregiver status, partner type, and child information. The process ends with a welcoming confirmation screen, reinforcing trust and clarity before entering the app.

2. Personalized Feed & Discovery

Once inside, parents are greeted with a tailored feed featuring popular posts, recommended groups, and relevant resources. The app emphasizes connection through user profiles, group memberships, and direct interactions. Parents can share posts, comment, and join group chats to exchange advice and support one another.

3. Support & Communication Tools

Beyond social interaction, the app provides practical tools for communication and assistance. Features like post creation, file and video sharing, and messaging allow parents to seek advice in real time. Group chat threads reinforce the sense of belonging, ensuring parents feel heard, supported, and connected.

High Fidelity

Process

Market Research

Many leading parenting apps default to a mom-and-dad family model in both visuals and messaging, sidelining non-nuclear families. As a result, underrepresented parents may opt out or feel disconnected, leading to lower sign-ups, weaker community matching, and reduced trust over time.

Flows & forms

Communities labeled “Moms” or “Couples” rather than roles/needs.

Photography

Smiling heterosexual couples; no diversity

Language

“Find mom friends,” → presumes a co-parent.

Project Goal

Creating a platform that prioritizes inclusive language and visuals, reflecting diverse parenting realities, supported by thoughtful partnerships.

Personalized content adapts to each family’s structure and stage, while community forums enable peer-to-peer support and shared learning.

Style Guide

Logo Naming

AMU

Name inspired by “amulet,” symbolizing protection, care, and connection.

Color Scheme

AMU’s color palette combines soft blues and warm neutrals to create a sense of calm, care, and trust. The gentle contrast supports clarity while maintaining an inviting, inclusive tone.

#D3DEFF

#F9DEC1

#FBFBFB

#1B5FDC

Logo

Used simple, abstract forms to depict a caregiver holding a child, conveying the warmth of parenting through minimal design. Rendered in white, the mark emphasizes openness and inclusivity across all family structures.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

Pretendard

Fonts

Components

Add a photo

Add a Video

Add a document

Celebrate an occasion

Share a story

Sent a friend request!

Content Structuring

Parents Shouldn’t have to “figure it out” themselves

Our design focused on making support feel personal and inclusive, removing the burden of confusion.

Research showed that a single shared community wasn’t enough, so we introduced personalized onboarding to tailor groups and content by family structure and parenting stage.

A curated feed, clear category tags, group chats, and low-effort posting tools helped parents find relevant support quickly and feel a stronger sense of belonging.

Gaps Between Existing Parenting Apps

The market evaluation showed that while existing parenting apps provide useful features, each has clear gaps. Our solution stands out by emphasizing diversity and inclusive, allowing different family structures to feel represente.

Diversity

Informative

Personalization

Interaction

Amu creates a single, cohesive platform where parents can both access resources and build meaningful community.

Peanut creates strong interaction through community forums but is less informative and not fully inclusive of non-traditional households

Kinedu focuses on early childhood learning and development, offering personalized activities for parents, but it is limited in diversity and broader community support.

Wonder Weeks provides highly informative, science-backed insights for infant development, yet its scope is narrow and interaction is minimal

Reflection

Feedback from the judges highlighted both challenges and opportunities for improvement. They noted that while the concept addressed parenting support, it did not fully solve the ultimate problem statement and lacked clear distinction from other existing apps.

This opened space for refinement opportunities, such as introducing cross-household calendars, flexible pickup and contact management, and shared RSVP features that sync to a calendar accessible to both parents.

This project let me realize that inclusive is not just visual — it’s structural. Building trust with marginalized users means reflecting their realities in both content and interaction design.

Going forward, I would deepen early co-design with target communities to ensure the platform evolves directly from their input.