THE BIRTH STORY
Conceptualizing a micro-app to help parents capture birth experiences
ROLE
–
Mobile UI UX
Visual Communication
Prototyping
User Research
TEAM
–
Eindra Lin
TOOLS
–
Figma
Illustrator
CONTEXT
The Birth Story explores how parents can easily capture the details and emotions of childbirth in real time
The Birth Story is a CMU interaction design studio project created as a micro-app concept for Myana, a postpartum support platform by Dezudio and is based on research from the University of Pittsburgh.
In collaboration with Eindra Lin, I contributed to wireframing, prototyping, and testing with new mothers. While we received client feedback, the work was not done professionally with Dezudio.
PROBLEM SPACE
Our client's generative research showed that parents often struggle to remember and share their birth experience
Intense emotion and medical urgency make it difficult for parents to capture details in real time, resulting in key memories and context becoming lost. With this, we asked:
SOLUTION PREVIEW
Simplified, emotionally sensitive experience that allows new parents to capture their birth story on their own terms
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
We shaped the information architecture to center the app on clarity, emotional resonance, and ease of documentation
We started with a competitive analysis, analyzing health, self-care, emotion regulation, and journaling apps to understand how people record and reflect on personal experiences.
From there, we reviewed our clients’ generative research and created key insights, which guided and informed every design decision.
We organized the app around a clear, intuitive flow centered on three core needs. We structured the information architecture based on tracking events, reflecting, and logging key medical details.
PROTOTYPING
Our early wireframes, guided by client research, explored how to capture the pace and emotion of childbirth
We created a timeline that combined journal entries, medical details, and quick “moments” for memory capture. These prototypes helped us test how parents might document their experience naturally, without interrupting the flow of labor and recovery.
EVALUATIVE RESEARCH
Testing revealed that even well-intentioned features can overwhelm users in moments of vulnerability
Feedback from two new mothers revealed that the experience felt too demanding during labor, underscoring the need for a simpler, more intuitive, and motivating design. This insight guided our next iterations toward reducing cognitive load and streamlining interactions for real-world use.
KEY ITERATIONS
Refining to better support emotional expression, simplify documentation, and motivate consistent use
[1] Freeform Journal
We condensed the journal into a more freeform format, making reflection faster and less structured during intense moments. Instead of structured prompts, the journal allows open-ended reflection.
[2] Emotion Colors
We introduced a color system for emotions, giving the app a cohesive visual language and helping users quickly express feelings. Our color palette is based on the colors we used with the emotions found in the journal.
[3] Motivating Features
Added motivating features to encourage consistent use, such as a visual “full story” in circles to track completed entries. Using our color circles from our timeline, we created the Birth Story.
FINAL SOLUTION
An experience that lets parents tell their birth story their way
[1] Timeline
Parents can add journal entries, medical information, and moments, quick captures of thoughts, feelings, or milestones, to a chronological timeline of labor and delivery, helping them see events unfold in context.
[2] Freeform Card-Based Journal
A card-based format that allows parents to jot down reflections immediately or flip cards to write later.
[3] Medical Information
A structured list for key clinical details, enhanced with smart suggestions based on user entries.
[4] Moments
Quick captures for photos, thoughts, or milestones.
[5] View Your Birth Story
Entries are visualized as circles, representing the journey in one glance.
NEXT STEPS
Focusing on making our designs ready for development, delivery, and evaluation
We would focus on making our designs ready for development. Our next steps include refining modular components and documenting interactions and states. We would evaluate impact through metrics such as ease of use, engagement, and completeness of birth stories.
REFLECTIONS
Creating Across Perspectives
The Birth Story project pushed me to design for and manage real-life complexity. It challenged me to think not just about what users need, but when and how they’re able to engage.
Preparing for Development
Through this project, I learned how valuable it is to think like a developer during the design process. Drawing on my background in HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript, I realized that anticipating technical constraints early can strengthen design decisions and set a project up for successful development.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to my project partner, Eindra Lin, for collaborating on ideation and bringing the wireframes and prototypes to life.
Grateful to our mentors, Ashley Deal and Raelynn O’Leary, for guidance throughout the project.
Thank you to our clients from the University of Pittsburgh Research, Sarah Burns, MSW, LSW, and Tamar Krishnamurti, PhD, for their valuable insights.
And to everyone who participated in user testing or shared feedback, thank you.
NEXT PROJECT
