MamaMingle
Overview
MamaMingle is a mobile app that supports new mothers with self-tracking tools, personalized information, and a thriving online community to navigate the emotional and mental challenges of pregnancy and postpartum.My Role
UX DesignerProduct Strategy, Interaction & Visual Design, Prototyping & Testing, User Research, PitchingTeam
Timeline: 12 weeks (Jan - Apr 2023)2 UX Designers
1 UX Researcher
1 Product Manager
1 DeveloperTools: Figma, Framer, ProtoPie, LottieFiles, UserTesting
Still You Bloom in This Land of No Gardens
Art: © Njideka Akunyili Crosby Courtesy the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner.
I found inspiration in Akunyili Crosby's artwork depicting the beauty of motherhood in Nigeria. After pitching an idea, the team decided work with a venture lab to support new mothers from marginalized communities facing challenges like poverty and mental health. Our goal was to build a product from concept —> execution to help women thrive in resource-limited environments, “in the land of no gardens”. So we created MamaMingle - a personal guide for self-tracking and fostering social support during pregnancy and post-childbirth.
Inspiration
1 in 9
new mothers experience postpartum depression, and social isolation is a major risk factor
~ American Academy of Pediatrics
Challenge
Pregnant women, especially new mothers face a multitude of challenges during pregnancy and even postpartum.
Tracking own health and baby's development
Remembering cycles, monitoring baby milestones, and managing their well-being can feel overwhelming
Information Overload
Navigating conflicting information online and needing reliable resources tailored to their specific needs
Isolation
The emotional and physical demands of motherhood can lead to social isolation
85%
of new mothers use the internet for information during pregnancy and postpartum
How might we improve social support and access to personalized resources for new mothers and pregnant women in underserved communities?
Design Process
62%
but, struggle to identify reliable sources
~ Pew Research Center
Interactive Prototype
Generative Research
Secondary Insights
Ethnographic Studies
Gibson & Hanson's (2013) revealed a profound need for social connection. Mothers often felt isolated, longing for a safe space to share experiences and support each other.
Academic Journals
Research on maternal health disparities, mental health challenges faced by new mothers, and the effectiveness of online support groups, uncovered the unique challenges faced, even in underserved communities. This informed the development of targeted resources and features within the app.
Government Reports
We reviewed reports from government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on maternal health outcomes and mental well-being. This data helped us identify specific areas where MamaMingle's features, like self-tracking tools and educational resources, could have a significant impact.
What do the users need?
What are the problems faced?
What is the current solution landscape?
competitor analysis
Immediate Information Access
Find information quickly and conveniently, especially at night or trivial questions they might hesitate to ask
Mobile Accessibility
Accessing information and support through smartphones allows mothers to get help anytime, anywhere, even while caring for their infants
Regular Information Updates
Appreciate ongoing, automatic updates from trusted sources to stay informed on pregnancy and early motherhood topics
Lack of Knowledge
New moms struggle to anticipate questions and concerns about the postnatal period
Information Overload
Navigating vast amounts of online information is overwhelming, causes confusion and anxiety
Social Isolation
Lack access to experienced parents or support groups, feeling of isolated
Unrealistic Expectations
The pursuit of matching "perfect parent" image can contribute to anxiety and feeling of inadequacy
Limited Support
Healthcare professionals may not always be able to give adequate support in underserved communities
Limited Support Groups
Existing in-person support groups may have limited availability or accessibility, especially for mothers in underserved communities
Online Resources
While the internet offers information, it can be unreliable, overwhelming, and difficult to navigate
Healthcare Professionals
Doctors may not always address postnatal concerns comprehensively during prenatal appointments
Gaps and Opportunities
A comprehensive app focused on
Maternal Well-being and Community
Product Features
User Interviews
Rachel with her friend who is a recent mother
Crazy 8s exercise
for product features ideation
Home Page
The Home Page is focused on the new mother’s unique needs both during and after pregnancy, helping her keep track of a variety of factors based on her own progression through pregnancy and postpartum.
Me with my aunt who is an expectant mother
Community Page
"It's crucial to have a supportive community of other mothers who know what you're going through."
The Community Page is the heart of the app. Mothers can join groups that align with their own experiences and support needs.
Information Page (my primary responsibility)
"Breastfeeding has been the most challenging part. I didn't know how challenging it would be. I had to do a lot of learning and gather information."
The Information Page provides resources that are customized to the mother’s unique needs and issues she may be facing due to a lack of support or resources.
Products Page
"This stroller brand is so amazing and popular online."
The Products Page features products that align with the needs identified by the new mothers throughout their app experience. Drawing inspiration from Akunyili Crosby’s piece, envisioned the app to feature products from Black-owned and environmentally friendly brands.
Story Mapping
To build on our initial lo-fi wireframes, we underwent an iterative story mapping process to expand our conceptualization of potential users of the MamaMingle application and update our prototypes with features to meet the needs of this range of potential users.
Mid Fidelity Prototype
Home
Information
Aesthetics
To bring our lo-fi prototype to life, the team began creating mood boards to hone individual ideas on the aesthetic and feel of the app.
I considered images, color palettes, material samples, and descriptive words to capture the essence of the app. It was followed by a discussion of mood boards, identifying elements we wanted to incorporate into the final prototype by considering what we wanted to convey, what might resonate with users, and what would be aesthetically pleasing.
Created a hi-fi prototype with detailed attention to color, typography, iconography, layout, and navigation. We also include a design system consisting of a color palette, typefaces, icons, and a grid layout.
Moodboard
Color Palette
We decided to keep black as our primary color and use a variety of light-shade pastel colors as our secondary colors. Information is a major aspect of the application. The app will contain multiple images and illustrations derived from diverse informational resources. Using a range of background colors in pastel will help underscore the breadth of content within the app. It will allow us to convey energy and vibrancy and, also prevent the designs from being loud or overwhelming.
Logo Ideation
We first went on the internet and explored various illustrations and images for inspiration. As we needed to stick to the tight deadlines we prioritized the user experience of our application over creating specific illustrations at the time. And so, we picked 2 illustrations from numerous photos and vectors available online. We wanted to center our application around these illustrations as they effectively spoke about the purpose of the product. The logo was made using Golden Circle (a plugin that calculates the sizes and position of your selected items automatically) on Figma.
After internal discussion and using dot voting, we finalized 2nd variant as our Logo
Design System
None of our team members had previously created an advanced design system from scratch, thus we faced some difficulties learning and applying the concepts. In particular, creating component sets proved to be quite time-consuming.
Typeface: Noto Sans typeface conveys a modern and clean aesthetic. It has a neutral and approachable feel that makes it suitable for conveying information clearly and concisely without distracting the reader with ornate or overly stylized features.
Hi Fidelity Screens &
Interactions
1:1 Interviews
Pregnant
Mothers of one
Mothers of two
20 women
UserTesting.com
Face-to-face
Methodology
Pre-Task Analysis for User Expectations
Task Analysis
To test our prototype with users, I created a Moderator Script and Test Packet around a series of tasks that would enable the user to explore a wide breadth of the pages and features we built for the app.
The script also includes questions
About the user’s experience using the application for new or soon-to-be moms
Assessing their overall opinion of the app
To collect a rich array of both quantitative and qualitative data, users’ opinions, actions, and feedback were assessed using
Time on Task
Task Success Ratio
Task Usability
System Usability Scale
Think-aloud protocol
Before starting the tests and tasks, we wanted to know what our target audience expects to have in apps like MamaMingle.
A majority of responses included what we cover in our app. This data validated our purpose of having specific features.
Tips and Tricks
Facebook, Reddit groups incorporated
A lot of resources
Reviews from experienced mothers
Solve doubts
Online Community, Pages
How-to guide
QnA Forum
Fruit Comparisons 💜
Are the users able to skip the onboarding and reach a desired state quickly?
Are the users able to record appropriate symptoms?
Are the users able to find their desired information and reach out to an expert?
Are the users able to distinguish the informational content and save it for future use?
Are the users able to locate products and learn about them?
Are the users able to reach out to the community?
Product Iterations
Skip Onboarding
Users mentioned that having to press “Skip” many times was redundant. To save time, they wanted to be able to skip all the questions for onboarding at once.
“ I would skip this as of now and would come back to it later if I like the app...
Writing Tone
Participants felt like topics like Postpartum Depression sounded a little harsh.
“ The possibility of postpartum depression sounds intimidating.
Custom Symptom Tracking
Users wanted to record symptoms outside of the mentioned lists.
analyzing interview data using severity ratings
Positive Content
Some users mentioned that the app especially the blogs and podcasts emphasize a lot on heavy or difficult topics.
“ For me it was really important to see the positive things when I was going through pregnancy.
“ I wonder where’s an option to add my own symptoms...
Custom Tracker including Data Visualizations
To tackle this major usability issue, we gave users an option to add and thus record their own symptoms.
The ability to visualize and reflect upon data was another piece of feedback that emerged from our user tests. We added a new feature, Custom Tracker, where users can create their own tracker. They can track any quantitative variable by adding the units and a target value, or even a qualitative variable by adding logs and notes regularly. While Figma does not have capabilities for data input and analysis at this moment, the Custom Tracker page has a space where users can find their visualized data to notice trends and patterns.
Improving
diversity & inclusivity
Users expressed interest in more diverse and inclusive content for culturally different pregnancy experiences.
“ I'm a woman of color. We sometimes go through culturally different process when it comes to pregnancy.
Instead of allowing them to skip the entire questionnaire, we allowed the users to skip the onboarding questions which were not necessary for populating data into the app.
I emphasized on the positive side of the app by highlighting feel-good articles and images in informational elements.
I adjusted the tone of the content while conveying sensitive issues by making use of appropriate UX writing and copies.
The goal was to ensure that the language clear and informative, while being mindful of the user's perspective. Make it supportive and encouraging.
Several adjustments to improve the diversity and inclusivity of the app, including adding specific groups and discussions, providing recommendations for self-assessing specific issues, expanding symptoms considering cultural backgrounds.
