Famli
Famli is an app designed to bring families closer, especially bridging the gap between newly retired parents and their adult children. Inspired by my psychology teacher’s story about his father’s need for purpose after retirement and my emotional calls with my parents, who often share how much they miss my brother and me, this project is deeply personal and dedicated to the ones I care for. With the rapidly growing number of elderly individuals, I believe this is a meaningful area to explore.
By prioritizing connection, empathy, and accessibility, Famli aims to strengthen family bonds and ensure no one feels alone in their next chapter of life.
Project Overview
Famli is a mobile app designed to bridge the gap between newly retired parents and their adult children, fostering meaningful connections and intergenerational understanding. The app addresses the emotional distance that often arises as families navigate life transitions, such as retirement, by providing a warm and accessible platform for sharing daily moments, creating shared memories, and accessing expert advice. With features like daily photo updates, shared memory albums, and playful gamification, Famli ensures inclusivity for all age groups, making it easy and enjoyable for families to stay connected and support each other.
Tools:
Figma, Illustrator, Miro
Methods:
User research, Sketching & Wireframing, UX/UI design, Prototyping
Role:
Product Designer
Duration:
01/2025-04/2025
Interview Takeaway 1
“I wish my kids could reach out to me more, it’s always so nice to see what they’re up to and how they’re doing.”
Interview Takeaway 2
“Since I have so much more free time now, I would want to spread my knowledge to others.”
Interview Takeaway 3
“My parents are professors, and I would imagine how much help they can provide to others, and even me, when it comes to their corresponding expertise. I think that would be quite cool.”
Identifying the Problem
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Community and Belonging: Opportunities to build and maintain relationships, whether through group activities, clubs, or shared interests.
Purpose and Contribution: Ways to share their knowledge, skills, and experiences, such as mentoring, volunteering, or participating in community projects.
Mental and Emotional Well-being: Regular interaction to combat loneliness and isolation, fostering a sense of companionship and support.
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Intergenerational Connection: Opportunities to learn from elders, gain wisdom, and build meaningful relationships across generations, fostering mutual respect and understanding.
Skill-Sharing and Mentorship: A platform to exchange knowledge, where they can both teach (e.g., tech skills) and learn (e.g., life advice, traditional skills) from older users.
Staying Close to Family: Tools to strengthen family bonds, such as shared calendars, family group chats, or collaborative activities that allow them to stay connected with elders and other family members, even from a distance.
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Rewards System: Offer badges, points, or recognition for participation, encouraging consistent engagement.
Family-Focused Features: Include family group chats, shared photo albums, or event planning tools to help families stay connected.
Learning Opportunities: Offer workshops or tutorials on topics like technology for elders or life skills (e.g., budgeting, cooking) for young adults.
There’s so much potential to this project. Let’s start step-by-step!
Dream it
Fail it
Grow it
Build it
Brainstorm Sitemap
Initial Wireframes
Initial Wireframes
I began the design process with low-fidelity wireframes, focusing on basic layouts and navigation flow. I wanted to ensure that the app’s key functions—daily updates, memory albums, and challenges—were easily accessible without overwhelming the user. My early sketches tested different layouts for the home feed, experimenting with image sizes, text hierarchy, and engagement buttons to make interactions intuitive. Once I established a clear direction, I developed high-fidelity wireframes, incorporating accessibility considerations such as larger font sizes, high-contrast colors, and simple tap-based navigation.
Since the app needed to work well for both younger and older users, I paid special attention to minimizing cognitive load by keeping the interface clean and avoiding unnecessary complexity.
I also designed a navigation flow that minimized the number of steps required to complete key actions. For example, I ensured that posting a daily update was a one-step process rather than requiring multiple screens. The wireframing process helped me refine the user experience early on, allowing me to prioritize clarity, ease of use, and emotional connection before moving into interactive prototyping.
Prototypes
Once the wireframes were finalized, I created interactive prototypes to test the app’s functionality and gather user feedback. Using Figma, I developed a clickable prototype
Home Screen: This serves as the central hub where users can see recent updates from their family members. I designed this screen to feel warm and inviting, with a feed of daily photos, shared memories, and interactive prompts.
Daily Updates: To encourage consistent interaction, this section allows users to share a daily photo, voice note, or short message. I structured this feature to be as simple as possible, ensuring that older users, who may be less tech-savvy, could easily participate.
Gamification & Challenges: To add an element of fun and engagement, I included interactive challenges like trivia games, daily reflection prompts, and storytelling activities. These features make it easier for families to engage playfully while strengthening their bond.
After iterating on the design based on feedback, I refined the prototype to ensure smooth transitions, consistent iconography, and a comforting, warm visual style. The final prototype successfully balanced engagement and simplicity, making Famli a welcoming space for families to reconnect.
My Reflection
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What I learned?
I discovered that each user's pain points are incredibly unique, offering valuable insights that guide my design decisions. Auto-layout has become an indispensable tool in my workflow! Lastly, I’ve realized there’s immense value in studying a wide range of case studies and successful UX design projects—it’s always a worthwhile investment.
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What Challenges I faced?
The design thinking process and Figma were relatively new to me, so everything took more time than I had anticipated. I also learned the importance of not diving into UI design before fully understanding the UX, as it only complicates the process. Taking a step back to focus on user experience first made all the difference.
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What Are My Next Steps?
I would definitely prioritize more user research to deepen my understanding of the problem space. I’d also aim to fully develop all the features that Famli has to offer, ensuring a comprehensive and polished product. Additionally, I’d conduct more usability testing to gather valuable feedback and refine the design for a seamless user experience.
Working on Famli was a deeply rewarding experience that reinforced my understanding of UX design for emotional well-being and intergenerational relationships. One of the biggest challenges I faced was balancing simplicity with engagement—I needed to make sure the app remained easy to use for older users while still feeling dynamic and fun for younger generations.
This is my family!
Through usability testing, I learned the importance of accessibility and emotional design. Small design choices, such as adding a “favorite” button to highlight meaningful moments or including a voice note feature for users who prefer speaking over typing, made a significant impact on the user experience.
If I were to continue improving Famli, I would explore additional features such as:
AI-generated memory compilations: Automatically curating themed photo slideshows from shared moments.
Video call integration: Allowing families to connect beyond photos and messages.
Personalized notifications: Encouraging interaction based on user behavior (e.g., reminders to check in with a parent who hasn’t posted in a while).
Beyond the technical aspects, this project also deepened my appreciation for how UX can foster emotional connections. Designing for different generations required me to think beyond typical usability concerns and consider the human emotions driving interactions. This experience has shaped my perspective on designing inclusive, meaningful, and relationship-driven digital experiences.