TROVE

Building a small-scale platform to nurture family traditions and values

Interaction Design • Design System

Team

Individual

Tools

Figma

Duration

4 months (Feb-May 22')

The Problem

In today's world, families are often geographically dispersed, which can impede connection and preservation of special moments, risking disconnection from family history and values for future generations.

The Solution

I imagined a family-focused app with a centralized platform for sharing personalized content which can help reduce the impact of physical distance on family connections.

View Final Screens

BACKGROUND

Building a Bridge: Connecting Families Across Distance

For our interaction design class project, we were urged to think about very small-scale apps that we would personally find helpful in our lives. Not large interventions - no Uber for cats - but small, private applications, not intended for more than six to twenty users, including us.

Moving to a different country, I experienced homesickness and missed out on opportunities for family events and traditions. Further research showed that I was not alone - 94% of students reported experiencing homesickness at some point, and millions of people move to a different country or state each year, a trend that is increasing. While there are existing tools available, such as social media platforms and video chat apps, technology has the potential to do more to help people stay connected and offer more meaningful solutions. In fact, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 86% of adults in the US use technology to stay in touch with family and friends.

Thus, for this class project, I decided to create an app that would - Help users stay connected with their loved ones and preserve family memories and traditions over time.

How might we design an app that fosters meaningful connections between family members?

DESIGNING FOR CONNECTION

How Research Shaped the Features of the App

I first talked with my peers to better understand the problem of homesickness and the challenge of staying connected with loved ones from afar. Through these conversations, I discovered that we shared the same sentiment of homesickness when we missed out on family events and traditions. Using an affinity diagram to group these concerns and gain a deeper understanding of the specific issues people face.

BUT

What about the age group of 40-50? How do they connect? What do they want to share?

I wanted to explore how individuals in the age group of 40-50 connect with their loved ones and what they desire to share. To address this, I conducted further research and conversations with individuals in this age group to gather their perspectives.

Competitor Analysis

I decided to look at what solutions are already available in the market. I looked at both direct and indirect competitors. I found a list of those applications but realized that most of them were not functioning anymore.

Keepy

Strengths

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Organization and categorization features

Weaknesses

  • Limited customization options

FamilyWall

Strengths

  • Family management features
  • Shared calendar and to-do lists

Weaknesses

  • Complex user interface for beginners

FamilyAlbum

Strengths

  • User-friendly interface for seamless photo and video sharing

Weaknesses

  • Limited features beyond photo sharing

FamilyApp

Strengths

  • Secure and private platform for family communication
  • Shared calendar and to-do lists for easy coordination

Weaknesses

  • Limited user base and community engagement

MyHeritage

Strengths

  • Extensive genealogical research tools and databases

Weaknesses

  • Focus on genealogy rather than broader family management

Cozi

Strengths

  • Shared calendar and to-do lists for easy family coordination
  • Recipe and meal planning features

Weaknesses

  • Limited customization options

Feature Analysis

User Survey and Analysis

To gain a deeper understanding of the preferences and needs of families regarding communication and coordination, I conducted a survey. The survey aimed to quantify user preferences, prioritize features, and inform the design decisions for the app. Key findings from the data gathered from 20 participants include:

Important Features of the App

User Perspectives on Preserving and Passing on Family Memories, Traditions, and Values

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Great, I now have a better understanding of the user's challenges and preferences, let's dive into the design, where we'll make those heartfelt connections a reality!

Key Features

Incorporating the feedback from interviews and survey, and keeping in mind the scope of the project, I decided on these key features: 

Personalized notes

Each family member can write heartfelt letters or notes for any family member and can control when these letters unlock and become accessible to the intended recipient.

Recipes

Users can store recipes that are important to their family and listen to a family member recite them.

Important Events and Dates

Users can keep track of important dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries, and share memories related to those events.

Family Social Media

A platform for families to share updates, photos, and memories in a private and secure space.

Information Architecture

After getting a general idea of the app and defining the key features, the next step was to specify the app further and understand two crucial aspects: how different features would be connected, and how users would navigate through the app. This involved designing the information architecture of the app:

FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY

Sketching the App's User Interface

I began with a few sketches and paper prototypes (for the Desktop version of the app) to figure out the basic functionalities of the application.

1. Important Events Screen where the user can learn about upcoming events that are important to the family

2. Recipes Screen where the user can browse through a collection of family recipes

3. Photos Screen where the user can see any family’s members photo over the years

4. Notes screen where the user can see notes left for them by their family members

Lo-fi Prototype in Marvel: https://marvelapp.com/prototype/6ea6dh3

I presented these sketches to my peers and received feedback from them. Because the sketches showed only certain features of the app, I was able to gain more insights into what my peers imagined the app to look like, which helped me define the app more. Based on the feedback I created the following mobile screens of my app.

BRINGING THE VISION TO LIFE

Developing the High Fidelity Prototype

After defining the app and sketching out low-fidelity prototypes on paper I moved to creating a mid-fidelity prototype in Figma and iteratively moving to a high-fidelity prototype.

Style Guide

The style guide for the Trove app is crafted to reflect the app's core values of home, family, happiness, and familiarity. The color palette chosen for the app aims to create a warm and inviting atmosphere, with shades of brown as the primary colors. These colors evoke a sense of comfort and nostalgia, resonating with users as they explore and cherish their family memories.

In terms of typography, a harmonious combination of serif and sans-serif fonts is employed. The serif font, adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to headings and titles, while the sans-serif font, ensures readability and clarity for body text and other content. This font pairing strikes a balance that complements the app's imagery, avoiding excessive strain on the eyes when displayed alongside the diverse range of user-uploaded images.

Here is a detailed style guide for the Trove app:

Design Solutions

After various iterations here is the final design of Trove:

MEMORIES REEL

Immersive Journey through Family Moments

Reveal a treasure trove of memories, each one representing a significant milestone or heartfelt connection within their family. This feature is designed to provide a personalized and engaging experience, allowing you to relive and celebrate your family's unique journey.

CULINARY CHRONICLE

Delectable Collection of Family Recipes

Curate your recipe books, showcasing a diverse array of family recipes passed down through generations. This feature enhances the experience by allowing users to immerse themselves in the personal touch of these recipes, with voice recordings by the family chefs themselves.

HEARTFELT MESSAGES

Personalized Notes that Span Generations

Pen down your deepest thoughts and emotions, creating a legacy of personalized notes that transcend time. This feature allows family members to write special letters for one another, preserving heartfelt messages and controlling when these notes unlock in the recipient's life. It offers a unique and intimate way to connect across generations, ensuring that the essence of love and support is passed down through the power of words.

MEMORABLE MILESTONES

Honoring Special Occasions

Keep track of significant events and dates that hold special meaning to your family. From birthdays and anniversaries to cherished family traditions, this feature serves as a centralized hub to ensure these important moments are never forgotten.

SHARED MOMENTS

Private Space for Family

Capture and cherish your family's moments, photos, and memories in a secure space. Connect, share joyous celebrations, everyday adventures, and heartfelt moments with your loved ones, creating a lasting legacy of love and togetherness

Prototype

Click anywhere on the region around the Phone to see interactive hotspots. Press 'F' to view and interact with the prototype in full-screen view.

Or… you could look at the video here to see how the application would fit into a person’s day-to-day life:

The video takes you through a day in the life of a grad student, miles away from home, trying to maintain friendships and be productive. It contains apps created by 5 students - Apoorva (App: PlanYard), Sagar (App: SAVEAT), Sourabh (App: Finch), Sumit (App: Twin), and me (App: Trove).

REFLECTING ON THE JOURNEY

Lessons Learned

  • As a part of the course project I also worked to convert my designs using corporate design pattern libraries, specifically Google Material Design and Apple Human-Interface Guidelines. Although I was aware of the rules of these libraries, working with both of these helped me gain a much deeper understanding and gain hands-on experience.
  • This project helped me gain experience building a design system from scratch.
  • Feedback from peers and professors helped me look at my designs from a different point of view. The feedback also helped me improve the flaws in my designs as well as validate certain design choices.

NEXT PROJECT

Sandbox

Building a seamless B2B API management platform

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