THE GIRL GUIDE
PROBLEM SPACE
A lot of young girls do not receive sex education either at school or from their parents at home, which can result in confusion, embarrassment, and making uninformed decisions as they grow up.
TIMELINE
2 Weeks
January–February 2019
TEAM
This was a solo project.
KEY GOAL
Give girls a source of information on topics that they may be too embarrassed to ask their parents about.
RESEARCH
INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEM SPACE
This project was somewhat unconventional because it didn't initially begin as a design project. Instead, it was developed in response to discussions I participated in, and literature I read, as part of a college class called "Race, Class, and Girlhood." Below is a summary of some of the issues that emerged from these sources.
Purity Culture
in certain cultures and religions means that sex and puberty are not discussed at all at home
Lack of Sex Education
in many schools, either due to funding or religious principles, is very common
Feelings of Shame
stemming from purity culture results in girls being afraid to ask questions or seek help when they need it
Body Image Issues
arose from a lack of understanding of puberty; changes such as fat redistribution, weight gain, and pubic hair, would leave girls feeling there was something wrong with them as they did not know those changes were normal
Health Risks
sometimes arise from a lack of education, for example:
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no knowing how often to change sanitary products (or even which products are available)
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how often periods occur and how long they last
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what to do if a period is missed
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how to engage in safe, consensual sex
Lack of Diversity
in girls' magazines/websites meant that lot of girls of color in particular either felt excluded from these types of media or that white beauty standards heavily affected their self-confidence
PROTO-PERSONA AND EMPATHY MAP
Based on these insights, I put together a proto-persona and empathy map to focus on during the design phase.
Proto-Persona: Isabella
ISABELLA CRUZ is a 12-year-old girl from Florida. She comes from a strictly religious Mexican family and attends Catholic school. She has never discussed puberty or sex with her family and had not received sex education at school beyond being told to "wait until marriage." She has low self-esteem at the moment as her hips have started to get wider and she has started to grow public hair. She does not fully understand why and feels "ugly."
DESIGN
PRODUCT PROPOSAL AND MOCKUPS
Informed by the information outlined above, I felt inspired to design an application that provides girls with access to legitimate information concerning their mental and physical health as they grow up.
This would encourage them to seek appropriate solutions and advice from the right sources, thereby reducing the chances of developing any more severe issues later on. It would neither encourage or discourage any activities and would simply give girls the tools to do the things they choose in a safe and responsible way, without judgment.
Onboarding
Here, the user sets up their profile.
Settings include:
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Name - ensures they are referred to personally and as they wish
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DOB - allows the app to track their growth and give them appropriate advice and information at the right time
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Gender Identity - ensures that the correct biological information and advice is provided
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Preferred Theme Color
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Accessibility Options
Avatar Builder
Here, the user creates an avatar that resembles them as much as possible.
The options include:
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Hair (texture, color, length)
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Skin (color, blemishes, scars, freckles)
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Face (face shape, lips, nose)
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Eyes (shape, color, glasses)
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Body (genitals, weight/shape, height, breast size, disabilities – missing or deformed limbs/wheelchair, etc.)
Don't Tell My Parents!
This section features answers to several questions that girls may have as they grow up, especially those they may not want to discuss with their parents.
Categories include:
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Sex and Relationships, including safe sex, consent, pregnancy, rape
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Mental & Physical Health, including depression, anxiety, endo/PCOS, diets, conditions causing infertility
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Drugs + Alcohol, including law, types, dosage, overdosing, first aid)
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LGBTQ+ (e.g. definitions, coming out, dealing with negativity)
I Need to Talk to Someone!
This section allows users to chat with other young people about their experiences.
Profiles will not include any personal information, and users will instead find potential friends in the themed groups available, such as “#strictparentsclub”.
Below is the product proposal alongside mockups of each section. When thinking about the visual design, I decided to go for a hand-drawn approach to make the app feel less serious and more playful and make the young users feel at ease. Similarly, I wanted the names of the sections to feel like headlines in a girlie teen magazine so that it would feel approachable.
Home Screen
This is the app's home screen.
Linked sections include:
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Who Am I? - where users can provide and learn personalized information about their biological development
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Don't Tell My Parents! - general (age-appropriate) information on 'taboo' subjects
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Where Can I Get Help? - a directory of appropriate external resources
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I Need to Talk to Someone! - anonymous forums
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Settings
Live Avatar
The avatar will grow and develop with the user as they do. In order to find out more about how and why their body is changing, the user can select the different nodes to zoom in on a particular body part.
They can also add personal updates by clicking on the various options:
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Statistics, including height
and weight -
Period Details
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Medications/Hormones
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Sexual Activity
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Other – diets, existing health conditions etc.
Where Can I Get Help?
This section includes a list of resources, including online links and local organizations (filtered by the location the user enters in settings).
Categories include:
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Sex and Relationships
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Mental & Physical Health
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Drugs + Alcohol
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LGBTQ+
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STEM + Careers
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Sports + Hobbies
FINAL DELIVERABLE
INTERACTIVE PROTOYPE
Below is a walkthrough of the final prototype, which was created in Figma.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
REFLECTION
This project gave me a lot of insight into the disparity in sex education around the world and this project afforded me the opportunity to look at healthcare from a less clinical perspective, and rather through the lens of social impact.
IMPACT & NEXT STEPS
I have received very positive feedback on this concept, with peers expressing that they wish this app was real and they had access to it growing up.
I would like to develop this project in the future, specifically testing out the functionality of the growing avatar with a coded prototype.