Social good: dedicated app & responsive website for a Childrens Home

So, in May 2022 we got in touch with Sathyan, the director of Global Watch Trust Children’s Home (GWC) and he asked us to help him out with an app for his staff.
The first thing we did before we started the design process was visiting the home and meeting the girls. The Childrens’ Home is located right at the foot of Arunachala, the sacred mountain of Thiruvannamalai (the reason a lot of devotees and foreigners visit this place).

Chicken in the tree & a group selfie

We were very warmly welcomed by Esther, the woman who is the main caretaker of all 25 girls and lives with them at the property.
The girls introduced themselves, told us their names – and the meaning, and wanted to take a photo together.

And after they did their afternoon puja (fire ceremony) – which they also made us part of – we were invited to have chai and sweets with the girls. A special way to get to know the Home and the girls.

Understanding the user

Sathyan explained us what he and his staff need: a digital platform that the caretakers can use to register and monitor the well being of their children according to government regulations. At that point they were doing this daily and manually, which
is time consuming and labour-intensive.

We interviewed the GWC stakeholders and created empathy maps and personas to understand their primary desires and needs regarding the children information system.

Starting the design

The designing phase started with creating the information architecture for both the app and the website. This is represented in the sitemap(s).

With these plans in mind we could start the sketching phase.

Steps of the first design phase

0. Setting up a sitemap that represents the information architecture of the app & website.

1. Sketching the outlines in paper wireframes.

2. Translating the paper wireframes in digital versions.

3. Submitting the designs to the Childrens Home management for feedback.

4. Linking the wireframes & converting them into prototypes.

Refining the design

After some try outs with the existing photo material of the Childrens’ Home, we decided to create our own Arunachala artwork – the famous sacred mountain of Thiruvannamalai – and to use this in the background of the app.

The Arunachala artwork created for the app

The colour scheme and image of this is artwork became the base for the final design. Below you find the main user flow of the app and the website.

Going forward

The end result – a dedicated app and responsive website design – offers an online platform for the Childrens Home staff. These tools make it easier for them to register & monitor the data online, and the well-being of their girls, which makes their tasks more efficient.