Project
Guardiancare
Role
Product Designer
Category
Digital Wellbeing
Designing a family app that gives moments back to the family.
Overview
Guardiancare is a digital wellbeing platform designed to help families build healthier and more balanced relationships with technology. The product combines routine management, screen time insights and device organization through a clear and human-centered experience focused on usability, trust and everyday wellbeing. The main challenge was simplifying complex family management flows such as routines, limits, permissions and device usage into an experience that felt accessible, emotionally approachable and visually consistent across the platform.
Responsabilities
Mapped the core product logic for routines, limits, exceptions and permissions.
Structured user flows for guardians and protected users across onboarding, family setup and device management.
Designed wireframes and high-fidelity interfaces for the main mobile experience.
Defined the visual direction, interaction patterns and component library to support consistency and scalability.
Supported usability validation and design iterations with product and development teams.
Challenge
The main challenge was to turn a rule-based parental control system into an experience that families could understand and trust.
Guardians needed flexibility to manage routines, usage limits and exceptions, while protected users needed clear feedback about what was allowed, blocked or required on their devices.
The experience had to balance control and care: giving guardians enough structure to manage digital habits without making the product feel punitive, technical or overwhelming.
Process
To design the experience, I started by organizing the product rules into a clear and scalable hierarchy. This helped define how routines, limits and exceptions should work across different family members, devices and usage contexts.
From there, I mapped the main flows, identified possible conflicts between rules, and translated the system logic into interface patterns that felt simple, predictable and easy to understand.
The experience was built around a flexible rule system designed to balance structure and adaptability in everyday family routines.
System logic:
Routines define when
Routines organize app and device access during specific moments of the day, such as study time, bedtime or free time.
Limits define how much
Usage limits help guardians manage screen time and support healthier digital habits.
Exceptions define flexibility
Exceptions allow specific apps or permissions to remain available when needed, without breaking the overall system logic.
Design decisions
Clear hierarchy between rules
The experience was structured around a simple hierarchy: exceptions, routines and limits. This helped reduce ambiguity when different rules overlapped.
Role-based experience
The interface was designed considering different family roles. Guardians needed control and configuration, while protected users needed clarity, guidance and feedback.
Human-centered language
Instead of using technical or punitive messages, the content was designed to explain what was happening and guide users toward the next action.
Scalable components
Cards, status indicators, tabs and permission patterns were designed to support different family members, devices and app rules without creating new layouts for every scenario.
Visual Direction
The visual direction was built around calmness, trust and family proximity.
Soft backgrounds, rounded components and friendly illustrations were used to reduce the feeling of surveillance or punishment, while the teal color palette helped communicate safety, balance and digital wellbeing.
The interface needed to feel simple enough for everyday use, but structured enough to support complex family management rules.
Final experience
The final experience allows guardians to create a family, add protected users, manage devices, define routines, set usage limits and handle permissions in a clear and scalable flow.
For protected users, the experience provides direct feedback about device requirements, blocked apps and necessary permissions, helping them understand what needs to be done without relying only on the guardian.
Learnings
Designing for families required balancing structure, flexibility and emotional accessibility within the same experience.
The project reinforced how thoughtful visual direction and clear system logic can make complex digital experiences feel more human and approachable.