Community for Thriving Single Parenthood
Designed a comprehensive system combining a supportive co-living community with a user-friendly app, designed to empower single parents by addressing their emotional, financial, and social needs during significant life transitions.
Team
Jingjing Han, Clara Chen, Ashley Lee, Franky Zhang
Type
Stanford Design Challenge
Timeline
5 weeks
Tools
Figma, Google Forms, Cinema 4D
My Role
Team Lead, UX Designer
I was responsible for creating user surveys, collecting and analyzing data, conducting secondary and competitive research, building user personas, and designing the UX and UI for the app.
Project Brief
The Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge is an annual global competition inviting students to create innovative solutions aimed at improving well-being across the lifespan. Now in its eleventh year, the challenge focuses on "Designing for Life Transitions," recognizing the complexities and opportunities presented by increased longevity.
Motivation
As designers, we are challenged to reimagine how individuals navigate evolving life transitions. Our goal is not just to ease these transitions but to make them more enriching and impactful, thereby significantly enhancing the quality of life as it extends. After our initial exploration, we chose single parents as our target user group, motivated by the surprising discovery that the U.S. has the world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households.
Primary Research
To refine our research focus, we conducted a survey that identified the key emotional, financial, and social challenges single parents face during significant life transitions. We gathered responses from 8 participants in the U.S., aged 18 to 54 years old. The survey results helped us pinpoint specific issues relevant to single parenthood. Notably, we discovered that single parents struggle significantly with financial management and balancing work and life, and they express a strong need for community support, despite having limited time to engage.
Financial Responsibilities, balancing work and parenting, childcare are the top three challenging aspects of raising a child alone.
71.4% of respondents are inclined to engage in communal events facilitating single parents to connect and assist one another.
Secondary Research
Given the limited scale of our initial primary research sample, we broadened our approach in the secondary research phase. This phase includes academic literature review, data analysis, social media exploration, and competitive analysis.
Insights
We summarized the challenges and the potential needs from surveys and references.
Financial Responsibility
Many parents express a persistent sense of financial insecurity, further complicated by the job perspective. Single parents often grapple with the dual role of being the sole earner and primary caregiver.
Balancing Numerous Roles
Parents often find themselves in situations where they lack assistance during critical moments. Balancing professional commitments with the unrelenting demands of childcare emerges as a significant hurdle.
Community and Well-Being
Many single parents experience feelings of loneliness and isolation as they navigate the solo journey of child-rearing. There's a palpable yearning for companionship and a supportive network where they can share their experiences, challenges, and triumphs.
User Persona
We also created a user persona to better identify their challenges and needs:
Concept
How might we…
design a support system that empowers single parents to manage financial responsibilities, access affordable childcare, and find work-life balance, while also fostering a supportive community network?
Ideation
Market Analysis
We first examined existing solutions in the market to identify potential design opportunities.
A new affordable co-living community for single parents, addressing financial difficulties through shared expenses, balancing work and life with cooperative childcare, and fostering a supportive community network.
Research on Co-Living Business Model
For Single Parents:
Co-Living typically offers a more affordable rent structure compared to renting a entire apartment or house
Co-Living offer a great sense of community, flexibility, and convenience, and shared resources and responsibilities
Ref: Conscious Coliving
Research on New York Housing Projects
We also researched New York housing programs to evaluate the feasibility of constructing an affordable co-living community from a business perspective. By examining programs such as the New York HUB Multifamily program, NYS HOME program, HUD Discretionary Funding, Future Housing Initiative, we assessed the availability of financial support and resources. These programs suggest a favorable environment for developing multifamily and innovative housing solutions, making our proposed co-living community for single parents both realistic and viable.
Design Decisions
Our team embarked on an imaginative journey to design a community ecosystem that would serve as a haven for single parents. The goal was to create an environment that not only supports but also empowers and enriches their lives.
Individual Exploration: Initially, each of us independently envisioned our ideal single-parent community.
Collective Sharing: We then shared our visions and we discussed the pros and cons and affordance of each design choice.
Together, we synthesized these ideas into a cohesive concept, outlining a community layout that includes communal areas for interaction, integrated support services, and a digital platform to connect and empower residents.
Designed by Jingjing Han
Designed by Ashley Lee
Designed by Clara Chen
Designed by Franky Zhang
Prototype
Co-living community model
Centralizing the playground and community center fosters community by providing a safe, convenient gathering place that encourages frequent interaction and easy supervision of children.
Building Layout
Shared childcare facilities, a kitchen, and a common room for events and social gatherings promote community engagement and support among residents.
Ease Function Flow
Ease App Prototype
Dashboard
Browse upcoming weekly events and sessions in support of single parenting
RSVP Events
RSVP events hosted by ease
Connect with Neighbors
Check out what other single parents might need or offer
Participate in Community
Join community groups or start a discussion with other single parents
Message
Building 1 on 1 connection within residing community
