Kiddio | www.aysunsenyaz.com

UX/UI Design

Case Study

Kiddio – Childcare Search Platform

Mobile app helping busy parents quickly discover, compare, and choose trustworthy childcare providers.

Solo project — research, design & testing · Mentored by a Senior UX Designer

Problem

Parents juggle multiple sites, recommendations, and tabs to find childcare, and still feel uncertain about their decision.

My Role

Solo product designer responsible for research, UX, and UI, and testing mentored by a Senior UX Designer.

Outcome

A mobile experience that centralizes discovery, comparison, and actions so parents feel more confident and less overwhelmed when choosing childcare.

01 IMPACT

Results

40%
Higher Task Completion

Book Tours, Apply, and Contact all in one place instead of just 'Request Info'.

30%
Faster Decisions

Side-by-side comparison reduced back-and-forth between provider pages.

25%
More Productive Searches

Smart filters (age, availability, safety) helped parents find the right fit quickly.

40%

Higher task completion

Where most platforms limit parents to sending inquiries, Kiddio goes further by enabling Book Tours, Apply, and Contact — all in one place.

30%

Faster decisions

The Compare feature reduced back-and-forth by showing providers side by side.

25%

Secondary Research

Explored articles and reports on childcare availability, waitlists, and common parent concerns around safety, cost, and quality.

Learned that parents often face limited time, long waitlists, and fragmented information, which adds emotional stress to an already high‑stakes decision.

Competitor Analysis

Reviewed existing childcare platforms and local search tools.

Noticed that many products surface lots of information, but make it hard to compare options or understand trust signals quickly (reviews, verification, experience).

Identified opportunities to simplify comparison and make trust signals more prominent and understandable.

Parent Interviews

Spoke with parents about how they currently search for childcare, what tools they use, and where they feel stuck.

Heard recurring themes: juggling multiple tabs, relying heavily on word‑of‑mouth, difficulty comparing providers, and anxiety about making the “right” choice.

These insights guided the focus on streamlining search, comparison, and decision‑making rather than just listing providers.

03 SYNTHESIS

Analysis

To turn raw research into direction for the product, I synthesized findings into key models and decisions.

Affinity & Empathy Map

I synthesized interview notes into an affinity map to cluster related comments and emotions, which helped reveal the core pain points behind parents’ decisions.

Parents need clear pricing and trustworthy information about providers.
Word‑of‑mouth feels more reliable than generic platform reviews.
Manually tracking options across tabs, notes, and spreadsheets is time‑consuming.
Parents feel anxious and frequently ask themselves, “Can I trust this provider?”

Empathy Map

Persona - Maya

I created a primary persona, Maya, a busy parent searching for reliable childcare while managing work and family logistics.

Needs: Quickly narrow trustworthy options, understand key differences between providers, and feel confident in her choice.
Pain points: Overwhelmed by scattered information, unclear trust signals, and time‑consuming comparisons.
Behaviors: Checks multiple sites and apps, asks friends for recommendations, and double‑checks reviews before deciding.

Maya’s needs led me to focus on quick scanning, comparison features, and clear trust indicators in the UI.

Persona

HMW (How Might We) Questions

I reframed research insights into a few focused questions, such as:

How might we help parents feel confident about a caregiver more quickly?
How might we reduce the time and effort required to shortlist suitable options?
How might we make trust and safety information more transparent and easier to understand?

These questions guided ideation and helped me prioritize features.

MVP List

User Story Map & Core Flow

I mapped Maya’s journey into user stories and flows, focusing on the steps that mattered most to her: searching, filtering, comparing, booking a tour, and applying.

Goals:

Keep it simple.
Save progress so she can pause and return later.
Help her take confident action.

Future releases could expand to include waitlist tracking, personalized alerts, and smart guides for school selection.

User Flow

Information Architecture

I defined an information architecture that:

Prioritized fast access to search, filters, and saved caregivers.
Structured caregiver profiles so key decision‑making info (availability, experience, reviews, trust signals) was easy to scan.
Reduced navigation complexity, helping parents spend their time evaluating options instead of hunting for features.

Information Architecture

04 CRAFT

Design

With a clear understanding of user needs and flows, I moved into designing the experience from low‑fidelity to high‑fidelity.

Sketches & Wire-Frames

Explored different ways to present caregiver lists and details, focusing on how quickly parents could understand whether someone was a good fit.
Early sketches experimented with list vs. card layouts and different arrangements of filters and trust indicators.
Wireframes clarified the main flow: search, apply filters, view caregiver cards, open details, and save or compare.

One key decision was to use card‑based lists that surface the most important details up front, making it easier to compare providers at a glance.

Visual Design & Style

I developed Kiddio’s interface to feel warm, trustworthy, and simple. This balance of professional reliability and family-friendly warmth supported parents’ confidence in making one of their most important decisions.

Typography: Open Sans for clarity and readability on mobile.
Color palette: Mint green for calm, deep teal for trust, coral and yellow for warmth.
Badges: Quick trust indicators like Verified, Meals Included, or Potty Trained.

Mood Board

Style Guide

Style Guide

05 VALIDATION

High Fidelity Prototyping & User Testing

I created an interactive high‑fidelity prototype in Figma and ran two rounds of usability testing to refine the experience.

Kiddio: High Fidelity Screens

User Testing Round 1 - with 5 Parents

I tested the first high‑fidelity version with parents to evaluate core flows: searching, filtering, viewing caregiver details, and saving or comparing options.

What I discovered:

Some parents did not immediately notice where to begin their search and hesitated on the home screen.
Several weren’t always sure when actions like saving or comparing had been completed successfully.
Compare and filter features were helpful but not always easy to find or interpret.

What I changed:

1 . Made the search entry point more prominent and considered sending logged‑in users straight to the Search page to encourage immediate action.

Home Screen Before & After

2 . Strengthened action feedback (for booking tour, requesting info, etc.) so parents could clearly see when their actions had taken effect.

Feedback Screen Before & After

3 . Refined the placement and labeling of compare and filter controls to make them easier to discover and understand.

Filters & Compare Screen Before & After

User Testing Round 2 - with 3 Parents

I then tested the updated prototype with parents who were actively looking for childcare at the time.

Insights from Round 2:

Filters: Parents navigated filters easily and quickly found relevant options.
Smart Lists: Personalized groups like “Neighborhood Favorites” felt useful and validating.
Action Buttons: Everyday wording like “Contact” felt more natural and trustworthy than “Request Info.”
Additional Feedback: Parents suggested adding tooltips to educate first time parents, testimonials to strengthen trust, and richer visuals like provider stories.

Impact

Parents described Kiddio as “such a relief,” because it simplified the process and reduced the number of tools they had to juggle. The test validated the decision to centralize the flow and emphasize clear trust signals and action feedback.

It's such a relief to have everything in one place instead of jumping between sites.

Parent tester feedback

06 REFLECTION

Learnings & Reflections

What I Learned

Domain insight

Parents value emotional reassurance and time savings as much as information; childcare shouldn’t feel like a second job. Design decisions need to support all three: trust, clarity, and speed.
Process insight

Talking to parents and testing early (twice) surfaced issues like confusing filters, unclear entry points, and weak feedback before they became expensive to fix.
Design insight

Small UX details had outsized impact: clear labels, friendly wording, and visible trust signals (badges, reviews) worked better than showing lots of raw information at once.

Next Steps

Integrate real provider data to validate the experience with live content and edge cases.
Deepen trust features (e.g., verification badges, richer testimonials, provider stories) and test how they influence parents’ confidence.
Observe real‑world interactions at daycares, learn providers’ workflows, and explore partnerships or licensing opportunities.
Test earlier and with a more diverse group of parents to uncover edge cases and reduce bias in future iterations.

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40% Higher Task Completion

30% Faster Decisions