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BINK
August - December 2024
Figma
Role: (Group) UX Researcher / UX Designer
THE PROBLEM
The current state of reproductive health education in Georgia is marked by significant knowledge gaps, a lack of inclusivity, and misinformation from online sources. This, along with social stigmatization, leaves many adolescents feeling ashamed and fearful about their reproductive health. As a result, countless teens remain severely undereducated about their health, reproductive rights, and available resources.
"If I got pregnant I would probably just drink alcohol or slam myself into a wall"
- participant from one of our user interviews
THE SOLUTION
Bink is a non-intrusive educational plugin for teens that meets teens where they’re at in their reproductive health journey.
PROJECT TIMELINE
01 PRELIMINARY RESEACH
Understanding the problem space of teen health
01
LITERATURE REVIEW
General research on the history of sex education and reproductive health legislation in Georgia
02
TEEN MATTERS
Analyzing an organization whose goal is to provide confidential health services to teens
03
DEFINING TARGET USER
Narrowing down our scope
SEX EDUCATION IN GEORGIA
NOT COMPREHENSIVE
In SIECUS’s Georgia State Profile, currently, the Sexual Education curriculum in Georgia is not required to be comprehensive, is not required to include instruction on consent, and allows parents to remove their children from all or part of sex education with a written note.
ABSTINENCE BASED
Curriculum must emphasize abstinence from sexual activity until marriage
INEFFECTIVE
In a pilot study of 26 students aged 13-18, 81% answered 7 out of 12 questions about STIs incorrectly. Only 33% of Georgia secondary schools taught students all of the CDC’s 20 critical sexual education topics in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.
TEEN MATTERS
Teen Matters is an organization part of the Georgia Family Planning System (GFPS) that provides free and confidential services to teenagers ages 11-19 in various clinics across Northeast Georgia.
It was established in the mid-1990’s at a time when statistics showed a rise in teenage pregnancy that was causing young women to drop out of school.
Their goals are to provide quality sex education that schools may not provide, provide a safe and confidential space, and de-stigmatize talking about sexual health.
Unfortunately, many teens are unaware of organizations like these.
CONFIDENTIALITY LAWS
Organizations like Teen Matters are able to exist due to certain confidentiality laws in Georgia.
A parent or legal guardian must provide consent on behalf of a minor (under age 18) before health care services are provided, with nine important exceptions. These exceptions are based on a minor’s status, or the type of service requested.
Patients under 18 are able to do the following WITHOUT parental consent:
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Emergency medical, surgical, hospital or health services IF the parent/legal guardian cannot be reached or is not readily available
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Contraceptives and family planning services including emergency contraception
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Testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV
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A minor may consent to an abortion, but the minor’s parent(s) or legal guardian must be notified at least 24 hours in advance. Judicial bypass is available in Georgia for minors that wish to forgo this requirement. The only exception to the rule is a medical emergency.
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Pregnancy and prenatal care
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Substance use treatment and services, including alcohol
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Many teens are unaware of these confidentiality laws.
OUR TARGET USER
Teens (11-19) from conservative areas that have a menstrual cycle
Based on our background research, we decided to focus on this group of adolescents because we believed their reproductive health experience would be impacted the most from the side effects of poor sex education.
02 USER RESEARCH
Gathering user needs and design requirements
01
SURVEY
02
INTERVIEWS
03
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
04
HIERARCHAL TASK ANALYSIS
01
SURVEY
30 participants (teens from Georgia) / convenience and snowball sampling
INFORMATION GOALS
01
Understand teens' motivations and barriers for seeking health services
02
Explore their knowledge, attitudes, and preferred sources for sexual health education
03
Identify their preferences for service delivery, scheduling, and the perceived importance of privacy and comfort.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
When asked what their main source of sexual health education was, 70% of participants selected social media or online resources instead of school, friends/family, or clinics/doctors
ONLINE INFORMATION
WHAT DO TEENS VALUE?
When asked to rank sex education topics, Interpersonal Violence, Healthy Relationships, and Consent consistently ranked within the top 3 rankings. Most of these topics are not required to be taught in the Georgia sex education curriculum.
GENDER DIFFERENCES
The majority of males cited none to moderate stigma or pressure when it came to experiences regarding social perceptions surrounding sexual health topics and services while female participants largely cited significant stigma or pressure.
Female participants were also much more likely to label sexual health education in schools as ineffective than male participants
02
INTERVIEWS
6 participants / semi-structured format
INFORMATION GOALS
01
Understand the knowledge gaps and education needs of students
02
Figure out if there exists larger pain points in the provision of education or healthcare resources
03
Identify if teen values and needs have changed with time given the evolution of social media
04
Further explore the emotional, logistical, and social barriers preventing teens from seeking needed sex health services
PARTICIPANTS
Health Education Teacher
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1 participant
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Educator in state of Georgia for 20+ years
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45 minute interview
Previous Teen Matter Patient
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Aged 22
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Grew up in Georgia
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30 minute interview
Teens
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2 participants
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Age: 18
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Grew up in Georgia
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30 minute interviews
Teen Matters Staff ​
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2 participants
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Community Health & Family Planning Manager
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1 hour interview
​“If I asked my parents to get on birth control, they would kick me out”
“Parents are so unaware of what they’re kids are seeing and learning online”
“Abortions are illegal in Georgia right?”
“I feel like I’ve learned about healthy relationships through TV shows and movies”
“If I got pregnant I would probably drink alcohol or slam myself into a wall”
“If I got pregnant I would find a trusted adult to help me like my parents”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
KNOWLEDGE GAP
There is a large gap in reproductive health literacy which impacts teens differently as they navigate through life. Teens who have more knowledge make different choices than teens who have less.
FAMILY DYNAMICS
Family dynamics can contribute greatly to feelings of stigma and shame especially in conservative or religious households
STIGMA & EXPOSURE
Teens that we’re introduced to sex ed at a young age felt less stigma and shame associated with reproductive health
ONLINE RESOURCES
Most teens find their reproductive health information through social media or online.
PEER SUPPORT
Teens without family support tend to look towards friends or peers to find support for reproductive health
LACK OF RESOURCES
Most student want to learn about their health, they just don’t always have the resources to do so
03
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Explore existing solutions on the market
PRODUCTS WE LOOKED AT
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Menstrual Cycle Tracking Apps
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Intimacy Apps
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Teen Matters
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Planned Parenthood
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Tele-Health
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Birth Control Delivery Products
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Domestic Violence Aide Apps
We analyzed key features, strengths, weaknesses, and customer reviews of each​
KEY TAKEAWAYS
FREE > PAID
Paid features, even if the main feature isn't paid create separation between the user and the product and decreases a user's willingness to use the app.
PRIVACY
Privacy is an extremely valued feature whether it's privacy features or mention of privacy protections
SINGLE PURPOSE APPS
For many users, product engagement is usually dependent on one feature, and there’s little exploration of other features.
04
HEIRARCHAL TASK ANALYSIS
We asked our 2 teen interviewees to walk us through how they would complete 2 tasks for an HTA:
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Identifying if you're pregnant
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Logging a menstrual cycle in a period tracking app
1. IDENTIFYING PREGNANCY AT HOME
Our user interviews revealed that there can be a large gap in knowledge for adolescents knowing what to do if they have a “pregnancy scare”. This led us to want to better understand and breakdown the process of identifying and confirming pregnancy through an at-home test. This task involves these key stages:
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Recognizing symptoms that lead to the suspicion of pregnancy
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Selecting a pregnancy test and buying it, which may be influenced by factors such as transportation, money, and social support
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Administering the test according to instructions
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Interpreting the results correctly
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Deciding what to do next
2. LOGGING A MENSTRUAL CYCLE
Our competitive analysis revealed that many apps regarding sexual health and wellness include features like period tracking. Additionally, both of our teen interviewees used period tracking apps. For this HTA, we broke down the process of logging a period cycle in the app Flo. This process involves these key stages:
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Identifying symptoms and confirming start of period
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Opening app and logging start date
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Logging symptoms through the duration of the cycle (not just period)
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Identifying end of period and logging end date
KEY TAKEAWAYS
CONTEXUAL SENSITIVITY
Emotional state, privacy concerns, and access to resources heavily influence both tasks. It’s essential to consider how these factors affect decision-making and task completion.
CULTURAL/SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Social environments and cultural norms significantly impact users’ comfort levels in managing sensitive health tasks, requiring an approach that fosters privacy and inclusion.
ACCESSIBILITY & LITERACY
Ensuring that the app provides not only tracking but also educational information with clear guidance, especially for those with limited health literacy.
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
These 9 design requirements came as a result of our preliminary research and our user-based research. At a high level, the design created for this problem must be...
01 Non-judgmental
The design should provide non-judgmental access to services and present information in a way that doesn’t stigmatize the topic area.
02 Socially/Culturally Sensitive
Social and cultural sensitivity is important because different cultures view reproductive health differently.
03 Address User Priorities
The design should include a variety of topics, addressing what teens prioritize and want to know more about.
04 Confidential
Privacy and confidentiality should be prioritized.
05 Easy to Use
Design should feel intuitive and understandable.
06 Address the Knowledge Gap
Inclusivity for those who have a robust sexual education background and those who don’t know very much.
07 Inclusive
LGBTQ+ youth, youth of color, and youth from low-income families face additional barriers to accessing care. Also, not everyone with a menstrual cycle identifies as a woman, so gender neutral branding/ language is important.
08 Consider support roles
Consider the role of parents, school educators, and partners. Based on survey, interviews, and D1 research.
09 Consider the stages of life
The design should address users in a variety of stages of life– such as pregnancy, period tracking, sexual health, … etc.
03 IDEATION
Brainstorming + Idea Generation
SKETCHES
After brainstorming as a team, we decided to sketch 10 of our best ideas and asked 4 other HCI students for feedback. For our ideas, we tried our best to think as creatively as possible and didn't restrict ourselves to a digital product.
Health Service Van
High School Bathroom Redesign
Anonymous Sexual Education Buddy System
Gamified Education Modules
Delivery System for RH Products
Sexual Violence Prevention Class
Chat app for Healthy Relationships
Chrome Plugin for Reproductive Health
App for Navigating Teen Dating
App4life Tracker
STORYBOARD
We received overwhelming feedback that our Chrome Plugin idea best met our design requirements so we decided to storyboard and move forward with this concept
User is worried about missing her period. She suspects she might be pregnant
She googles pregnancy symptoms and starts scrolling through websites
The plugin shows nearby care options, easing her worries.
The user finds misinformation on abortion laws in GA; the plugin redirects her to a trusted source.
She decides to visit the Planned Parenthood website to book and appointment
The user receives the care she needs
Bink is a non-intrusive educational plugin for teens that meets teens where they’re at in their reproductive health journey.
04 USER TESTING
THE PROCESS
Before moving into our final design, we prototyped a semi-high fidelity prototype to assess the usability, tone, and look and feel of the direction we wanted to take. We interviewed 4 participants in a semi-structured interview format and asked them to complete various tasks within specific scenarios.
FEEDBACK
DESIGN INCONSISTENCIES
Users suggested improving font size, spacing, alignment, and card elements. Standardizing these features will enhance clarity and reduce confusion across the platform.
EDUCATION COMES FIRST
The focus of Bink should be on education and resources. Feedback on the pregnancy test feature suggests prioritizing information and support over transactional features.
MORE PRIVACY OPTIONS
User's wanted more privacy protections such as search history functions or password protections.
SOURCE TRANSPARENCY
Users want transparency in how information is vetted. Clearly communicating source credibility and providing quick access to details will build trust and empower informed decisions.
MORE BINK!
Users loved the Bink mascot and illustrations, suggesting more variety and wider use. A personality-driven design could make the platform friendlier and more approachable.
INTENTIONAL DESIGN
Design choices, from visual elements to functional features, should be used more intentionally. For example, our card design left users a little confused about the hierarchy and importance of information.
04 DESIGN SYSTEM
Bink Style Guide
Bink Bunny
Bink Bunny is a comforting companion for teens, easing anxiety and fostering a non-judgmental, approachable experience that makes them feel less alone.
Typography
We chose Avenir LT Pro for its versatility, legibility, and friendly, approachable style, aligning with our goal of a non-judgmental, user-friendly design
Color Palette
We chose a gender-neutral color scheme for inclusivity. Bright yellow and orange add a friendly tone and highlight key actions, while pink and green accents add pops of color. The palette is modern, eye-catching, and inviting without being overwhelming.
Spacing
Our 4-pixel spacing ensures consistency across pages and components, creating a cohesive, trustworthy design.
Iconography
For iconography we used Material Design icons so our icons are consistent with Google Chrome, ensuring a more seamless experience for our users.
07 HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
ONBOARDING
We prioritized onboarding to personalize Bink and address safety concerns by allowing teens to customize privacy settings for notifications and search history. To better support users, we also collected their age, state, and confidence in their reproductive health journey.
RESOURCES & INFORMATION
When you search something relevant to reproductive health, Bink can provide trustworthy and local resources before you jump into the internet rabbit hole.
IDENTIFYING MISINFORMATION
Teens often encounter misinformation about reproductive health online. Bink helps them identify inaccuracies, understand their roots, and find trustworthy sources, while addressing cultural and religious influences with sensitivity.
HERE FOR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
Bink is here for you when you're searching heavy topics and can direct you to the help you need
08 LESSONS LEARNED
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
As a team, we learned how crucial it is to foster a safe and collaborative environment.
We worked great together and were able to think outside the box in group discussions.
INTERVIEW DESIGN
During this project, I gained more experience in designing effective interview and survey questions and became more comfortable executing user research.
FLEXIBLE DESIGN SYSTEMS
Our initial prototype faced challenges due to components that were not adaptable enough, leading to noticeable inconsistencies to our users.
WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY
MORE INTERVIEWS
Due to age-related restrictions, we could only interview teens aged 18+ or adults reflecting on their teen years. In the future, we would aim to gain access to more accurately interview our target demographic.
TALK TO MORE HEALTH EXPERTS
During this project, we weren't able to engage with medical professionals in the teen health space. These expert insights could have enhanced aspects of our design such as onboarding, making the overall product even more impactful.
EXPLORE MORE USES OF BINK
We received positive feedback on our illustrations and could explore diversifying Bink and other visuals to make the user experience even more engaging.
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