attune

Inspiration

This project was inspired by work we both did last year on separate school projects, where we each ended up designing for children with hypersensitivity/autistic disorders. Even though our projects were different, we both came away noticing the same thing: this is a group with so many daily challenges that still do not have simple, thoughtful solutions.

What really stayed with us was how much of the burden falls on caregivers. A child may be overwhelmed, frustrated, or heading toward an emotional episode, but the cause is not always obvious in the moment. There often is not a clear way to tell what triggered it, what environmental factor made it worse, or what tends to help. That lack of clarity can be stressful for both the child and the parent.

Because of that, we felt this would be a meaningful group to design for. We wanted to create something that could help parents better understand their child’s behavior and hopefully prevent emotional distress before it escalates.

What We Built

We designed a health-focused product concept centered around helping caregivers better understand patterns in a child’s sensory experiences and emotional distress. The idea was to create something that does more than just react after a child is already overwhelmed. We wanted it to help parents feel more informed about what may be causing those moments and what adjustments could help.

At the core of the project was the belief that more understanding can lead to better support. If a parent can recognize possible triggers and patterns more easily, they may be able to step in earlier and make the child feel safer and more regulated.

How We Built It

We built the project in Figma, where we designed the interface, user flow, and overall experience. Since this was a concept rooted in empathy, a lot of our process came down to thinking carefully about what information would actually be useful to a caregiver and how to present it in a way that would feel clear rather than overwhelming.

We kept returning to the same question throughout the design process: what would genuinely help a parent in a stressful moment? That guided a lot of our decisions, from the type of information shown to the way the interface was organized.

Challenges We Faced

One challenge was designing around a problem that is so personal and nuanced. Every child is different, and sensory distress does not look the same for everyone. We did not want to make something that felt overly broad or unrealistic.

Another challenge was making the product feel supportive rather than clinical. We were designing around behavior, stress, and emotional episodes, which are sensitive topics, so it mattered that the experience feel compassionate and approachable.

What We Learned

This project reminded us that some of the most important design opportunities come from noticing problems that people are dealing with every day. We learned that when it comes to designing for children with sensory sensitivities and their caregivers, empathy matters just as much as functionality.

More than anything, this project grew from the feeling that these families deserve tools that help them feel more understood, more prepared, and a little less alone.