Project Story

About the Project

Flora helps women understand the invisible changes happening in their bodies during menopause. By translating gut–brain signals into a living 3D garden ecosystem, Flora makes complex microbiome science intuitive while helping users develop interoceptive awareness — the ability to perceive and understand internal body signals.

The experience helps users build supportive habits, develop health literacy, and find community while navigating one of the most misunderstood transitions in women’s health.

Inspiration

Menopause affects nearly half the population, yet many women feel unprepared for the emotional, cognitive, and physical changes it brings. Many of these changes are connected to shifts in the gut microbiome and the gut–brain axis, but these biological signals are largely invisible and difficult to interpret.

We were inspired by the concept of interoception — our ability to sense what is happening inside our bodies. Many wellness tools focus on external tracking, but very few help people develop awareness of their internal signals.

What if those complex internal signals could be translated into something intuitive and nurturing, like tending a garden?

What It Does

Flora visualizes the state of a user’s gut microbiome as a living 3D island ecosystem.

The surface garden provides an intuitive overview of gut health, where plants represent beneficial microbes and the habits that support them.

As users scroll deeper into the soil, the root system reveals the science beneath the metaphor, helping users understand how hormones, microbes, and mental wellness are connected.

Through this layered experience, Flora helps users develop interoceptive literacy, connecting how they feel with what is happening biologically in their bodies.

Flora also includes a social layer where users can share gardens with friends, offering encouragement and support during the menopause transition.

How We Built It

We designed Flora using Figma and Claude, combining interaction design, speculative biosensing, and layered information architecture.

Our concept includes a wearable biosensor abdominal patch that detects biochemical signals related to the gut microbiome and gut–brain axis. These signals are translated into a visual ecosystem inside the app.

We designed three core 3D interaction layers:

Island — an intuitive emotional overview
Garden — a habit-building ecosystem
Roots — deeper scientific insights about gut health

Together these layers help users move from confusion to understanding, strengthening their ability to interpret internal body signals.

To help communicate the concept clearly, we’ve also included two interactive links demonstrating key parts of the Flora experience and how the garden ecosystem responds to gut–brain signals.

Challenges We Ran Into

One challenge was translating complex microbiome science into something accessible without oversimplifying it. We needed a metaphor that could make invisible biological processes intuitive while still supporting deeper scientific learning.

We also worked carefully to ensure the experience felt supportive rather than overwhelming, especially for women navigating the emotional uncertainty of menopause.

Balancing scientific information with an encouraging and calming experience was a key design challenge.

Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

We’re proud of creating a design that turns an invisible biological system into a living, interactive ecosystem. Flora helps users develop awareness of their gut–brain signals while building habits and learning the science behind their bodies.

We’re also proud of centering menopause — a life stage that is often overlooked in technology design — and reframing it as an opportunity for empowerment, understanding, and community.

Most importantly, we’re proud of centering women in our design, pushing beyond the instinct to dismiss these stories as niche or unimportant.

What We Learned

This project reinforced how powerful metaphor can be in interaction design. By translating complex biological systems into something visual and nurturing, we can make difficult concepts easier to understand and engage with.

We also learned how important it is to design wellness tools that prioritize curiosity, self-awareness, and support, helping users build interoceptive awareness rather than simply tracking metrics.

Finally, we learned that women in menopause are a deeply underserved user group, with a concerning lack of scientific research and design attention.

What's Next for Flora

Next, we would continue refining the visual and interaction design of the 3D garden ecosystem, exploring how the environment can more dynamically represent microbiome changes and interoceptive signals.

We would also explore partnerships with researchers studying the gut–brain axis and women’s health to further develop the sensing technology and scientific models behind Flora.

Finally, we would expand the community features to support peer networks and guided programs that help women navigate menopause with greater knowledge, confidence, and support.