Prototype link: Link
Describe your project
In many homes, the fridge isn’t just for food; it is the heart of the home, covered with notes and drawings that connect the whole family. FamilyFridge reimagines the familiar fridge door as a shared digital space where daily life quietly accumulates. Family members pin photos, leave voice notes, and jot down thoughts from their day. But the real magic happens during family calls: memories you've saved resurface as conversation starters, turning "how are you?" into something deeper.
Rather than asking everyone to learn new technology, the design embraces how generations actually behave. Young adults capture moments naturally. Older family members engage through simple interactions—tapping, viewing, listening.
By weaving into existing routines from weekly calls, quick texts, to glances at your home screen, FamilyFridge creates a low-pressure environment for generations to stay connected, exchange stories, and feel part of one another’s lives.
Describe your research process and findings
Our research process consists of gathering 50 survey responses, 3 interviews, and secondary research to understand how young adults interact with older family members.
From the survey (link), many respondents noted having weekly scheduled calls built into their routine. We found that 75% of survey respondents are satisfied with how often they communicate with family, yet many weren’t content with the quality of the calls. Respondents mentioned how conversations feel like a “check-in” or “status update”.
At the same time, many respondents prefer their preexisting communication methods, such as phone calls and texting, as they’re "quick and low-effort" and already within their routines.
We then conducted interviews using a pre-written questionnaire (link).
When asked what would help them feel more connected, a theme emerged regarding presence and shared experience. Many noted that their most cherished family moments happened naturally from being together. One interviewee noted, “Some of our best memories were when we as a family went on hikes together, and we just got to talk.” But with distance and busy schedules, recreating these moments isn't always possible. Instead, families find other ways to create presence. One interviewee described bonding with her grandmother over old photo albums: "She had so much fun telling me the stories behind them." Another mentioned that his mom screenshots FaceTime calls during special moments, "so in 20 years, she can look back and see how silly I was at the time." However, any digital solution must account for a critical constraint.
Our secondary research revealed the differences in technological fluency across generations. Pew Research found that ~50% of young adults are "almost constantly online," compared to just 8% of those 65+ (link). Given this gap, solutions must meet older generations where they are, rather than asking them to adapt.
After getting a better understanding of how generations connect, we identified the following themes:
- Connection should be spontaneous and low-effort. People want connections that arise naturally from casual conversations, but don't know how to get past surface-level updates. The app should be structured around users’ preexisting routines and habits to encourage unintentional but genuine connections.
- Bridge distance through photos. Young adults value physical proximity, but schedules make traveling and visits rare. Photos repeatedly came up as a way to unlock these moments, even from a distance; they aren't just memories but conversation starters.
- Minimize friction for all generations. 80% of survey respondents agreed that their grandparents struggle with technology, and young adults don’t have time to teach them in person. Since many users already have established routines, habits, and weekly family calls, the app should meet users where they are to promote user engagement in effortless, familiar interactions.
FamilyFridge captures moments worth remembering after calls, then resurfaces them when they're needed most. Each call builds on the last, turning weekly check-ins into memories.
Describe your most important design decisions
Apple-native features: We built with iOS patterns so interactions fit into users’ daily habits. User research showed that iMessage and FaceTime were respondents’ primary way of communicating with family, so we designed the experience to feel at home within that ecosystem. As it is built into an existing familiar interface, the app reduces frictions and cognitive load that would be necessary to learn a new unfamiliar interface.
Post-call capture, not pre-call posting. Most photo-sharing apps rely on proactive posting. Our user research showed that people don’t want another app to maintain. In early concepts, users weren’t sure when or why they’d even add photos to the app, making the experience feel forced. We solved this by having FamilyFridge fill itself through the behaviors families already have. During onboarding, users can import existing photos from shared albums so the space feels lived-in from day one. These photos will resurface during a call, and afterwards, family members can save the photos shared during the conversation or leave a quick note, capturing new moments. The Fridge grows naturally through calls you’re already having.
Simplicity meant for all generations: We knew that different generations engage with technology differently. Initially, we explored creating separate interfaces for different age groups, but research quickly showed that comfort with technology doesn’t map cleanly to age, as levels of interest and ability vary within the same generation. Instead, we pivoted to a shared experience with multiple levels of interaction. Young adults can actively contribute by pinning photos, saving post-call notes, and sharing memories from their day, from funny moments to passing thoughts. Older generations engage through simpler, more familiar interactions like tapping to view, listening to messages, browsing the gallery, and talking with the younger generation, like they always would. No one is forced to learn new tools. Everyone participates in the way that feels natural to them.
Gallery as a living archive of memories: As new memories are added, older ones are gradually moved to the gallery. Our user interviews highlight the importance of old photos, as they allow younger generations to glimpse into the lives of older family members, creating natural opportunities for storytelling and connection. The gallery makes it easy to say, "Remember when this happened...?" In this way, the gallery serves as a space to preserve memories while sustaining intergenerational bonds over time.
Describe how you utilized AI in your design process in detail
We used AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude throughout the design process, mainly for ideation to quickly generate ideas and explore different approaches. It helped us see possibilities we might not have thought of, which we then adapted and built into our own concepts. Early in our process, we designed a shared canvas where family members could freely place photos and notes. Through conversations with AI to critique the idea, propose any issues that may arise, and revisit user interviews, we identified that this would take too long for users to do and required too much active participation from older generations. We also used AI to proofread and suggest recommendations for our pitch.
In addition to AI, we referenced some open-source community Figma resources that we wanted to cite. We referenced these files for components and existing design resources, especially related to the new iOS 26 liquid glass look.
Built With
- figma
- imovie
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.