PROJECT
Kita Navigator
Parental leave Project
November 2022 - February 2023
Explore fearless
The starting point was not a briefing it was a Wednesday morning. Cancelled. A last-minute message, no explanation, no backup plan. Anyone with children knows: the "Kita" system works beautifully, as long as you don't look too closely.
As a parent new to the facility, it wasn't just information that was missing it was the feeling of being part of the system at all. While my daughter was settling in, I was simultaneously finding my way back into the workforce. At that point, every minute is precious and every cancellation a small disaster with a large impact.
What looked like a communication problem was, on closer inspection, a design problem: information existed, but it wasn't flowing to where it was needed. Conversations with other parents, the Kita management, and the lunch service confirmed it: the complexity was real but unnecessary.
The Kita App was built as a first independent UX project from problem definition to finished concept documentation. Qualitative interviews with parents formed the research foundation. The insights fed directly into information architecture and interface decisions.
Visual appeal was never an afterthought, even if mobile design was unfamiliar territory. You learn quickly: even the radius of a rounded corner is suddenly a statement. Figma became a tool, not a stage. The goal was not a beautiful app but one that works on a stressful Tuesday morning.
Empathize Holistic
Families in a new environment don't need features. They need orientation. The Kita App addresses exactly that moment: the start, the uncertainty, the desire to simply be informed without having to actively search.
Every Kita is different, every settling-in period different. Some communicate via noticeboard, some via app, some via the collective hope that everything will somehow get around. But one thing stays constant: parents want to know what is happening with their child. Especially at the beginning. That this project came from genuine personal experience was not a disadvantage it was the most precise form of research.
