Connecting parents and teachers through a more accessible and transparent daycare experience.
Project Type
Mobile App
Role
UX Designer
Tools Used
Figma, Adobe Illustrator
Duration
3 Months
Team
1x UX Lead, 1x UX Designer, 2x Devs
Focus Areas
User Experience, Customer Relation, Customer Engagement
Kiddo is a mobile app designed to help parents stay connected to their children’s daycare activities while giving teachers a simple, reliable way to share updates in real time.
Parents often go through the day with a quiet question in the back of their minds, how is my child doing right now? But between handwritten notes, missed messages, and overbooked staff, updates rarely come through when they are needed most. Teachers, meanwhile, juggle multiple communication tools with little time or clarity. The result is a gap in trust and connection. This project set out to close that gap with a mobile solution that works for both sides—simple for teachers, reassuring for parents.
The goal was to bring calm to the chaos by building a tool that makes everyday communication between parents and teachers feel natural, clear, and supportive. We wanted to reduce friction, not add more. That meant designing an app that was easy for teachers to use during busy days while giving parents the peace of mind they were missing. From messaging and media sharing to real-time updates, every feature was designed to bridge the gap and strengthen trust.
Parents wanted peace of mind through simple, timely updates about their child’s day. Teachers needed a tool that fit naturally into their fast-paced routines without adding more work. By understanding both, we designed a solution that supported real classroom moments and stronger parent-teacher connections.
"We always want to have an application that can access photos in the past. And also provide us an easy way to contact the teachers rather than calling the daycare center every single time." -- Parent
"I work the afternoon shift at the daycare and often find it challenging to stay updated on the morning's events. There's rarely an opportunity for my colleagues from the earlier shift to brief me on each child's activities or incidents." -- Daycare Teacher
We started by observing classroom routines and speaking directly with teachers and parents. It quickly became clear that the biggest gaps were around communication and clarity. Parents often felt out of the loop, unsure how their child’s day went. Teachers, already stretched thin, found it hard to keep up with manual notes or end-of-day recaps. These insights shaped every decision moving forward to the product had to be fast, intuitive, and built for the rhythm of real classrooms.
Our goal was to simplify classroom communication without adding extra work for educators. The app needed to allow teachers to quickly log meals, naps, and activities while also giving parents a real-time window into their child’s day. More importantly, the experience had to feel warm and human, not just a list of checkboxes. Every feature was designed to strengthen the parent-teacher connection while respecting the pace of a busy classroom.
Before jumping into design, I connected with both early childhood educators and parents to understand what actually mattered to them. Teachers shared that time was their biggest barrier as they needed a tool that worked in seconds, not minutes. Parents, on the other hand, wanted more than just updates. They wanted to feel connected, informed, and reassured. These early conversations shaped the foundation of the app and helped ensure we were solving real problems instead of building based on assumptions.
With initial insights in hand, I mapped out the day-to-day journey of both educators and parents. From logging snack time to sharing a milestone moment, I captured the key touchpoints where communication often breaks down. This journey map helped the team visualize pain points like delayed updates, unclear status indicators, and the burden of manual logging. It also highlighted opportunities to make everyday interactions smoother, faster, and more meaningful for everyone involved.
Stage
Educator Actions
Parent Actions
Pain Points
Opportunities
Morning Drop-off
Greets child, updates attendance manually
Drops off child, wonders about separation anxiety or how the day is starting
Manual check-ins, no confirmation for parents
Tap-to-check-in, auto-notification to parents
Morning Routine
Logs snacks, toileting, mood in notebook or spreadsheet
At work, unsure if child ate or settled in
Time-consuming manual entries, no live updates
Quick status logging, real-time updates with visual cues
Activity Time
Captures photos or milestone moments on phone, forgets to send later
Hopes for pictures or learning updates
Moments lost or sent too late, no context
Auto-upload photos with tags, mood/learning highlights
Lunch & Nap Time
Tracks food intake and sleep, records in paper log
Wonders if child napped or ate well
Redundant effort, unclear or delayed info
One-tap logging, synced dashboard for parents
Afternoon Pickup
Recalls key moments, updates parent verbally
Tries to remember everything said in rush
Missed messages, inconsistencies
End-of-day recap card or summary notification
After Hours
Updates reports or uploads photos at home
Checks app or email late
Delayed sharing, burnout for educators
Schedule send features, built-in daily report auto-generation
To support the needs uncovered through research and journey mapping, I created user flows that reflected how parents and educators naturally interact with the app. These flows focused on simplifying the most frequent tasks like checking daily reports, uploading photos, and logging activities without adding friction. Each step was crafted to feel intuitive and flexible with clear progress indicators and contextual prompts. These flows became the foundation for a more thoughtful and time saving experience tailored to busy real life routines.
With the core structure in place, I shifted focus to the visual language. The goal was to create an interface that felt approachable, organized, and joyful. It needed to resonate with both early childhood educators and parents. I developed a soft color palette, friendly typography along with material iconography to reflect the warmth and energy of a childcare environment. Every element was designed for clarity and ease, ensuring that the interface could support quick actions without feeling clinical or overwhelming.
I created interactive prototypes to simulate key tasks like logging activities and sending updates to parents. Testing these flows with educators helped us catch usability issues early and refine interactions before final design. This step ensured the experience was clear, functional, and ready for real world use.
To ensure the app would meet real classroom needs, we ran usability tests with early childhood educators. They walked through the core features like logging child activities and reviewing parent messages. Their feedback helped us improve clarity, reduce extra steps, and adjust interactions for quick use during busy days. These sessions shaped the final design and confirmed the app was simple, efficient, and supportive of educators’ routines.
Every part of the visual system was designed to feel calm, warm, and purposeful. We used soft colors, clean icons, and friendly typography to create an experience that felt both professional and welcoming. The layout avoided clutter so educators could focus on tasks without distraction. The result was a clean and supportive interface that respected the fast pace of childcare settings.
From the start, accessibility was treated as a requirement, not an afterthought. Buttons, forms, and labels were designed with clarity and contrast in mind, following WCAG 2.1 AA standards. On mobile, the layout was adapted for easy scrolling and large tap targets to support educators moving between tasks. The result was a responsive experience that worked smoothly across devices and for all users.
Once the core structure and visual elements were in place, I created a high-fidelity prototype that brought the full experience together. This clickable version allowed the team to walk through key flows like daily check-ins, behavior tracking, and family notes in a realistic way. I conducted testing sessions with early childhood educators and administrators to observe how they interacted with the prototype. Their feedback led to small but important refinements in button placements, navigation clarity, and terminology.
“I used to wait until pickup to hear how my daughter’s day went. Now I get updates throughout the day, and it feels like I’m right there with her.”
-- Parent
“I love how easy it is to understand the updates. No more scribbled notes or wondering what happened at daycare.” -- Parent
“The one-tap logging feature saves so much time. I can focus more on the kids and less on paperwork.” -- Teacher
“No more chasing clipboards. The app keeps everything organized and makes transitions between staff smooth.” -- Teacher
While the full implementation is ongoing, early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Educators noted how much easier it was to document observations and communicate with families without switching between platforms. Administrators appreciated the organized interface and how it supported consistency across classrooms. These early indicators suggest the app is well on its way to becoming a valuable tool for supporting learning and collaboration in early childhood environments.
From the start, we wanted Kiddo to be usable by every parent and teacher, regardless of their comfort with technology. We applied accessible color contrasts, ensured screen reader compatibility, and followed clear visual hierarchy guidelines. Touch targets were sized for all fingers, and labels were written with clarity and empathy. These choices helped make the experience feel welcoming, especially for less tech-savvy users who appreciated the simplicity and ease of navigation.
Designing Kiddo reminded me that thoughtful design can make everyday tasks feel less overwhelming, especially for busy parents and teachers. This project deepened my understanding of designing for shared user needs while still accounting for different roles and expectations. Collaboration with the client and development team helped turn early ideas into a product that is not just functional, but truly helpful. Most of all, it reinforced the value of keeping real people at the center of every design decision.