Bound to Bloom
Unveiling the Stories That Heal, Bridging Hearts That Connect.
Interaction Design
Service Design
6 min read
Time
Sep. 2024 - Nov. 2024
My work
User Research, Interaction Design, Music Visualization, Prototyping
Team
Collaborative Project
Yiling Yang, Jinsu yani
Introduction
Transitioning from home to university sparks the journey towards independence for many women.
This physical separation offers space to reflect on their relationships with the family and their identities. Unlike the impulsive conflicts in adolescence, this phase often comes with a calm introspection, with a rational feminist consciousness taking root.
BUT, wait a moment, during all the reflections, have you ever blamed your mother for the pain she caused you?
The TRUTH is...
As women, our mothers live in a deeply misogynistic world, and if those toxic messages haven't been worked out of their belief system, they may inadvertently pass down these burdens to us. This matrilineal pain is sometimes called
the mother wound.
Challenge
How Might We help young women heal the mother wound and embrace their talents without shame?
Solutions
A mobile app to heal emotional wounds by personalized tools
Creative Expression: Secure journaling, an empathetic AI companion “Meoo,” and anonymous letter sharing for mutual support.
Personalized Healing Tools: AI-generated music and guided meditation tailored to users’ emotions.
Private Growth Gallery: A safe space to store music, photos, and reflections with interactive visualizations.
Community Connection: Group discussions and support networks to build meaningful connections.
An immersive and collaborative community space for collective healing and empowering
Transforme music into immersive visual experiences
Research
Definition
The mother wound is a concept that speaks to the generational pain inherited and passed down between grandmothers, mothers, and daughters caused by living in a patriarchal culture that's oppressive toward women.
We all bear traces of the mother wound.
The Mother Wound Reflectes in
Self-sabotage
Emotional care-taking
Feeling competitive with other women
Having a high tolerance for poor treatment from others
Conditions such as eating disorders,depression and addictions
The Mother Wound Includes the Pain of
Constant self-blame
Shame
Not feeling good enough
Comparison
Feeling you must remain small
Attenuation
Feeling guilty for wanting for than you have
Guilt
The experience of the mother wound is deeply personal and varies for each individual.
To identify shared patterns and gain deeper insights into how young women understand this experience, we conducted research using a human-centered approach, including surveys, focus groups, and interviews.
Survey
Audience Overview
Valid Participants: 203
Education: College Students
Age: 18-24
Location: Mainly Beijing, Chongqing, Jiangsu
Results
What is the frequency of your communication with your mother?
Does your mother understand and respect your thoughts?
Do you understand and respect your mother's thoughts?
Assess the extent of your mother's influence on you.
Have you learned about mother wound?
How do you deal with mother wound?
5
Yes
Self-improvement,
overcoming negative influences.
Proactively resolve and optimize relationships.
Avoiding the problem, giving it the cold treatment.
No
4
3
2
1
Frequently
Occasionally
Sometimes
Always
Never
Frequently
Occasionally
Sometimes
Always
Never
5
4
3
2
1
Insights
Only 25.35% of the participants
were aware of mother wound.
Never learned about mother wound
Learned about the mother wound before
25.35%
74.65%
Those with more severe trauma mostly chose self-improvement, while those with milder trauma opted for positive communication.
Self-improvement,
overcoming negative influences.
Avoiding the problem, giving it the cold treatment.
Proactively resolve and optimize relationships.
25.35%
21.6%
53.05%
Focus Group
Group Overview
Group Members : 8
Format: Online Whiteboard
Tool: FigJam
The focus group explored the experiences and perspectives of participants who were most representative of the survey findings.
203 Survey Participants
96 Identified Common Group
8 Group Members
Process
How to deal with it?
Personal Experiences and healings
What is it?
First impression
When we talk about mom, what do you come about?
How it influences us?
Film and television appreciation
How is the mother wound reflected in artistic works?
Results
After learning about mother wound, all participants chose "self-improvement" as their approach to handling it.
Self-healing
37.5% to 50%
Communicate with mom
75% to 25%
Self-improvement
50% to 100%
Before the focus group
After the focus group
High Interest in Community Building
87.5%
7 out of 8 participants expressed a strong desire to join and establish a women-centered mutual support community similar to this discussion group.
Participants showed a preference for a safe and private space for interaction.
White Board
75% of the participants expressed a preference for using the whiteboard format for communication.
Preference for Online and Offline Formats
50%
The results emphasize the need to balance online accessibility with offline opportunities for real interaction in community design.
Semi-structured Interview
Number of participants : 2
Age: 23 Freelancer
"My mother divorced and remarried. She doesn't care about me. I have also resorted to self-harm in the past to seek her attention."
Age: 20 Student
"I was once bullied at school, but my mother couldn’t understand me."
We interviewed two individuals significantly affected by mother wounds: one who has minimal communication with their mother and another who still maintains regular contact.
“I’d rather type than talk on the phone or do a video call. It’s just easier for me.”
“When I’m feeling hurt, I like to listen to music or just draw freely. It helps me feel better.”
“After seeing the survey, I realized others care about this too. It made me feel safe to talk with you, and sharing has really helped me.”
The process felt like companion-based storytelling. Each person’s pain is unique, and summarizing their wounds holds little value. However, we were touched to see participants share deeply buried pain they had never voiced before and feel a sense of healing through the act of opening up.
“I don’t really talk about my pain. I’m scared people will judge me.”
Persona
“I want to understand and heal from my past while becoming a stronger, more confident version of myself. I need a space where I can feel safe, heard, and connected to others in this journey.”
NAME:
Emma Zhou
Age:
21
Location:
Urban area
Education:
Junior in college, majoring in Psychology
Personal Traits
Highly empathetic and reflective, enjoys deep thinking and self-discovery
Regularly uses social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to stay inspired and connected.
Actively seeks opportunities to form supportive communities with women who share similar experiences
Pain Points
Struggle with unresolved emotional issues with her mother, such as:
Feel isolated in her challenges, unsure if others have similar experiences
Balance familial expectations with her own need for emotional growth and autonomy
Feeling overly criticized or controlled
Difficulty receiving emotional support or validation
A lingering sense of guilt or obligation when asserting independence
Goals
Gain clarity on how the mother-daughter relationship has shaped her emotional landscape and identity.
Learn actionable strategies to improve communication and set healthy boundaries with her mother.
Build a community of empathetic peers who understand her experiences.
Foster a strong sense of personal identity and independence, while developing healthy relationships
Design
Design Concepts
1
Expression Outlet
Provides users with a safe and private space where they can freely express their deepest thoughts and wounds.
2
Community Building
Foster online and offline women’s communities, and allow users to feel a sense of belonging and support through meaningful connections.
3
Personal Growth
Help users recognize their strength and value through the app, fostering independence and empowering women to embrace their talents without shame.
AI-Assisted Expression
Integrate narrative therapy to separate the individual from the problem, allowing the individual to externalize their issues rather than internalize them.
AI-Generated Personalized Music
Music allows us to access our innermost feelings in ways words cannot express.
Visualization of Personal Growth and Space
It bridges abstract growth into something visual and enhancing self-awareness. .
Interactive Data
Offers a unique way for users to externalize thoughts through methods like EEG or heart beats, enhancing emotional understanding in a non-verbal, intuitive manner.
Offline Community Service
Creates a safe and supportive environment for authentic, face-to-face interactions, encouraging mutual support and real-world connections that foster a sense of belonging and shared growth.
Mobile App
Offline Community
App Design
UI Kits
Icon
Default
Selected
Color
E3DDFE
D3BDFB
A175D9
6933AD
Font
Kodchasan
Regular
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Medium
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Bold
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Logo
Meeo is inspired by the cutie term "Mimi" of a cat, and is designed to offer users a sense of warmth and familiarity, much like the comfort one feels from a cuddly feline friend.
这里可以导出一个prototype吗？就是你做的可交互的那个，我不会嵌入。直接居中放就行了
Music Visualization in Touch Designer
Community Space Modeling
Takeaways
Women’s Voice in HCI
This project showed me how important women’s voices are in HCI and how feminist ideas influence design. Exploring this topic helped me better understand how to create meaningful interactions that empower women. It enriched my perspective on designing for equity and inclusion.
Empathy in HCD
One user told me she had never shared her story before and felt much better after talking with me. That moment made me realize how powerful empathy can be in creating trust and understanding. It reminded me that design isn’t just about solving problems—it’s about making people feel heard.
Optimizing User Research Methods
When conducting interviews and focus groups, I felt confident in uncovering emotional insights and user needs. But working with survey data showed me how much I still need to learn about quantitative analysis. This made me reflect on how I can improve and balance both methods in the future.