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
Challenge
How Might We help young women heal the mother wound and embrace their talents without shame?
Solution
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 Includes the Pain of
Shame
Constant self-blame
Comparison
Not feeling good enough
Attenuation
Feeling you must remain small
Guilt
Feeling guilty for wanting for than you have
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 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?
Insights
Only 25.35% of the participants
were aware of mother wound.
Those with more severe trauma mostly chose self-improvement, while those with milder trauma opted for positive communication.
Focus Group
Group Overview
Group Members : 8
Tool: FigJam
Format: Online Whiteboard
The focus group explored the experiences and perspectives of participants who were most representative of the survey findings.
Process
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?
How to deal with it?
Personal Experiences and healings
Results
After learning about mother wound, all participants chose "self-improvement" as their approach to handling it.
Participants showed a preference for a safe and private space for interaction.
High Interest in Community Building
7 out of 8 participants expressed a strong desire to join and establish a women-centered mutual support community similar to this discussion group.
Preference for Online and Offline Formats
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 conversed with two individuals deeply impacted by maternal scars: one who barely communicates with their mother and another who retains consistent interaction.
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.
Persona
NAME:
Emma Zhou
Age:
21
Location:
Urban area
Education:
Junior in college, majoring in Psychology
“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.”
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:
-Feeling overly criticized or controlled
-Difficulty receiving emotional support or validation
-A lingering sense of guilt or obligation when asserting independence
Feel isolated in her challenges, unsure if others have similar experiences
Balance familial expectations with her own need for emotional growth and autonomy
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
App Design
UI Kits
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.
Icon
Default
Selected
Color
Font
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.
More Projects
Illuminate lives with creativity,
Connect the world with empathy.
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Yiling Yang