KindLink
'Exploring Parenthood Before Commitment'
KindLink is a concept platform designed to help individuals and couples explore parenthood before making a lifelong commitment.
Through real-world, short-term foster care experiences and reflective tools, KindLink enables users to understand the emotional, mental, and practical realities of parenting, supporting more confident, informed life decisions.
UX Design/ UI Design/ Service Design
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Academic Team Project
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August 2024 - December 2024 / University of North Texas
Context
Deciding whether to have children is one of the most emotionally complex decisions adults face today.
This project began with an exploration of DINK (Dual-Income, No-Kids) couples, initially assuming loneliness as the core issue. However, through interviews, surveys, and desk research, we uncovered a deeper tension: fear of future regret, uncertainty, and lack of emotional support in decision-making around parenthood.
Project Detail
Methods: Desk research/ User research/ Ideate/ Wireframing/ Prototyping/ Stakeholder analysis
Tools: Figma/ Figjam/ Mural/ Google Suite/ Adobe Illustrator
Key Research Insights
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Many child-free or undecided couples maintain active social lives.
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The dominant emotional driver is not loneliness, but uncertainty and fear of regret.
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Existing solutions focus on finances, housing, or childcare logistics, not emotional readiness.
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'This reframing shifted our design direction from social connection to experiential decision-making support.
Design Question
'How might we help people explore the realities of parenthood in a low-risk, meaningful way—before making irreversible decisions?'
Design Principles
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Experience over theory
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Emotional reflection, not persuasion
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Low-stakes, time-limited exploration
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Ethical and supportive participation
The solution: KINDLINK
KindLink partners with foster care organizations to provide short-term, real-world parenting experiences.
Users engage in everyday parenting activities (such as routines, emotional care, and decision-making) while reflecting through guided journaling and community insights.
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Core features:
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Immersive parenthood experiences
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Reflective journaling & emotional tracking
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Community insights from others on similar paths
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Ethical foster care partnerships
Interface Design
The interface design of KindLink focuses on creating a calm, supportive, and emotionally safe environment for users navigating complex life decisions around parenthood. Rather than pushing users toward a specific outcome, the interface is designed to encourage reflection, transparency, and mutual understanding between partners.​
Reflection
This project challenged my assumptions about life-stage decisions and reinforced the importance of designing for emotional complexity, not just functional needs.
By shifting from hypothetical tools to lived experiences, I learned how design can support reflection, alignment, and confidence in deeply personal choices.