Guardian Angel is an app of emergency contacts who will be called whenever you need help. It also has a wristband that allows you to discreetly call for help at the touch of a button.
The aim is to provide a fast, intuitive and efficient experience to make your day-to-day life safer.
02 / Process
03 / Undestanding the problem
04 / Analysis and benchmarking
01 / SUMMARY
05 / An app to be your Guardian Angel
06 / Information architecture and user interface
07 / Learnings
02 / PROCESS
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empathize
research
ideate
test
prototype
03 / UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
EMPATHIZE
Maria Fulanis
She is a 25-year-old student who works during the day and studies at night. Occasionally, she uses the app to get home from college, although usually, she prefers public transport because of the school pass. She uses the Guardian Angel app every day when she returns home because she is uncomfortable being alone with the driver or because the bus stops on the street above her home, which is when she is most vulnerable. She always goes home alone, as her friends live in other parts of the city.
The problem of public safety is something that concerns civil society in general, but particularly affects women. Around 97% of women in Brazil report having experienced harassment, 30% have suffered aggression, and 8% have experienced sexual violence. In addition, because they have less physical strength than men, women are also more likely to be targeted in crimes such as robberies and kidnappings.
SOURCE: IPEA, ATLAS DA VIOLÊNCIA 2023
In addition, around 85.8% of women in 2019 had at least one cell phone for personal use.
SOURCE: IBGE, INSTITUTO BRASILEIRO DE GEOGRAFIA E ESTATÍSTICA
By cross-referencing this data, we can see the potential for a security app to be accepted in the market.
04 / ANALYSIS AND BENCHMARK
RESEARCH
The problem of public safety affects people's quality of life. But would it be possible to measure this? To find this answer, the first stage of the discovery was precisely the documentary research of official data on how people, especially women, have their routines changed by the feeling of insecurity.
To research the viability of the product and the answers to the questions posed in the CAQ matrix, a netnography was carried out with women aged between 20 and 45 in groups on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where the participants' main complaint was security.
The hashes surveyed were #harassment, #violence_against_women, #rape and #feminicide.
There are already apps on the market aimed at women's safety. To understand the validation of the product, a benchmark was carried out with these apps, both to check their functionalities and their market fit and the perception of female users. The brands analyzed were generally well received. An unexpected use is that these apps are also used as stolen cell phone trackers or parental control monitoring.
IDEATE
05 / AN APP TO BE YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL
Introducing the Guardian Angel app. In this app, women register trusted contacts who will be called whenever they need help. However, we know that when an attack or harassment occurs, a woman doesn't always have her cell phone at hand. For this reason, the app will also feature an optional gadget in the form of a bracelet, with a panic button that will automatically trigger help when pressed. This bracelet will use the cell phone's Bluetooth to send messages and has been designed so that any woman, of any age and style, can use it.
After collecting this data, we thought about what a user's journey might be like when using the app, as well as her protopersona.
Solution
SOLUTION
06 / INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE AND USER INTERFACE
The first stage in creating the product was a CAQ matrix, which evolved into an empathy map.
Protopersona
Typography and colors
Flowchart
RESULTS
07 / LEARNINGS
Guardian Angel provided a comprehensive learning journey, born out of an academic context, where on the project I acted as Product Designer and Product Manager simultaneously. The project showed that understanding the target audience, adapting continuously and analyzing the limitations of technology and development are fundamental when launching a digital product.
The emphasis on usability, ease of use and the choice of colors considering discretion in dark places, highlights the importance of interdisciplinary in creating a product for a complete experience.
This project not only resulted in an emergency messaging app, but also showed that people - especially women - are concerned about their safety and that of their loved ones. In addition, Guardian Angel also taught valuable lessons about project management, discovery and understanding users that will certainly be useful in future projects.
Next steps
The next steps would be to take the project to actual delivery and development, since I've only got as far as the usability testing and product validation stages from a business point of view. In addition to further improving the experience, I plan to offer users even more security by creating two-factor authentication (to prevent someone from impersonating the user in the event of cell phone theft), producing wristband hardware at scale and also creating a version of Guardian Angel as a smartwatch app to offer our users more options.
A continued commitment to innovation will ensure that Guardian Angel truly helps protect users in their daily lives and becomes a leader in its field.
THANK YOU!
Results
Participation in all stages of the project, from inception to usability testing.
Assessment of the product's commercial viability.
Budget research for potential investors.
Selection of technologies compatible with the product.
