Client: Veronica Postupaylo
Focus: Brand Design · UX/UI Design · Illustration · Research
Role: Graphic Designer · Researcher · Illustrator
The challenge: This project required me to create an app for teenage girls aged 11–17 that gives them the tools to safely navigate puberty and opens the lines of communication within their families.
My solution: To make the NORI app appealing to the target audience, I combined the fun of a Tamagotchi-style game with familiar UX/UI design patterns. I aimed to create something that feels more like a game while educating girls about the physical and emotional changes in their bodies in a playful and simple way, rather than a clinical or medical one.
I also included tools for coping with emotional overwhelm in healthy ways, such as journaling and personalized suggestions for what girls can do to feel better. Another important feature is the link to a parent’s phone, which allows girls (if they choose so) to share their feelings and emotional state with their parents without needing to communicate face-to-face.
The solution:The final app is fun and easy to use. It has a warm, approachable, and relatable feel. Both the content and visuals align with the preferences of the target audience while delivering important information and opening lines of communication within families in a clear, non-judgmental, and comfortable way for kids.
Research
I started this project after one of my close family members almost became a part of the following statistic:
In addition to the statistic above, I conducted my own research by sending out surveys to girls aged 11–17 within my circle of family and friends, and I received a very troubling response. Most of the responses were extremely raw and emotional, with girls admitting they could use help navigating puberty and communicating with their families about their emotional and physical state. Below is a short summary of the survey responses. Full responses and anonymous participant comments are available upon request.
Summary of results
NORI was created because too many girls go through puberty feeling confused, overwhelmed, and alone. It transforms a difficult stage of life into one that feels supported, empowering, and safe.
Development
My main focus was to create an app that would not scare girls aged 11–17 away and will encourage daily use. To achieve that, I decided to make it feel more like a game than an app. The old favourite Tamagotchi served as inspiration because of how versatile and simple it is to use and due to its recent revival. I incorporated animated-style UX/UI design and illustrations to make it feel more like a game, and used a slab typewriter-style font to complete a playful interface that would encourage daily interaction rather than occasional use.
Inspiration
Brand Guidelines
NORI’s logo uses Gigalypse font. It was chosen for its strong, bold forms to reflect the strong, bold women we want girls to grow up to become. It also has soft edges to those forms, which soften the feel and bring in a touch of femininity.
Fun fact: In Korean, the word “nori” means:
“play” or “activity”
Fun, playful experiences
Games or light activities
Something engaging and enjoyable
This word perfectly represents the main idea behind NORI - fun, playful experience to help girls grow up in a healthy way.
Colours, typography, and app elements are simple, fun, and illustrative to appeal to teenage girls. The bright palette feels positive and engaging, while the white base adds calm and trust, supported by playful accent colours that represent growth, confidence, and creativity. Bold, slab-serif fonts create strength and empowerment, while adding a friendly and relatable feel. Rounded buttons, clean layouts, and playful shapes make the app welcoming, easy to use, and visually enjoyable.
The Blob
The NORI mascot is represented by the “Blob.” I chose this character because, just like emotions and feelings, it is constantly changing and fluid. This slime-like form reflects the emotional shifts and complexity many teenagers experience during puberty.
To further represent that emotional complexity, I:
Assigned each emotion-based “Blob” a colour that reflects that feeling according to colour psychology.
Because every emotion has both positive and negative sides, I used warm, light colours on one side of the Blob to represent the positive side, and colder, darker shades on the other side to represent the more difficult side of the same emotion.
Lastly, I added colour swirls and allowed some colours to encroach to the opposite side to show how no emotion is ever simple, and how its positive and negative sides are codependent and constantly intertwined.
The app's screen breakdown
Parent Link
The teenage user may choose to link their parent(s) to their account and share how they are feeling without having to say it face-to-face. This helps minimize discomfort, making it easier to start the conversation in a way that feels comfortable for the child. It can also open lines of communication within the family and help parent(s) better support their child during the turbulent years of puberty.
NORI is an app that:
Educates teens about puberty in a friendly, accessible way
Provides healthy coping mechanisms
Encourages open communication
with parentsAllows access to licensed professionals (optional future add on)
Figma Prototype
NORI app was developed with consideration for Apple Human Interface Guidelines and Material Design guidelines.
Future considerations include:
the "blob" being able to evolve as the users use the app into a creature of their own choosing
connections to Kids Help Line
optional licensed mental health professionals for users to contact in times of crisis
a closed community where girls can connect and support one another.
