Empowering Youth
User Research, Product Design, & Branding
I led discovery, branding, UX, and testing to build a resource around what foster youth actually needed.
Empowering Youth is an Android and iOS app designed as a resource hub for teens and young adults transitioning out of the foster care system. The app helps users set goals, learn life skills, find vetted resources, and keep important documents and information organized.
My Role
My Role: Research, UX/UI Design & Brand Design
Scope: Discovery, Branding, UX/UI, Wireframes, Mockups, User Testing, Beta Testing, User Acceptance Testing, Web Design
Platform: Android & iOS app, Landing page
The Challenge
Finding the right information shouldn't be another obstacle.
There was no central repository to help DFW-based foster youth ages 14–26 find free, accurate, and helpful information for common tasks and needs. Resources existed, but they were often fragmented, difficult to find, or not written for the young adults who needed them. We needed to create an experience that made reliable information easier to find, understand, and use.
Project Goals
- Provide a single hub for vetted resources - Give teens and young adults practical information for transitioning into adulthood.
- Create a relevant brand - Develop a visual identity that would appeal to teens and young adults.
- Build an experience people would return to - Make the free app helpful, educational, fun, and easy to use.
Discovery
We worked with experts from UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Health, Collin College, SMU Dedman School of Law, foster parents, foster care liaisons, and other organizations to understand the needs of North Texas youth in foster care.
I led discovery sessions with our task force and gathered feedback on the types and quantity of resources, desired features, gamification, aesthetics, and overall experience. Much of this feedback incorporated previous conversations and surveys with foster youth.
We also reviewed existing foster care resources, apps, and websites to understand the competitive landscape and identify gaps. Most existing resources were designed for foster parents or presented large amounts of information without directly addressing the needs of teens and young adults.
Branding
We had a name: Empowering Youth. We needed a visual identity that felt fun, colorful, exciting, and motivating. I developed several mood boards and socialized the concepts with our experts and a panel of young adults. The feedback was resounding and unanimous.
The final logo uses a simple typeface with “You” highlighted in a bold accent color, creating a subtle second reading: Empowering You.
UI/UX
The UI/UX was designed around what young adults told us they wanted.
Young adults in our test groups overwhelmingly preferred a dark-mode interface by default, so I used a dark background with bold neon colors for buttons and UI elements. Simple line icons created a technological feel, with icons becoming filled with color as users interacted with them. We also wanted the experience to feel encouraging every time someone opened the app, so the splash screen featured rotating neon messages such as “Love Yourself” and “It’s Now O’Clock.”
User Testing
We conducted numerous focus groups with primarily kids, teens, and foster care liaisons and gathered feedback on the initial prototype.
“I love it, looks amazing! Big fan of simple icons. Really love what you showed about how much can be uploaded, like documents and health care providers. Saves you so much heartache by having access to all of this.”
“Having documents in one place makes a huge difference.”
“Beautiful app. Would love to use this. Everything is so clearly organized.”
“Love the checklist aspect and reward system, that’s just fun to look at.”
The feedback validated the core experience while also helping us refine details around organization, uploads, security, and the overall interaction model.
Key Experience Decisions
The research shaped the product.
Discovery included conversations with subject matter experts, foster parents, foster care professionals, and young adults with lived experience. Those conversations directly influenced the experience.
- Dark mode became the default after user testing showed a strong preference for it among young adults.
- Resources were organized around six real-life categories, with multi-keyword tagging to make specific information easier to find.
- “Things” turned overwhelming life tasks into step-by-step guides, covering everything from choosing a doctor to applying for college or managing finances.
- Personal information and documents were centralized so users could keep important information like insurance, IDs, and providers in one place.
- Safety and privacy were built into the experience, with additional security required to access sensitive personal information.
The impact
A resource hub built around the people it was designed to serve. Falkon designed and developed Empowering Youth as a free resource for DFW-area teens and young adults transitioning out of foster care.
The final experience brought vetted resources, practical guides, personal information, documents, and support tools into one mobile app. The brand and UI/UX were also well received by young adult test groups, who specifically responded to the organization, convenience, and approachable visual experience.
The app launched with DFW-specific resources, with plans to expand the resource library to additional areas over time.