Creating a Menstrual Education That's Meant to Grow With You.
Current education follows a one-size-fits-all approach, failing to address individual differences. Leaving them feeling uneducated, unprepared and unable to recognize signs of health concerns. Our aim is to create a more comprehensive and accessible learning experience that is meant to grow with you from first period to menopause.
UX Designer
3 UX Designers
Health, Education
Sep - Dec 2023 (16 weeks)
Figma, Adobe Suite
Overview
This project explores menstrual health education, focusing on young menstruating individuals and their communities. Key topics include first periods, period care and normalcy, menopause, and pregnancy.
As a team of three designers, we conducted surveys, interviews, and literature reviews to understand the gaps in menstrual health education. We then ideated and prototyped solutions to create a more effective and impactful learning experience.
Outcome
We developed seven personalized, inclusive solutions that span the full spectrum of menstrual experiences, from preparing for a first period to navigating menopause. These solutions vary in form (including videos, books, games, products, and guided conversations) and are designed to meet users where they are and acknowledging that no two menstrual journeys are alike.
By centering real stories and lived experiences, our approach emphasizes that menstruation is not one-size-fits-all. The solutions intentionally reflect diverse identities, bodily experiences, and educational needs. Drawing on our research that revealed most people learn best through conversations and community, we embedded interpersonal and communal learning as a core design principle across every format.
Process Overview
Explore: Reviewed 22 literature sources, conducted survey resulting in 102 responses, and interviewed 10 community members to understand current state and gaps in current menstrual education.
Define: Identified key audiences, which is individuals, caretakers, and the community. Their pain points, and created a persona to guide design decisions.
Ideate: Rapidly brainstormed and sketched 72 inclusive educational solutions.
Evaluate: Assessed ideas for feasibility, impact, and alignment with user needs.
Organize: Grouped solutions into categories to build a scalable, holistic system.
Storyboard: Visualized refined concepts through narrative storyboards to bring user experiences to life.
Expand: Mapped an ecosystem of impact and outlined paths for future growth and development.
Exploring Individuals Experiences with Current Menstrual Educations
We began by analyzing 22 sources to understand:
How menstruation is taught
The gaps in public education
How people typically learn about it
This literature review helped shape our research tools.
102 survey responses over three days revealed:
That most menstrual education happens briefly in 5th grade
Lacks inclusivity
Leaves people feeling unprepared.
Stigma and misinformation were common barriers to open discussion.
10 interviews with menstruating individuals and parents deepened understanding:
Learning that most people learned about menstruation through conversations, not formal education
Many didn't understand their first period due to a lack of relatable content.
These insights guided our goal: to create menstrual health education that is personalized, inclusive, and grounded in real experiences and community-based learning.
How might we improve menstrual education?
We examined how individuals, caretakers and the community learn about periods.
A robust solution would be:
Educational, reliable info that combats misinformation and misconceptions.
Personal, unique experience to the individual.
Effective, long-lasting ongoing discussion that can be passed down.
Identifying Target Audience
Through our research, we identified three key user groups: the individual, caretakers, and the community. This approach ensured a more inclusive and impactful solution by addressing both personal experiences and the shared knowledge surrounding menstruation.
Maintained inclusive language to ensure accessibility for all menstruating individuals.
Designed the solution to be educational and combat misinformation effectively.
Recognized that menstrual health education is an ongoing conversation, passed through families and communities, contributing to long-term awareness.
Focused on making education personalized and relevant to each individual’s experience.
Identifying Target Audience
Through our research, we identified three key user groups: the individual, caretakers, and the community. This approach ensured a more inclusive and impactful solution by addressing both personal experiences and the shared knowledge surrounding menstruation.
Maintained inclusive language to ensure accessibility for all menstruating individuals.
Designed the solution to be educational and combat misinformation effectively.
Recognized that menstrual health education is an ongoing conversation, passed through families and communities, contributing to long-term awareness.
Focused on making education personalized and relevant to each individual’s experience.
Ideating and Evaluating Personalized Ideas
Building on our research, we used Crazy 8’s to rapidly generate 72 concept sketches, each targeting one or more of the user pain points. The ideas explored diverse educational formats tailored to different audiences, reflecting the real experiences shared in our surveys and interviews.
We then organized the concepts into an impact-effort matrix to identify which solutions offered the most user value with realistic implementation. This helped us prioritize:
24 high-impact, low-effort ideas
Others were deprioritized due to limited value or feasibility
This process allowed us to focus on the most impactful and achievable solutions, ensuring they were both user-centered and actionable.
Ideating and Evaluating Personalized Ideas
Building on our research, we used Crazy 8’s to rapidly generate 72 concept sketches, each targeting one or more of the user pain points. The ideas explored diverse educational formats tailored to different audiences, reflecting the real experiences shared in our surveys and interviews.
We then organized the concepts into an impact-effort matrix to identify which solutions offered the most user value with realistic implementation. This helped us prioritize:
24 high-impact, low-effort ideas
Others were deprioritized due to limited value or feasibility
This process allowed us to focus on the most impactful and achievable solutions, ensuring they were both user-centered and actionable.
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