Social Heads

The Company

My Approach

I used the double diamond approach to break down the problem-solving-

Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver

Discover

Stake Holder Interview

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I interviewed youth workers and school counsellors, and found insights from an NTIA article highlighting the need for safer, private online spaces that prioritise young people’s well-being.

SUPPORT YOUNG PEOPLE

with an app that feels safe, welcoming, and personal.

My Findings

  • Secure yet flexible digital communication tools

  • Simplified case management and tracking system for high caseloads

  • Messaging infrastructure with clear professional boundaries

  • Digital content/tools to support social workers and young people

  • Structures and support networks that ensure professional safety

Persona

NAME - Katie 
JOB - Social worker
AGE - 30
LOCATION - Hackney

BEHAVIOURS :

Katie responds to young people with empathy, even outside office hours, while carefully maintaining professional boundaries. She avoids informal tools and prioritises structured, secure follow-up during work time.

The company supports professionals and young people (ages 10–25) in care, education, and mental health settings. They focus on building safe, supportive relationships, especially for those in vulnerable or high-risk situations.

My Role

PROJECT: Social Heads

TIMELINE: 2-week design sprint

TEAM: Began as a team of four designers; transitioned to a solo project after the research phase

MY ROLE: Research Lead & Solo Designer 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Led user research, user interviews, and affinity map (team phase) 

• Solo design: User flows, wireframes, Low-High Fidelity, prototyping, final UI 

• Presented independent design solution to client

TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS (Research Stage)

  • Stakeholder interviews

  • User interviews

  • Affinity mapping

  • Personas & problem statements

  • Early research/Competitors

TOOLS: Figma, FigJam, ChatGPT, Google Forms, Google Slides, Pen & Paper 

CLIENT: Client project through Experience Haus bootcamp

The Design Challenge

Most messaging tools aren’t built for sensitive, youth-focused communication. They often lack safeguarding features, feel impersonal, and leave young people without a safe space and professionals without secure tools.

  • To create manageable case management and easy communication with young people.

  • A space for young people to express their emotions using emojis as their profile picture.

  • Enable social workers to log session notes and track progress to ensure everything is clearly recorded.

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EMPOWER PROFESSIONALS

with tools that support rather than overwhelm them.

User research, User interviews 

GOALS & MOTIVATIONS:

  • Provide timely support outside office hours without compromising personal time

  • Connect with young people through channels they actually use

  • Offer flexible, personalised support with empathy, clarity, and transparency

How Might We?

Deliver

Home

Navigation at the bottom signals familiarity and ease of use.

Latest activity an option to continue editing or navigate to another page

Report, Profile & Feedback

Search or selection of a profile creates a sense of safe guarding that you are on the correct profile

Choice to message Luca conveys relationship-building and encouragement.

Access to previous reports shows continuity of care.

Messages section

  • Builds connection and ongoing dialogue.

  • Options like reminding goals - motivation, accountability, and progress tracking.

  • Youth being able to message how they feel - empowerment and safe self-expression.

Wellbeing Check-in (for workers)

  • Inviting the youth worker to reflect on their own wellbeing signals mutual care (not just for young people).

  • Results & resources = supportive ecosystem and mental health prioritisation.

  • Adds a layer of warmth and humanity to the professional tool.

Messages

What I’d do differently

  • Test with youth workers and young people, with strong ethical safeguards

  • Strengthen safeguarding triggers for concerning disclosures

  • Define clear crisis protocols, especially out of hour

Ethical challenges

  • Balancing trust with professional boundaries

  • Empowering young people without increasing risk for workers

  • Finding the right balance between usability and security

Key learnings

  • Designing for vulnerable users demands constant prioritisation of safety

  • Simpler solutions can be more dignified and effective than feature-heavy ones

  • Emoji-based communication can feel more authentic than formal language

  • Social workers need tools that reduce, not add to, their workload

  • Solo projects force strong prioritisation of core needs

Next steps

  • Work with safeguarding experts to validate risk and security features

  • Test with 10–15 youth workers across varied settings

  • Design the wider ecosystem: onboarding, training, and admin tools

Take a look at…

The Solution

HOW CAN WE HELP THEM?

  • One platform for all tools.

  • Messaging with empathetic auto-replies after hours.

  • Flag high-risk messages for safeguarding.

  • Reduce admin, increase time for real connection.

  • Ensure everything feels secure and easy to navigate.

  • Highlight high-priority issues clearly.

HOW MIGHT WE HELP SOCIAL WORKERS COMMUNICATE BETTER?

Social workers find that too many tools leads to confusion and miscommunication, this causes important information to get lost or overlooked.

A little about me

Develop

Information Architecture

After testing the low-fidelity prototype, I revisited the design to make improvements. I reorganised and laid out the information more clearly to help me gain a better overview of functionality.

User Flow

Improvements Made:

  • Tested different wording options.

  • Replaced "Report" with "Session Report" – users found this clearer and less confusing (e.g didn’t confuse it with incident reporting).

Ideation

KEY IDEAS SELECTED FROM IDEATION PROCESS

  • Young Person Profile & Reports
    Messaging Check-ins

  • Positive Feedback & Goals for the Young person

  • Wellbeing Questionnaire to support social workers.

PROFILE

easy access to history, safeguarding, and previous reports. A clear option for

  • previous session report

  • add new session report

  • safe guarding issue

Young Person’s Section

  • Communication-focused only - keeps it safe, simple, and protects boundaries.

  • Emoji-based interaction:

    • Accessibility & inclusivity (no pressure to write).

    • Emotion over text - fosters comfort, relatability, and ease of expression.

    • Using emojis for profile photos adds personalisation and playfulness, softening the professional context.

My Wealth Master

3

HELP SOCIALHEADS

NEW SESSION REPORT

Guided prompts suggest support and structure (reduces cognitive load for the worker).

Saving the report reinforces progress and professionalism.

Enough

find creative solutions to fit the needs of the target audience

Define

PAIN POINTS:

  • Hard to build trust quickly; young people are cautious

  • Concern that reporting serious issues may break trust

  • Too many tools cause confusion and missed information

  • Existing tools feel clunky and too corporate

  • Young people avoid emails/calls, but WhatsApp isn’t secure