Designed a new app to send messages to the future and create everlasting connections
2022 • UX design • UI design • UX research
Overview
Imagine sending birthday wishes to your loved ones even when you're not around anymore
In the world of unpredictable goodbyes, Futurogram was created to help people share their everlasting love, memories, and letters across time.
With Futurogram, you can send messages to the future on your loved ones' special days. Whether it's their birthdays, weddings, or even beautiful goodbyes, Futurogram lets you schedule messages to these special moments.
We designed this app with special care for users who face chronic illness, grief, or aging. It offers a warm experience with our friendly animations and easy steps, allowing you to send and receive meaningful messages.
Because even when you can’t be there, your love still can. 💕✨
A fresh start in old town Bruges
After a year of hiatus, we came back in the summer 2024 with fresh energy. We bring back Futurogram in progress. Now with 2 new members on board. Thankfully!
Fueled by morning coffees in a meeting room of old town Bruges, we brainstormed our creative ideas. This time, we made a new mission: to make this app a bit playful with a mascot, but keep it accessible for all target users.
With renewed mission and good vibes, we redesigned the app from the previous version in 2023.
We expand the circle of love
As we brainstormed about Futurogram in 2024, the stakeholders realized something important: love across the time is not just for elderly or those who face illness. Young generation cares about it too.
So, we expanded our target users.
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Chronic illness patients in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
2
Elderly in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg.
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And now, young generation in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg who will lose their loved ones and want to share meaningful memories with them.
Since they are active on social media, they can be our natural "marketing agent" on other social media. They are not just our users, they are our community builders.
The faces we design for
After I understood the Futurogram's target users, I created 4 user personas that represent 4 groups of Futurogram's users. I want to understand deeper each person's background and goals.
Also, it helped me to get ideas on what features and pages to design for these users to reach their goals. There are 3 are senders, 1 is the recipient.
Nicolas Blanchets
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Age: 78 years old
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Location: Knokke, Belgium
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Job: retired School Principal
Problem
He has lung cancer. Doctor predicted that he won't live longer than 6 months.
Needs
A secure platform where he can say congratulation on his daughter's wedding day.
Goals
To surprise his daughter with a present or something on her wedding day.
Designing users' journeys
With our 4 Futurogram personas in mind (3 senders and 1 recipient), I imagined their step-by-step moves through the app. What do they want to do? What pages to show? And how do we make it easy for them?
User story: Nicolas Blanchets
"As a chronic lung cancer patient with 5 months left, I want to be present at my daughter's wedding 7 months later by giving her a wonderful surprise of a video message on that day, so that she feels my present on her special day.”
User flow
What we learnt from others
In 2022, right after chatting with the stakeholders (Jeroen and Mathias) about ideas for Futurogram, a curious question popped up in my head:
How we make Futurogram better and cooler than other similar apps?
So, I'm "spying on" similar apps to learn from them. Those were Timehop, FutureMe, After Time,and Schedules
I read and collected the reviews from their users on Google Reviews and social media. What did I find? Users' struggles, their complaints, what they like, what they dislike, and what stops them from using those products.
Later, our team collaborated to analyse the reviews and to see the patterns.
This insight we could use to design Futurogram that works better than the existing ones.
Here were users' complaints and reviews about similar apps: View next slide
Our missions
💌
Provide hopeful connection
Life gets messy, unpredictable, and sometimes really hard. But no matter what happens, Futurogram lets you stay close to the people you care about. Send a message today, and we delivered it on a future birthday, anniversary, and other special moments. It's a way to make sure their connection lasts, no matter the distance and time.
🔒
Secure delivery & data protection
Every message is taken good care. We use secure tech called blockchain to keep your messages private and protected, just like a digital time capsule.
🌈
Made for everyone
Futurogram is made accessible to support everyone, especially those going through tough moments like illness, aging, or the loss of a loved one. We’ve made sure the app is easy-to-use and comforting, so everyone no matter their situation can feel connected.
Looking at what users liked and disliked from similar apps, we sharpened our missions:
We connected needs with solutions
After understanding our users, their expected journeys, and sharpening our mission, now it's time to zoom out and see the big picture. I created a Value Proposition Design to ensure that Futurogram is not just a nice idea, but can solve real problems. It helped us to connect the dots between what user needs and the services we offer.
Challenge: to find the balance between fun, warm, comfort, respect
For me, the biggest challange in desiginging Futurogram app was finding the right balance in the writing. As our mission is to comfort the users who are mostly with chronic illnesses and the elderly, we often discussed: should we go casual or a little bit playful? But stick with something more comforting and warm? And stay respectful? 🤔
Another challenge is finding the right balance in designing animations and elements. We wanted to create comfort, but also stay respectful for users who are dealing with chronic illness.
So, during brainstorming sessions, our team often finds ourselves asking, "Is this mascot too playful?' or "Is this wording a bit too playful? Or should we make it a bit serious?".
To overcome this, we plan to do a user test soon after the prototype is ready. To know what exactly our users think and feel using Futurogram.
Easy-to-use and accessible design
Futurogram is designed with simplicity an accessibility in mind. Especially for people who go through emotional and difficult times. Like Hannah, who feel hopeless since she has a chronic illness.. Louise, who lost his father a month before her wedding day. Other users, like Nicolas, an elderly man with chronic conditions who may not be familiar with modern technology.
We know when someone is sick, older, or grieving, using technology can feel hard. That’s why accessibility and easy-to-use design are at the heart of Futurogram’s design.
With clear words, simple navigation, minimal steps, and affordable prices, we make sure anyone, regardless of age, health, or tech experience, can send or receive messages without confusion or stress. Because in moments like sadness and grieving, technology should feel like a helping hand, not a confusion.
Next improvement
💡 Less administrative interaction
Our interaction with users will be more like person-to-person conversation, not administrative or technical.
💡 Adjustable font size
For users with visual impairments.
💡 Conduct usability test
to see what frustrates the users and then we improve it.
💡 Emphasize more that Futurogram is a trustworthy app
Since the activities and messages in Futurogram are deeply personal. We will show it through comforting words (such as "safe", "protected", "secure") and calm visualisation. We let users know that their memories and messages are safe here with us, and we are serious about their privacy.
💡 Integrate with AI
To give users suggestions in creating messages in order to save their time.
