Speak Their Mind
Designing a digital support platform for carers of neurodivergent and autistic young people.- Client:
- Regen Digital
Speak Their Mind is an app designed to help carers better understand the needs of neurodivergent and autistic young people, enabling more personalised and proactive support.
Built around the principle that every neurodivergent person is different, the platform helps carers track routines, activities and behaviours over time, surfacing personalised insights that can inform day-to-day support and decision making.
I've worked with the startup from its outset, leading brand development, product design and UX strategy from early concept work through to launch.
Brand strategy and product vision
The project began with a research and discovery phase focused on understanding both the target audience and the wider neurodivergent care landscape.
Working closely with founder Paul Steel-Smith and the wider product team, I facilitated workshops that helped define the product vision, core features and wider brand strategy. These discussions established the foundations of the platform, shaping everything from its feature set through to its mission, values and tone of voice.
A key consideration throughout was accessibility. Research into neurodivergent-friendly design informed decisions around typography, colour palette, visual hierarchy and interaction patterns, helping create an experience that felt calm, legible and approachable for a broad range of users.
The resulting brand was designed to approach neurodivergent care with empathy, clarity and optimism, while remaining practical for carers navigating demanding day-to-day situations.
Visual identity
Alongside the strategic work, I designed the visual identity, including the logo, typography, colour palette and broader design language, while establishing UX principles centred around clarity, accessibility and ease of use.
The result was a brand intended to make users feel supported from their very first interaction with the product.
App structure
Running alongside the branding work, I began planning the overall structure of the application by creating low-fidelity user journeys, wireframes and interactive prototypes.
Working in this lightweight way allowed ideas to be explored and discussed quickly before significant design effort was invested. Together we refined navigation, prioritised features and established the core user journeys that would later underpin the interface design.
Designing for continuous improvement
With the foundations of the product established, when moving towards designing the actual app experience, focus shifted to creating a process that could evolve alongside the startup itself. Rather than treating UX and UI as separate disciplines, both informed every stage of the design process.
Interface design
To support rapid iteration throughout development, I established a UI library in Figma based on clear, accessible interface patterns.
Shared components and interaction principles allowed new features to be designed efficiently while maintaining consistency across the product. The prototype also supported variables, enabling realistic interactions and both light and dark themes, ensuring the experience could adapt to user preferences without compromising usability or visual coherence.
Usability testing and refinement
Usability testing wasn't treated as a final validation step but as an ongoing part of the design process.
Working closely with Speak Their Mind's focus group — made up of carers of neurodivergent people and representative of the platform's target audience — feedback was gathered throughout development to validate features, shape decisions and ensure functionality was being interpreted as intended.
This iterative approach allowed the product to evolve in response to genuine user needs and lived experiences.
Marketing website and supporting collateral
Alongside the product itself, I designed a range of supporting touchpoints including a website, app store imagery and social media assets, introducing the platform and its purpose, as well as helping to build interest ahead of launch.
Onboarding and sign up
The onboarding experience was structured to help users get started quickly and confidently. Allowing them to:
- Familiarise themselves with the app’s purpose
- Create an account and set up an initial profile
- Progress through the action of adding activities
Log daily moods and activities
The core functionality of the app allows carers to track the routines, activities and events unique to their loved one.
This allows users to:
Gain behavioural insights
As information is collected, the platform analyses patterns over time to generate practical, personalised insights. This helps carers to:
Create and share a profile
The app also includes a detailed profile, which the user can build for their loved one to help people within wider support networks better understand their unique needs and preferences.
Here users can:Access resources and support
The platform also includes a curated library of support materials and practical guidance. Here users can:
Outcome
Following multiple rounds of refinement and testing, Speak Their Mind has progressed into its launch phase, with the app experience shaped by ongoing research, iteration and close collaboration with users within its target audience.
The project allowed me to work across the full product design process, from early strategy and brand development through to UX architecture, interface design, prototyping and usability testing, with the goal of creating a product that offers meaningful, practical support to carers of neurodivergent people.