Bondu
2025
Mobile App • Design System • Landing Page • Brand Identity
Mobile App • Design System • Landing Page • Brand Identity
Context
Context
Helping immigrants feel closer to home, even when time zones and busy schedules get in the way.
Helping immigrants feel closer to home, even when time zones and busy schedules get in the way.
Bondu is a mobile app designed to help immigrants coordinate calls with family across time zones and busy routines, a pain point that deeply impacts emotional well-being. It was developed over eight months as part of my Digital Experience Design Master’s Degree Thesis Project at BAU Barcelona, in collaboration with three teammates from Chile, Brazil, and Spain. Like many of our users, we were immigrants too, building a product we needed ourselves.
Bondu is a mobile app designed to help immigrants coordinate calls with family across time zones and busy routines, a pain point that deeply impacts emotional well-being. It was developed over eight months as part of my Digital Experience Design Master’s Degree Thesis Project at BAU Barcelona, in collaboration with three teammates from Chile, Brazil, and Spain. Like many of our users, we were immigrants too, building a product we needed ourselves.
Bondu is a mobile app designed to help immigrants coordinate calls with family across time zones and busy routines, a pain point that deeply impacts emotional well-being. It was developed over eight months as part of my Digital Experience Design Master’s Degree Thesis Project at BAU Barcelona, in collaboration with three teammates from Chile, Brazil, and Spain. Like many of our users, we were immigrants too, building a product we needed ourselves.
Challenge
Challenge
Starting from ambiguity and learning by doing.
Starting from ambiguity and learning by doing.
We began with a broad, emotionally loaded brief: explore vulnerability in minority groups. None of us had prior product design experience, we were learning tools, research methods, and design frameworks as we built. The biggest challenge? Turning a complex, human problem into a focused solution with real value, all within the time and scope of an academic year.
We began with a broad, emotionally loaded brief: explore vulnerability in minority groups. None of us had prior product design experience, we were learning tools, research methods, and design frameworks as we built. The biggest challenge? Turning a complex, human problem into a focused solution with real value, all within the time and scope of an academic year.
We began with a broad, emotionally loaded brief: explore vulnerability in minority groups. None of us had prior product design experience, we were learning tools, research methods, and design frameworks as we built. The biggest challenge? Turning a complex, human problem into a focused solution with real value, all within the time and scope of an academic year.
My Role
My Role
Product designer, prototyper, and visual lead.
Product designer, prototyper, and visual lead.
As part of a small, collaborative team, I was deeply involved in every stage of the process, from user interviews and ideation to sketching and testing. Nevertheless, my primary responsibility was designing and building the working prototype in Figma. I created the app’s screens, flows, and interactions, and developed a reusable design system with components to ensure consistency across the product.
I also led the visual design and branding of Bondu. While we defined the voice and values as a team, I created the logo, color palette, typography, and photographic style, building a cohesive brand that felt warm, human, and trustworthy.
As part of a small, collaborative team, I was deeply involved in every stage of the process, from user interviews and ideation to sketching and testing. Nevertheless, my primary responsibility was designing and building the working prototype in Figma. I created the app’s screens, flows, and interactions, and developed a reusable design system with components to ensure consistency across the product.
I also led the visual design and branding of Bondu. While we defined the voice and values as a team, I created the logo, color palette, typography, and photographic style, building a cohesive brand that felt warm, human, and trustworthy.
As part of a small, collaborative team, I was deeply involved in every stage of the process, from user interviews and ideation to sketching and testing. Nevertheless, my primary responsibility was designing and building the working prototype in Figma. I created the app’s screens, flows, and interactions, and developed a reusable design system with components to ensure consistency across the product.
I also led the visual design and branding of Bondu. While we defined the voice and values as a team, I created the logo, color palette, typography, and photographic style, building a cohesive brand that felt warm, human, and trustworthy.
Approach
Approach
Agile, evolving, and grounded in user voices.
Agile, evolving, and grounded in user voices.
We followed the Double Diamond process, grounding every phase in user insights gathered through interviews, surveys, and testing. From problem definition to iteration, real voices shaped our direction. To manage the work, we combined this user-centered design with Lean UX methodology that evolved as the project matured. We started with assumption mapping and hypothesis formation, embracing its collaborative nature as we were still learning to work together and needed to quickly validate our ideas. As the product and our understanding of it grew more complex, we deepened our commitment to Lean UX principles, using build-measure-learn cycles to guide our work, prioritizing minimum viable products and rapid experimentation over extensive documentation. We used Jira and Miro to track our hypotheses, experiments, and learnings rather than traditional task management. Learning to think in assumptions and outcomes while applying these methods in real time made the process slower initially but also more focused on what users actually needed. Finding our rhythm as a team around continuous validation was just as vital as designing the product itself.
We followed the Double Diamond process, grounding every phase in user insights gathered through interviews, surveys, and testing. From problem definition to iteration, real voices shaped our direction. To manage the work, we combined this user-centered design with Lean UX methodology that evolved as the project matured. We started with assumption mapping and hypothesis formation, embracing its collaborative nature as we were still learning to work together and needed to quickly validate our ideas. As the product and our understanding of it grew more complex, we deepened our commitment to Lean UX principles, using build-measure-learn cycles to guide our work, prioritizing minimum viable products and rapid experimentation over extensive documentation. We used Jira and Miro to track our hypotheses, experiments, and learnings rather than traditional task management. Learning to think in assumptions and outcomes while applying these methods in real time made the process slower initially but also more focused on what users actually needed. Finding our rhythm as a team around continuous validation was just as vital as designing the product itself.
We followed the Double Diamond process, grounding every phase in user insights gathered through interviews, surveys, and testing. From problem definition to iteration, real voices shaped our direction. To manage the work, we combined this user-centered design with Lean UX methodology that evolved as the project matured. We started with assumption mapping and hypothesis formation, embracing its collaborative nature as we were still learning to work together and needed to quickly validate our ideas. As the product and our understanding of it grew more complex, we deepened our commitment to Lean UX principles, using build-measure-learn cycles to guide our work, prioritizing minimum viable products and rapid experimentation over extensive documentation. We used Jira and Miro to track our hypotheses, experiments, and learnings rather than traditional task management. Learning to think in assumptions and outcomes while applying these methods in real time made the process slower initially but also more focused on what users actually needed. Finding our rhythm as a team around continuous validation was just as vital as designing the product itself.
Key Insights & Turning Points
Key Insights & Turning Points
From "What to say?" to "When to say it?"
From "What to say?" to "When to say it?"
Our initial concept aimed to help users spark meaningful conversations through daily prompts. But after testing this in a design sprint, we saw it didn’t solve the root issue. A follow-up survey with over 100 immigrants revealed something deeper:
Most weren’t struggling with what to say, they just couldn’t find a moment to connect in the first place.
That insight reshaped everything. We pivoted to a smarter, simpler goal that became Bondu's central feature: an AI-based scheduler that removes friction by suggesting the best moments to call, based on synced calendar information, time zones, and patterns of availability.
Our initial concept aimed to help users spark meaningful conversations through daily prompts. But after testing this in a design sprint, we saw it didn’t solve the root issue. A follow-up survey with over 100 immigrants revealed something deeper:
Most weren’t struggling with what to say, they just couldn’t find a moment to connect in the first place.
That insight reshaped everything. We pivoted to a smarter, simpler goal that became Bondu's central feature: an AI-based scheduler that removes friction by suggesting the best moments to call, based on synced calendar information, time zones, and patterns of availability.
Our initial concept aimed to help users spark meaningful conversations through daily prompts. But after testing this in a design sprint, we saw it didn’t solve the root issue. A follow-up survey with over 100 immigrants revealed something deeper:
Most weren’t struggling with what to say, they just couldn’t find a moment to connect in the first place.
That insight reshaped everything. We pivoted to a smarter, simpler goal that became Bondu's central feature: an AI-based scheduler that removes friction by suggesting the best moments to call, based on synced calendar information, time zones, and patterns of availability.
Impact
Impact
We designed less, so users could feel more.
We designed less, so users could feel more.
We deliberately kept our MVP small: just one core feature done well. Users could connect calendars, create a small network of close contacts, and receive smart suggestions based on availability and time zone. Once both people accept a suggestion, the app schedules the call, adds it to their calendar and sends timely reminders. It’s a quiet product built to reduce friction, not create more.
Watching users succeed during usability tests and hearing they’d use the app was our best validation.
We deliberately kept our MVP small: just one core feature done well. Users could connect calendars, create a small network of close contacts, and receive smart suggestions based on availability and time zone. Once both people accept a suggestion, the app schedules the call, adds it to their calendar and sends timely reminders. It’s a quiet product built to reduce friction, not create more.
Watching users succeed during usability tests and hearing they’d use the app was our best validation.
We deliberately kept our MVP small: just one core feature done well. Users could connect calendars, create a small network of close contacts, and receive smart suggestions based on availability and time zone. Once both people accept a suggestion, the app schedules the call, adds it to their calendar and sends timely reminders. It’s a quiet product built to reduce friction, not create more.
Watching users succeed during usability tests and hearing they’d use the app was our best validation.
Outcome
Outcome
A simple prototype and a lasting lesson.
A simple prototype and a lasting lesson.
The final product was a mobile app that synced calendars and helped users find the right time to call loved ones. We didn’t have a public launch, but every test showed increased clarity, confidence, and usability.
What I took away from Bondu was this:
A good product doesn’t have to do everything it just has to do one thing that matters.
I also learned the importance of testing early, listening closely, and building with — not just for — your users.
The final product was a mobile app that synced calendars and helped users find the right time to call loved ones. We didn’t have a public launch, but every test showed increased clarity, confidence, and usability.
What I took away from Bondu was this:
A good product doesn’t have to do everything it just has to do one thing that matters.
I also learned the importance of testing early, listening closely, and building with — not just for — your users.
The final product was a mobile app that synced calendars and helped users find the right time to call loved ones. We didn’t have a public launch, but every test showed increased clarity, confidence, and usability.
What I took away from Bondu was this:
A good product doesn’t have to do everything it just has to do one thing that matters.
I also learned the importance of testing early, listening closely, and building with — not just for — your users.
