TRACE

TRACE is built around three core pillars: HRT photo tracking, community connection, and flexible privacy controls. Every screen was designed to feel welcoming and affirming — the opposite of the clinical or indifferent tools the community had been making do with.

We started with deep user research — interviews, surveys, and synthesis to understand the real needs of transgender and non-binary individuals navigating their transition. That informed a feature prioritization exercise and a detailed information architecture before a single pixel was designed.

Early research confirmed what we suspected: existing tools were clinical, cold, or unsafe. But one finding reframed the entire product vision. When we surveyed users and went deeper into community research, it became clear that a tracking app alone wasn't enough. Trans people — especially youth — needed connection as much as they needed features. The data that stopped us in our tracks: a trans child with just one supportive person in their life is 50% less likely to attempt suicide. That's not a feature request. That's a design mandate. Community wasn't a nice-to-have we'd add later. It had to be foundational — built in from the start, alongside tracking, not bolted on after.

From hand-drawn sketches to detailed wireframes and task flows, we mapped every user journey with care — particularly around sensitive moments like first-time setup, privacy settings, and community interactions.

Moving from wireframes to high-fidelity — bringing the brand and interaction design together. Every screen was built to feel welcoming and affirming, with clear hierarchy, accessible color, and a tone that treated users as whole people.

We ran moderated usability sessions and synthesized findings using structured analysis. Testing surfaced key friction points — particularly around photo tracking setup and community privacy settings — that we iterated on before beta launch.

Every illustration in TRACE was hand-drawn by Elizabeth — before AI, before tools, just a drawing tablet and an intent to make the app feel human. The characters represent the full spectrum of our community: diverse bodies, expressions, and identities. These weren't stock art. They were made with love.