Case study · Sneak Peek

Out of the chat, into real life

A community app for a sisterhood of Black women in Germany that currently lives entirely in WhatsApp.

RoleProduct Designer, solo
TimelineJuly to August 2026
ToolsFigma, FigJam, Lyssna, Google Forms
StatusIn progress

The project

The community, which I am keeping anonymous for now, brings together more than 500 women across Germany, organised through a web of WhatsApp groups and around 18 volunteer managers. Events get buried under newer messages, polls say yes while the room stays half empty, and managers track every signup by hand. Working directly with the founder, I researched how members decide whether to come, then designed the member side of an app that sits next to WhatsApp instead of replacing it. The aim: fewer members reading along, more members showing up.

Moodboard in warm earth tones: dusty rose, clay, sand, burnt sienna and espresso, with photos of Black women together outdoors.

A first look

I started out believing members mostly missed events because they heard about them too late.

For some members, that is true. But half of the survey said it rarely or never happens to them. What decides it for most is distance and timing: one “region” can cover three federal states. So the event feed is sorted by how far each event is from where you live, not by which group posted it.

Prototype preview

Setting up her profile. She decides who sees what, and her phone number stays with managers only.
Setting up her profile. She decides who sees what, and her phone number stays with managers only.
The event feed, sorted by distance from her own city, whichever group posted the event.
The event feed, sorted by distance from her own city, whichever group posted the event.
Everything she needs to decide in one place: spots left, distance, deposit and deadline.
Everything she needs to decide in one place: spots left, distance, deposit and deadline.
Interested and Registered are kept apart, so a yes actually means something.
Interested and Registered are kept apart, so a yes actually means something.
When plans change, everyone registered hears about it. No manager types it out by hand.
When plans change, everyone registered hears about it. No manager types it out by hand.
After the event, she adds the women she met, with a short note if she likes.
After the event, she adds the women she met, with a short note if she likes.

More coming soon. The full case study follows when the project picks up again.

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