Industry

Lifestyle

Duration

3 months

Role

Product Designer

Fam Cal

Fam Cal

A family calendar app designed to simplify everyday coordination. Effortlessly manage activities, share responsibilities, and plan meaningful time together—all in one place. Whether you're parents juggling a child’s schedule or a couple organizing daily life, FamCal helps reduce stress, keep everyone aligned, and stay connected.

A family calendar app designed to simplify everyday coordination. Effortlessly manage activities, share responsibilities, and plan meaningful time together—all in one place. Whether you're parents juggling a child’s schedule or a couple organizing daily life, FamCal helps reduce stress, keep everyone aligned, and stay connected.

A family calendar app designed to simplify everyday coordination. Effortlessly manage activities, share responsibilities, and plan meaningful time together—all in one place. Whether you're parents juggling a child’s schedule or a couple organizing daily life, FamCal helps reduce stress, keep everyone aligned, and stay connected.

Background

Background

Background

Modern families struggle to stay aligned amid busy, shifting schedules. Parents face stress from constant coordination, with responsibilities often unevenly shared. With over half reporting work–life balance challenges, there’s a clear need for a simple, collaborative way to organize schedules, share responsibilities, and reclaim quality time together.

Modern families struggle to stay aligned amid busy, shifting schedules. Parents face stress from constant coordination, with responsibilities often unevenly shared. With over half reporting work–life balance challenges, there’s a clear need for a simple, collaborative way to organize schedules, share responsibilities, and reclaim quality time together.

Modern families struggle to stay aligned amid busy, shifting schedules. Parents face stress from constant coordination, with responsibilities often unevenly shared. With over half reporting work–life balance challenges, there’s a clear need for a simple, collaborative way to organize schedules, share responsibilities, and reclaim quality time together.

David Chen

David Chen

David Chen

45 yrs, Sr. SWE based in Toronto, married, one 12-year-old daughter

45 yrs, Sr. SWE based in Toronto, married, one 12-year-old daughter

"I just want to spend more time with my family, but between my work schedule and everyone's activities, it feels almost impossible to get us all on the same page."

"I just want to spend more time with my family, but between my work schedule and everyone's activities, it feels almost impossible to get us all on the same page."

Frustration

  • Family’s schedules are always changing, especially his daughter’s extracurriculars

  • Weekends feel chaotic or wasted due to misaligned availability

Goals

  • Spend more time with wife and daughter​

  • Easily coordinate schedules

  • Keep weekends more organized and free for family activities

Eleanor Foster

Eleanor Foster

Eleanor Foster

43 yrs, Assistant Professor based in Toronto, married, one 12-year-old daughter

43 yrs, Assistant Professor based in Toronto, married, one 12-year-old daughter

"I can handle my work just fine. It’s the unpredictable family stuff that throws me off. I wish I had more space to breathe, to plan, and to just take care of myself once in a while."

"I can handle my work just fine. It’s the unpredictable family stuff that throws me off. I wish I had more space to breathe, to plan, and to just take care of myself once in a while."

Frustration

  • Handle last-minute changes in her daughter’s schedule

  • Can’t plan her own time because

  • Often ends up sacrificing her personal time to keep things running smoothly

Goals

  • Stay on top of her daughter’s schedules

  • Plan time for herself, especially for yoga and quiet moments

  • Help the family stay more coordinated without being the “default scheduler”

Secondary Research

Secondary Research

Secondary Research

56%

56%

Parents Struggle with Work-Family Balance

Parents Struggle with Work-Family Balance

54%

54%

Child's Schedule is Managed by Mother

Child's Schedule is Managed by Mother

36%

36%

Child's Schedule is Shared by Parents

Child's Schedule is Shared by Parents

Design Challenge

Design Challenge

Design Challenge

Parents need a way to manage family's schedule, particularly their children's activities, because the responsibility often disproportionately falls on one parent despite scheduling being a joint family effort.

Parents need a way to manage family's schedule, particularly their children's activities, because the responsibility often disproportionately falls on one parent despite scheduling being a joint family effort.

Parents need a way to manage family's schedule, particularly their children's activities, because the responsibility often disproportionately falls on one parent despite scheduling being a joint family effort.

User Flow

User Flow

User Flow

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Wireframes

Wireframes

Wireframes

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Wireframes

Wireframes

Wireframes

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Hi-fi prototype

Hi-fi prototype

Hi-fi prototype

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Instead of relying on one-on-one guidance, we aim to empower PSWs with an AI-powered resource tool, which is centralized, searchable, and easy to update.

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

This project began with a conversation with a mother who managed most of her family’s scheduling, revealing a desire for more personal time and a more balanced distribution of responsibility. As the design progressed, we encountered a key tension: while scheduling needs to be shared, assigning it too rigidly can feel imposed. Fam Cal was developed to navigate this ambiguity by offering a system that encourages shared participation without enforcing it. By promoting voluntary engagement and mutual respect, the design aims to support more equitable household dynamics and foster a sense of agency and balance for everyone involved.

This project began with a conversation with a mother who managed most of her family’s scheduling, revealing a desire for more personal time and a more balanced distribution of responsibility. As the design progressed, we encountered a key tension: while scheduling needs to be shared, assigning it too rigidly can feel imposed. Fam Cal was developed to navigate this ambiguity by offering a system that encourages shared participation without enforcing it. By promoting voluntary engagement and mutual respect, the design aims to support more equitable household dynamics and foster a sense of agency and balance for everyone involved.

This project began with a conversation with a mother who managed most of her family’s scheduling, revealing a desire for more personal time and a more balanced distribution of responsibility. As the design progressed, we encountered a key tension: while scheduling needs to be shared, assigning it too rigidly can feel imposed. Fam Cal was developed to navigate this ambiguity by offering a system that encourages shared participation without enforcing it. By promoting voluntary engagement and mutual respect, the design aims to support more equitable household dynamics and foster a sense of agency and balance for everyone involved.