Lillywait
A kindergarten platform designed fully remote, under German data law.
Kindergartens needed to track child data, talk to parents, and run digitally — in the year no one could meet. I designed Lillywait fully remote, on two surfaces at once, under strict German rules for minor data.
Two surfaces, strict rules, and no shared room.
Two audiences from day one: admins managing high volumes of child data on desktop, and parents on native iOS and Android apps. One side was heavy data visualization, the other needed careful planning before a single screen was drawn.
German law around minor data made compliance a design input, not a review step. And it was 2020 — every workshop, review, and handoff happened remote.
Lead design across both sides of the product.
Lead designer on a 7-person team, owning the product UX and UI across the desktop administration platform and native parent apps. The whole engagement was fully remote.
- Product designDesktop administration and native parent experiences designed as one connected system.
- Design systemShared tokens, components and hybrid iOS/Android pattern decisions across both surfaces.
- Remote researchCompetitive analysis, journey mapping and stakeholder work shaped the product without relying on a shared room.
- Compliance by designGerman requirements around minor data informed the flows from the start.
Design system first, then both surfaces in parallel.
Remote-only changed the research mix: competitive analysis, stakeholder journey mapping and frequent review loops replaced the in-person methods I would normally use.
I built the design system before the screens, giving the remote team a shared set of tokens and components to work from. From there, both surfaces shipped in parallel from the same foundation.
One system, two products.
Two products from one system: desktop software where administrators and employees run the kindergarten, native apps where parents stay connected. Both handle sensitive child data, so compliance shaped the flows before aesthetics did.
- A design system isn’t a deliverable. It’s the only thing keeping two surfaces from drifting apart on a remote team.
- Designing for minor data is a legal discipline before it’s a UX one. The work started with compliance, not journey maps.
- Hybrid iOS/Android design needs alignment at the system level. Shared components still have to respect how each platform behaves at runtime.