Prickly Pear
Designing to support, not to direct
- Role
- Product Designer
- Company
- Prickly Pear Health
- Team
- Team of two designers · external agency with direct client contact
- Timeline
- 2 weeks
My role focused on
At a glance
The problem
Women in perimenopause and menopause were underserved by wellness apps that directed and measured them, through a long, isolating life stage the industry overlooks.
The insight
The women didn't want to be managed, they wanted to be supported. So every decision optimized for accompaniment over control: intentions instead of tasks, and an AI that names what they feel instead of telling them what to do.
The impact
It shipped to production unchanged and earned 4.5★ from the women it was built for, plus $1.2M in public-private research funding.
App Store rating
From 89 reviews
Funding raised
PEI research centers
Research interviews
Shaped the three pillars
01, The challenge
Designing for a life stage technology ignores
Prickly Pear is a behavioral support platform for women 40+ in perimenopause and menopause, a long, complex life stage technology has systematically underserved. The mandate: support each woman at her own pace, in a market that treated them all the same.
Why it matters
70%
of Alzheimer's patients are women
Women's brain health, historically ignored
2×
more likely to face depression
Versus men, during this stage
3–4×
more likely to get migraines
Neurological symptoms, not only hormonal
10–14 yrs
perimenopause can last
A long stage, not a single moment
02, Research
We listened to 50+ women
Before drawing a single screen, we ran in-depth interviews. The same pattern surfaced again and again: they felt directed, not supported; measured, not heard.
They tell me what to do
Apps prescribed actions and schedules, with no room for their own judgment.
They ignore what I live
A generic approach that overlooked the symptoms specific to perimenopause and menopause.
I want my own pace
They wanted freedom and flexibility, not a rigid plan to follow.
I need to feel heard
They sought emotional validation and psychological safety, not just metrics.
03, Who we designed for
Two women, one journey
The same voices clustered along one axis: where a woman was in the transition. The product had to meet the newcomer and the navigator without treating either like the other.
The newcomer
In her 40s, symptoms just starting, unsure what's happening.
What they need
- To understand what her body is doing
- To be heard, not measured
- No rigid plan she'll feel guilty for breaking
The navigator
In her 50s, deeper in, managing symptoms alongside a full life.
What they need
- Emotional support without judgment
- To move entirely at her own pace
- Tools that adapt to her, not the reverse
04, Competitive analysis
What these women were still being denied
We audited the competition not to copy, but to find the real gap. Against Bonafide, Midday, Virtuleap, and BrainFit™, Prickly Pear was the only one to cover the six attributes they asked for.
Edge
6/6
Prickly Pear was the only one to cover all 6 attributes. No competitor got past 4.
| Attribute | Prickly Pear | Bonafide | Midday | Virtuleap | BrainFit™ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health data collection | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No mandatory hardware / wearables | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Focus on perimenopause & menopause | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – |
| Personalized insights | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Experiences designed for joy | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Community and belonging | ✓ | – | – | – | – |
05, Design principles
What this audience expects
From their voices we distilled four non-negotiable criteria. Every design decision that followed was measured against them.
Empathy without infantilization
Speak to them as adults, warm, never condescending.
Personalization without complexity
Feels tailored to them, with no effort or setup required.
Clarity without overwhelm
The essentials first; no dashboards that overwhelm.
Trust and psychological safety
A judgment-free space where letting your guard down feels safe.
06, Key decisions
Principles turned into UX decisions
We took the logic of Atomic Habits (moving step by step, without overwhelming) as the behavioral backbone, and from there resolved the decisions that define the experience. Almost always choosing the human option over the obvious one.
“Intentions”, not “tasks”
A task gets broken; an intention accompanies. The language shift removes pressure and sustains the habit through hormonal fluctuation.
Voice or text, her choice
Speaking is more natural for venting; writing, more intimate. The user picks the channel, not the app.
Harmony explains, doesn't direct
The AI doesn't tell her what to do: it names what she feels. Accompany instead of manage.
Goals are born from the conversation
On closing, Harmony proposes micro-goals from what she shared, never imposed from outside.
Wearable optional, never required
Cross data if it exists, allow manual logging if not. No hardware between her and the product.
07, The solution
Three pillars, one principle: support, don't direct
Prickly Pear was structured around three pillars. Each answers something they asked for: to be heard, to move at their own pace, and to have the app understand their body without demanding anything.
Emotional support
Talk → HarmonyReduce emotional isolation and increase daily self-awareness.
Create a safe emotional container, without judgment.
Self-reflection
Morning reflectionsStructured behavioral activation for cognitive clarity and routine stability.
Intentions, not tasks: reinforces the habit through hormonal fluctuation.
Personalized guidance
The system adapts to emotional inputs, behavioral patterns, and engagement frequency.
Support, don't pressure.
08, Results
The women confirmed it first
The design shipped to production unchanged. The validation that matters most came from the women we designed for. Institutional recognition came only after the product already resonated with them: $1.2M in public-private funding, validated by researchers at ASU, University of Arizona, and Mayo Clinic.
How the women rated it
89 App Store reviews since launch
Voices that shaped it
Interviews that defined the three pillars
Funding raised
Public-private, via PEI Applied Research Centers
09, In their words
Real App Store reviews
ArmstrongTrio
★★★★★They LISTEN to me!!!
I love this voice activated, AI integrated, app! How very cool to consider the intonation in my voice.
SpiritualRN
★★★★★A must have!
I finally feel like I have a solution to better understand my body and help me prioritize things that matter to me!
Kaitlyn FitzAllen
★★★★★Finally! An app to help me stay on top of my wellbeing.
The app gives you features to check in every day and has lovely aligned prompts to remind you to stick to your ritual.
MynameisNG
★★★★★An app just for us!
Easy to use, great summary and insights, connects to my health app and smart watch.
Wireframes
The “Talk” flow explored in low fidelity: from entry to self-exploration and daily focus.
Built around
What we avoided
- ✕Overstimulating dashboards
- ✕Gamification pressure
- ✕Clinical coldness
Final design
The high-fidelity interface that shipped to production, navigate the screens inside the phone.
Welcome: sign in with email, Google, or Apple ID.
Reflection
What I took from it
The hardest part wasn't the interface, it was restraint. The instinct in a wellness app is to prescribe; the research kept telling us to hold back and accompany instead. Designing less, and trusting the woman more, was the actual work.
If I picked it up again, I'd follow the same women over months, not a single session, to see whether support, not direct truly sustains the habit, and tune how much Harmony leads versus listens with that data.
Next project
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