I created the end-to-end design for FAST, an app that makes it easy for parents book last-minute childcare—think Uber for babysitting. I also designed an admin portal for the team to manage the backend of the app.
☑️ 200+ downloads in the first week on the Main Line of Philadelphia
☑️ Over 60% activation rate in the first week
The app idea was conceived by Ashley and Michael Clark, who often found themselves in need of last-minute childcare but couldn’t find a sitter service that met their standards.
They were dissatisfied with the lack of background checks for sitters and the subscription-based models used by most services. They wanted to create an app that allows parents to quickly find vetted sitters with just a tap of a button.
I set out to design the app along with an admin portal from scratch; some of the main flows in the app includes:
For parents, I designed a screen that's easy to scan, allowing them to quickly find relevant buttons. The homepage also shows nearby active sitters to reassure parents that sitters are available.
For sitters, the home screen highlights key actions such as going online/offline, viewing earnings, and managing upcoming bookings.
Unlike the multi-step onboarding process required for sitters due to safety protocols, we aimed to keep the parent's onboarding experience as frictionless as possible to encourage them to try out the app.
Therefore, options such as adding a child or any preference settings can be completed while parents making their first booking.
Defining when a job is finished is one of the most complex parts of the design. Parents may not be home at the originally set time, and I learned that some parents often text sitters to extend their time.
Relying on GPS isn’t ideal, as it can be inaccurate (e.g., when parents work in the same building). Also, another guardian, not the original requester, might arrive to close the job, which further complicates detection.
One of my initial ideas was to add an “Extension” request feature, but the clients wanted a more straightforward approach.
I ultimately designed a process that prompts users for input and let sitters clock out with the in-app camera for safety. This solution considers edge cases and minimizes manual conflict handling.
This was released in late 2024 to the Main Line of Philadelphia. Within the first week, it had over 200 downloads, and about 60% of users were active. The team is continuously gathering user feedback to improve the experience.
Designing both the user-facing and admin sides was an exciting challenge that requires planning every functionality holistically from the very beginning. I was grateful for the opportunity to work with the founders to bring their vision to life.
Hopefully, the app will soon expand across Philadelphia and into other cities. I've talked to parents outside of Philadelphia who are eagerly waiting for it to launch in their cities. It shows that this app addresses a real need that other sitter services currently lack.
“Working with Loren was a fantastic experience. She was professional, punctual, and incredibly easy to collaborate with. From the start, she immediately understood the vibe we were going for with our app and translated it into a sleek, visually compelling design. Her creativity and attention to detail made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. We couldn’t have asked for a better designer!”