Find a Sitter Today (FAST)

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

See Press
FAST screens

Background

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.

MVP

I set out to design the app along with an admin portal from scratch; some of the main flows in the app includes:

  • User signup/onboarding/profiles & Background checks
  • Booking a sitter now or scheduled one for future
  • Sitter accepting a request
  • Parent tracking the job and sitter location
  • Sitter Clockout
  • Parent Payment, Sitter Cashout
FAST wireframes
My initial sketches to align stakeholders on project scope

Homescreen Strategies

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.

Showing number of sitters online to encourage parents to book sitters.
Showing pre-saved Home or another saved location
Two main actions for parents
Parent
Sitter
FAST screens
Upcoming scheduled bookings
Weekly earnings that links to payouts
The main actions for sitters: going online or offline

Booking a sitter

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.

Sitter clocking out

Challenge

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.

Solution

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.

A flowchart I created to map out all possible job completion scenarios

More app screen designs

FAST screens
Editing a completed job
FAST screens
Sitter onboarding and preference settings
FAST screens
Other user settings

Admin Portal Design

FAST screens
User management in the admin portal

Reflections

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!

Ashley Clark
Co-founder, Find a Sitter Today