Woohee Byun
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Code Red


Designing a stigma-free donation platform to empower anonymous donation and access to menstrual products, aiming to reduce stigma and barriers around period care. 






TEAM
Uijin Yang, Seongjun Jeon, Geon Kim
ROLE
Strategy, Research, UX Design DURATION

20 weeksRECOGNITION

Red Dot Design Awards, UX Design Awards


PROBLEM
Period poverty is a global issue that affects millions of people who lack access to menstrual products and hygienic facilities. OUTCOME
We created a mobile platform that works as a both period tracker and a place to help people in need of menstrual products.





FINAL DESIGN

Community


Share your concerns or get right information about female health in this safe, no-judgement community.


Period Calendar


Track your period cycle and record physical and emotional symptoms to identify your own patterns!


Donation Map


Donate cash or items to girls and women nearby. You’ll get thank you message from supportees, create stronger emotional bond between you two.







DESK RESEARCH

Period Products Taxed as Luxury

Every month, 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate according to Unicef. As period supplies like tampons and sanitary towels are necessity for women, it is taxed in many countries with the name of “tampon tax.”

It is no exception in developed countries. In fact, the stigma of menstruation remains even in more advanced nations.




COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

Who are the competitors?

Based on transparency and ease of use, two core principles for digital donation platform, I was able to map out the competitors in the matrix.






PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Disconnected from support that exists

With various approaches to solve the issue - period supply drive, free product dispenser, and donation - I have discovered issues from current solution:






IDEATION

We’ve all been there. You, Me, and Her.

 After identifying problems that current solution have, I came up with a solution to close the both gaps - a period tracker app as a primary platform with an additional feature to donate products or cash.

According to BMC Women’s Health, unpredicted nature of periods and common experience of not having a menstrual product available when needed resulted in the culture of product sharing. 

I focused on this common experience and designed an app to trigger users of bonding experience as well as sense of community by sharing.






CHALLENGE


23% of donors drop out after their first donation

From prior research, we have identified the consistent drop-out of donors. According to Fundraising Effectiveness Project: around 23% of donors churn just 6 months after their first donation, which means almost 70% of donors 
give only once to an organization.

To prevent these common friction points from donation system, we have added features to strengthen emotional connection between donors and donees.






USER PERSONA

We’ve all been there. You, Me, and Her.

Based on the donation system, we set two separate user personas - supporter who take interest in period poverty issue and donate & supportee who is looking for help to get period supplies.

With details in our user persona, we were able to thoroughly create the system that both target users can be benefited from.



INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE





WIREFRAMES








SOLUTION

A safe space without stigma or the stress of affording menstruation

 Through an intuitive donation flow and community-focused UX, Code Red helps users give or receive period care without fear of stigma or financial burden. Beyond the app, we designed campaign posters and a vending machine concept to create visibility in real-world spaces for whom don’t have access to mobile devices.






















BRANDING

Building a Brand Identity

We created a comprehensive design system that goes beyond what is used in the final design. We built this following WCAG AA accessibility guidelines.







OUTCOME & IMPACT

Where It Landed

Code Red was awarded the Red Dot Junior Award, recognizing our ability to turn a socially driven concept into a functional, emotionally resonant product. More importantly, the process deepened my belief that constant communication and iteration are essential not just for alignment, but for unlocking unexpected ideas. It taught me how to grow a concept from spark to system, balancing impact, usability, and collaboration skills I now bring into every team I join.






REFLECTIONS

What did I learn from this project?

From Concept to Clarity
Our original idea for Code Red barely scratched the surface. Through rounds of ideation, feedback, and prototyping, the concept grew into something far more powerful. Every iteration unlocked new perspectives—not just on the product, but on the real needs we were trying to meet.

Speak Early, Move Faster
One of the biggest lessons was internal: clear communication is everything. Even when I hesitated to speak up, thinking I might slow things down, being open actually made our process smoother and more aligned. Collaboration only works when everyone feels informed and involved—and I’ll carry that into every team I join.

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    ©Woohee 2025