Role: Product Designer & Builder
Tools: Lovable, Notion
Timeline: Early 2026 (Beta)
Status: Private beta

The Problem

We’ve always heard, “it takes a village” yet, modern parents are navigating childcare in isolation.

Dual income households are experiencing unexpected school closures, sick days, cost barriers and limited family support. Parents are experiencing demand at work like they don’t have families and family demands as if they don’t have work. Traditional childcare systems cover predictable needs but families live in the unpredictable gaps.

Meanwhile, we’re more digitally connected than ever yet less embedded in our local communities.

The opportunity:
Could technology rebuild hyperlocal trust networks? Not to replace childcare, but to redistribute its burden?

The Vision

Tayxsa is a community-powered app that enables families to:

• Share childcare responsibilities in trusted circles
• Discover and host kid-friendly events
• Connect around shared values, interests, and needs

Instead of defaulting to transactional, for-profit solutions, Tayxsa helps parents build mutual support systems rooted in reciprocity and trust.

My Role

I designed and built Tayxsa end-to-end using Lovable and Notion from product strategy through interaction design, systems modeling, and beta launch.

This project required:

• Defining the product vision and value exchange
• Mapping trust and safety systems
• Designing multi-sided user flows (hosts + parents)
• Creating the information architecture
• Designing onboarding and behavioral guidance
• Shipping a working beta

Product Strategy

Tayxsa functions as a two-sided trust marketplace, with unique constraints:

• Events involve children
• Trust must be earned, not assumed
• Parents are time-poor and cognitively overloaded

The core design challenge was balancing:

• Ease of use
• Safety transparency
• Social friction reduction
• Clear reciprocity norms

Key User Journeys

1. Hosting an Event

Designed to reduce friction while maintaining safety controls.

Parents can:

• Define event type, date, time, and location
• Set capacity limits
• Specify age ranges and interests
• Add accommodations (allergies, neurodivergence, etc.)
• Configure privacy (invite-only, approval required, visibility level)

Design decision:
Make safety configuration part of the creation flow to normalize intentional hosting.

2. Finding & Booking Events

Busy parents need clarity fast.

Users can:

• Filter by child’s age and interests
• Browse by date range and proximity
• Review host profiles and mutual connections
• See safety parameters before requesting
• Request attendance and receive confirmation

Design decision:
Surface trust signals early (mutuals, profile completeness, history of hosted events) to reduce cognitive load during booking.

3. Profile & Family Management

Parents manage:

• Child profiles (DOB, allergies, accommodations)
• Interest mapping to event categories
• Event history (hosted and attended)
• Contact and social links

Design decision:
Profiles are structured to make compatibility visible without oversharing sensitive data.

4. Onboarding

Tayxsa introduces:

• The community reciprocity model
• How to host and how to attend
• Safety expectations and norms

Playful iconography and guided flows were designed to make onboarding feel welcoming — not procedural.

Beta Learnings (Early Insights)

Tayxsa launched in early 2026 to a limited beta group.

“I love the idea, I wish it had existed when my middles were little.”

-Robyn, Mom of 4

Initial findings:

• Security and ratings were paramount
• Trust indicators strongly influence booking behavior
• Calendar integration is critical for adoption
• Hosting requires emotional reassurance, not just UI clarity

Beta Testing & Iteration

Tayxsa launched to a closed beta of 15 parents to validate trust signals, usability, and real-world hosting behavior.

Through moderated feedback sessions and in-app observation, several friction points emerged particularly around trust transparency, scheduling reliability, and social proof.

Key Improvements Shipped Post-Testing

1. Bi-Directional Rating System

Insight:
Parents wanted stronger trust signals before committing to events involving their children.

Solution:
I implemented a post-event, bi-directional rating system:

• Hosts rate guests
• Guests rate hosts
• Ratings surface on user profiles

This introduced accountability on both sides of the marketplace and reinforced community norms.

Impact:
Increased perceived safety and confidence in booking decisions.

---

2. Calendar System Upgrades

Insight:
Parents rely heavily on external calendars. Manual event entry created friction and risk of missed commitments.

Solution:

• Direct integration with major calendar providers
• Manual date entry (instead of picker-only input)
• Recurring event support
• Recurrence detail customization

Impact:
Reduced scheduling errors and aligned the product with real parent workflows.

---

3. Social Visibility via Guest Lists

Insight:
Trust increases when parents see familiar names attached to events.

Solution:

• Searchable friend connections
• Visibility into events friends are attending
• View hosted events by specific users

This strengthened the “community fabric” layer of the product.

Impact:
Improved social proof and reduced booking hesitation.

---

4. Enhanced Filtering & Accessibility Awareness

Insight:
Parents of children with special accommodations needed more precise filtering.

Solution:

• Filter by special accommodations
• Toggle between free and paid events

This made the platform more inclusive and transparent.

Impact:
Improved discoverability and reduced browsing fatigue.

What Makes This Work Meaningful

Tayxsa is not just a scheduling app.

It is a behavioral design experiment in:

• Rebuilding local trust networks
• Designing reciprocity systems
• Supporting overstretched caregivers
• Using technology to reduce (not increase) social isolation

Be part of Beta:

Sign up and experience Tayxsa for yourself.