Entwined - Relationship Wellness App
Entwined designed to help couples build deeper emotional connection through daily, research-based interactions. Each day, partners receive questions, exercises, or tests focused on communication, intimacy, and conflict resolution.
Role: Lead Product Designer, Co-creator
Timeframe: July 2024 - Present
In 2024, a couple from London noticed how hard it was to stay emotionally connected amid everyday routines — and saw that most existing tools didn’t really help. What began as a personal frustration grew into a concept for something new : a product designed to support emotional closeness in daily life.
When I joined, I saw that the initial direction, while heartfelt, was shaped by a single perspective. I proposed expanding beyond that — introducing a human-centered design process and widening the lens to include more diverse relationship dynamics. That shift helped lay the foundation for what Entwined is becoming today.
The Challenge
Modern relationships are under pressure — emotionally, mentally, and logistically. In a fast-paced world filled with stress, screens, and shifting roles, many couples struggle to maintain emotional closeness in daily life. The consequences are real. In the U.S. alone, nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce, and that doesn’t even account for breakups.
We set out to understand this problem on a deeper level — and to design a solution from scratch that supports emotional connection in the everyday, not just when things fall apart.
What was done
As the sole designer, I led the end-to-end design process — from research to prototyping and testing. Working closely with the founders, a relationship therapist, and developers, I helped shape the product vision and bring a functional MVP to life.
I started with 10 in-depth interviews to uncover key emotional pain points, followed by a competitive audit and several ideation rounds. To validate our direction, I tested the evolving experience with 18 couples, focusing on the emotional value of each feature. Based on this feedback, we’re now refining the final version ahead of launch.
Impact
85% of testers said Entwined helped them feel more emotionally connected — even during busy or stressful weeks.
80% of couples reported deeper conversations than usual — including topics they hadn’t touched in months.
High emotional usability: testers consistently completed tasks without pressure, describing the experience as “light but meaningful.”
Low barrier, high value: couples spent just 5–10 minutes a day, but felt more seen, appreciated, and in sync by the end of the week.
User Research. Problem Space
Rather than focusing on isolated complaints, I looked for recurring dynamics that shape connection (or erode it) over time.
Over time, conversations in relationships lose emotional depth. Communication becomes shaped by logistics — chores, calendars, parenting.
Emotional disconnection rarely feels urgent — until it is.
While therapy can be powerful, it’s often too heavy or inaccessible for day-to-day connection.
These patterns pointed to a bigger question:
What would it take to support emotional connection in real life — gently, consistently, and without overwhelming people?
“Ever since the baby was born, our conversations are mostly about feeding schedules and to-do lists — we rarely talk about us.”
Defining the opportunity
To move from insight to action, I translated emotional pain points into opportunities for design. I began with “Help Me To...” statements, capturing what people were truly asking for beneath their surface frustrations.
Having clarified the problem space and gathered a deep understanding of our users, it was time to shift gears — from listening to imagining.
We set up a dedicated space where early sketches, sticky notes, and questions could live side by side. This environment allowed us to stay immersed in the problem while giving ourselves room to explore bold, even imperfect ideas.
That’s how we stepped into the ideation phase — ready to explore what Entwined could become.
How might we encourage partners to share their thoughts and feelings in a way that deepens understanding?
How might we make it easier for couples to maintain emotional closeness despite busy schedules and daily stress?
Over 200 ideas were generated to explore how emotional connection could be supported in ways that feel light, consistent, and natural.
While the founders had an initial conceptual vision for Entwined, we collaboratively treated those ideas as starting hypotheses — assumptions that needed to be evaluated through user research and synthesis, not taken at face value.
At the same time, we recognized their strategic potential and aimed to test which aspects resonated most with real user needs.
Through clustering and prioritization, we translated early assumptions into a focused set of emotional needs grounded in research.
I created a Customer Journey Map to identify emotional highs and lows across typical relationship dynamics. This was followed by a Storyboard, based on composite interview moments, to visualize how emotional disconnect often unfolds in everyday life.
From there, we identified the core features and emotional benefits that surfaced most consistently — using them to shape the foundation of the MVP.
How might we help couples strengthen their relationship in just 10 minutes a day?
How might we normalize conversations about sensitive topics (such as sexual needs, finances, women cycle)?
Design Concept & User Testing
The Entwined concept was shaped with input from professionals in relationship psychology and is grounded in research from the American Psychological Association (APA). Our goal was to translate evidence-based insights into a simple, daily practice that feels natural, approachable, and emotionally supportive. At the heart of Entwined is a daily checklist — designed to take no more than 10 minutes — helping couples stay emotionally connected through small, intentional touchpoints.
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Journeys
Journeys – 25-day themed programs (Connection, Conflict, Communication, Intimacy) that guide couples through daily activities like questions, exercises, tests and challenges to build emotional closeness.
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Journal and Daily Hints
Journaling & Tracking – Mood and sex drive check-ins help partners stay emotionally aware and in sync, fostering mutual support and open communication.
Cycle-Based Hints – Daily behavioral suggestions tailored to the phases of her cycle, helping partners plan better support and shared connection based on real physiological rhythms.
After shaping the initial concept and prototyping the key user flows needed to validate our core offer, I ran pilot tests with 18 couples to observe what sparked emotional openness, where energy dropped, and how tone and timing influenced overall engagement.
Key Findings
Couples felt more emotionally connected — even during busy or stressful weeks.
Small, intentional moments helped them feel seen and appreciated without needing big time investments.
The lightweight structure encouraged deeper conversations.
Many opened up about things they hadn’t talked about in months — just from a few thoughtful questions.Seeing subtle progress motivated ongoing engagement.
Even small signs of growth helped couples feel like they were moving forward together.Emotional readiness varied day to day.
Sometimes tasks landed at the wrong moment — especially after conflict or fatigue.Some couples expressed interest in more personalized suggestions.
Not all daily hints resonated equally, suggesting an opportunity to better align activities with each couple’s preferences.
“She’d been tracking low mood and drive for a few days, and it finally made us sit down and talk. Turned out we were just tired and stuck in the same routine. We decided to look into getting a nanny or taking a short trip — something to take the pressure off.”
Next Steps
Each insight from testing shaped our next design decisions. Here’s how we translated key takeaways into specific product refinements:
Right now, I’m focused on finalizing the first version of the product — integrating improvements based on user research and the design decisions we've made to strengthen Entwined.
Final Thoughts
Emotional design is not just about tone — it’s about timing.
Even the most thoughtful content can fall flat if it lands at the wrong moment. I learned how much emotional context and readiness shape engagement — and how product design must flex around that.
Designing for two users at once is never straightforward.
In relationship-based products, you're not designing for a single user — you’re designing for a dynamic between people. I had to think in emotional pairs, not personas, and consider how features play out across two emotional landscapes.