SafeSteps
At-A-Glance
SafeSteps is a mobile safety/navigation app built for people traveling alone at night. With one-tap walk tracking, live location sharing, essentials at hand, and discreet soft alerts, it prioritizes simplicity in moments when it matters most. The experience removes friction, communicates clearly, and gives both the traveler and their loved ones reassurance—without adding stress.
Peace of Mind for
Nighttime Travel
Role
Type
Time
Tools
UX research, user flows, wireframing, interaction design, high-fidelity UI
Sole Project
15 days
Figma
Figjam
Framer
Discovery & Research
1.1 Intro & Concept Origin
Where the idea came from?...
“Many of my friends (especially women) said they feel unsafe walking home alone.”
“I noticed that safety apps exist, but they’re often clunky or overly serious.”
“I realized people juggle multiple apps—maps, messaging, and emergencies—which can be overwhelming and distracting during a walk.”
“I wanted to design something emotionally intelligent — calm, not alarming and pleasant to use.”
‘’My background as a police officer.’’
6
participants
“Below are six interviews I conducted to explore and validate initial assumptions:”
Provide an easy-to-use emergency button for instant alerts, optimize it to be easy to activate quickly, even with one hand or in low-light conditions, while avoiding accidental triggers
Users want a fast, easy way to call for help without hassle or attention.
KEY INSIGHTS
Quick Emergency Access
Users want to share their route and stops with trusted contacts for safety. They often stop at essentials like groceries or pharmacies while walking.
Allow easy route sharing including planned stops and nearby essentials, with automatic ETA updates for better check-ins.
Flexible Route Sharing with Essentials
Users need a simple way to share how they feel without triggering alarms or stress.
Add a discreet “soft alert” to share status (e.g., “okay” or “uneasy”) with location to reassure contacts.
Low-Key Emotional Check-Ins
1.2 Competitors_Audit
1.4 Prioritization Matrix
1.3 Problem Statement
To understand the existing landscape of personal safety tools, I reviewed 4 popular apps Life360, bSafe, Noonlight, WhatsApp (as a companion tool). Each offered valuable features such as real-time tracking, SOS alerts, and safe route guidance, but most showed clear gaps when it came to combining calm communication, walking navigation, and nearby essential stops into one seamless experience. This audit helped identify opportunities to design a simpler, more reassuring tool that addresses the needs revealed in user interviews.
Interface can feel cluttered and complex for quick use.
Overemphasis on constant tracking may feel invasive.
Lacks integrated navigation tailored to walking at night.
Real-time location sharing with multiple contacts.
Automatic crash detection and emergency response.
Broad adoption and trust recognition.
UI feels dated, with too many steps to trigger actions.
Alerts can be overly alarming, increasing anxiety.
Limited “calm” mode for non-emergencies.
SOS feature with audio and video evidence capture.
Live GPS tracking with route sharing.
Voice activation for hands-free emergency alerts.
Limited integration with personal contacts.
No “quick check-in” features or essentials map.
Data coverage for safe routes can be inconsistent.
Focuses on safe walking routes at night.
Highlights well-lit streets and safer areas.
Minimal, night-friendly design.
Not designed for safety — location sharing is hidden in menus.
No dedicated emergency or distress feature.
No dedicated emergency or distress feature.
Familiar and widely used by all age groups.
Easy to share live location temporarily.
Simple to communicate in real time.
I used a 2×2 prioritization matrix to categorize potential features based on user necessity and priority. From this, I defined the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to focus on the most critical safety needs.
Must Have
Should Have
Could Have
Won’t Have
Necessary for the product
Significant in the long run
Slightly increase product’s
worth
Can be ignored for now
Real-time walking navigation with safe route suggestions
Route scheduling with planned stops & ETA updates
Integration with music or podcasts
In-app messaging or chat rooms
Soft alerts for “Feeling uneasy” or “All good” check-ins
Customizable trusted contacts list with quick access
Optional wearable device integration (smartwatch check-ins)
Ride-hailing integration
Emergency button with instant location sharing
Location-based push reminders for check-ins
Community-sourced safe spot ratings
Public “walk together” meetups
Essentials map showing nearby groceries, pharmacies, and safe spots
Safe route history and recent walk logs
Walking alone at night often causes unease rather than immediate danger, leaving many people seeking reassurance without wanting to trigger emergency alarms. Current solutions like WhatsApp and navigation apps require manual effort, lack integration, and don’t address the middle ground between casual check-ins and emergencies. Existing safety apps tend to be either too complex, intrusive, or designed only for high-risk situations, leaving a gap for a simple, calm, and user-controlled tool that combines route sharing, soft alerts, access to nearby essentials, and an emergency option — all accessible even on wearable devices.
Soft alerts
Emergency
Navigation
Essentials
02. Empathize
2.1 Persona
Name:
Occupation:
Location:
Living situation:
Nina, 27
Masters Student & part
time receptionist
London
Lives with 2 flatmates
Background:
Nina is a 28-year-old Master’s student and part-time receptionist living in London. She often walks home alone at night after social events, late library sessions, or finishing a late shift at work. Managing different apps for navigation and safety can feel overwhelming, and she wishes for a simple tool that combines these needs. Nina values sharing her location discreetly with close contacts through soft alerts—letting them know if she’s okay or feeling uneasy—while having an easy-to-access emergency button for urgent situations. She sometimes stops for essentials like groceries or pharmacies along her route, which she wants to include smoothly in her journey.
“I just want a bit of quiet reassurance—that someone knows I’m with them— safety apps always feel too serious and drama-filled.”
Goals
Frustrations
Needs
Feel reassured when walking home alone after late shifts or nights out
Current safety apps are either too alarmist or complicated
Having to switch between google maps and separate emergency apps is disruptive and confusing in urgent moments.
Multitasks and often needs quick, simple interactions.
Optional emergency SOS for backup, but not the main focus
Smooth smartwatch integration for quick, hands-free use
Share route, ETA, and essential stops easily with trusted contacts
Use a calm, non-intrusive way to check in without constant messaging
😣
🛠️
📌
2.2 Journey Map
Leaving the venue & Sharing location with friends
Opens Navigation App and manually texts friends on Whatsapp
‘’I want someone to know where I am without making a fuss, but I don’t want to keep texting.’’
Cautious
Manually texting is easy to forget or feels awkward; switching between apps can be distracting
Opens a separate emergency app just in case
Stops to buy groceries
Experiences a moment of discomfort because of a stranger
Completes the walk and informs contacts
“Glad to be home safely. Wish this was simpler next time.”
Relieved
Multiple apps and manual steps create friction
“I want to let someone know quietly that I’m feeling off and maybe share location?”
Wary
No easy way to send low-pressure check-ins
“I wish my route could easily include stops without breaking the flow.”
Frustrated
Current apps force breaking or restarting navigation
“It feels too serious; I’m not sure if I want to activate it now.”
Unsure
Emergency apps feel intimidating and overly alarmist
Using an Emergency App
Making a Quick Stop(essentials)
Feeling Unease
Arriving Home Safely
Actions
Scenario
Thoughts
Feelings
Opportunities
🕵️♀️
🤔
😤
😟
😮💨
"How might we help people feel reassured and connected on their way home at night without creating unnecessary alarm or breaking their route?"
03. IDEATE
3.1 Project Brief
Project Name: SafeSteps
Goal:
Design a mobile experience that acts as a calm, reliable companion for people walking home at night — giving them control over navigation, safety alerts, and quick detours, without the intensity or friction of traditional safety apps.
Target Users:
Urban dwellers, students, and professionals who often walk home at night and want discreet reassurance rather than constant monitoring or dramatic alerts.
Core Features:
• Navigation: Clear, night-friendly maps for familiar and unfamiliar routes.
• Soft Alerts: Discreet, one-tap notifications to trusted contacts, shared only when the user chooses.
• Essentials Stops: Seamless rerouting to nearby late-night essentials (e.g., shops, pharmacies) without disrupting the main journey.
• Emergency Access: A quick-access button for urgent situations, designed to be intuitive yet unobtrusive.
• Apple Watch Integration
3.2 Wireframes
Start the trip by choosing between walk or transportations and pick destination
Start with one tap
Three core features
Check ins
Emergency
Show nearby Essentials
Safe spots appear always on the map in case of emergency
Navigation Status Panel
Updates dynamically
Incorporates common detours without disrupting the main navigation flow.
Enables quick, low-pressure status updates without overwhelming contacts
Feeling Uneasy
All Good !
[ Soft Alerts/ Check ins ]
Keeps users connected with trusted contacts calmly, fostering reassurance.
Trusted contact notifications
[ Emergency Button ]
Offers a fallback for serious situations without dominating the interface.
Minimizes user anxiety by keeping emergency options hidden until needed.
Deactivate with 6 digit phone password
Both trusted contacts and emergency services informed.
[ Essentials ]
Supports realistic user behavior, improving convenience and trust.
Activate/deactivate saved contacts or add new
Frame 1 / Start Walk screen
Frame 2 / Setup trip
Frame 3 / Start navigation
Frame 4 / Show nearby Essential
Frame 5 / Check-Ins
Frame 6 / Contact’s screen
Frame 7 / Emergency Button
🚶♂️
🚌
🛡️
🛡️
🛡️
🛡️
Below is the conceptual idea of the app. Many elements have been tested and refined and changed during the Hi-Fidelity design process. The main focus was to establish the core features and define the overall functionality clearly.
The app centers around three principal buttons: Check-In, Emergency, and Essentials. This simple, focused approach ensures quick access to key actions without overwhelming the user.
The same design philosophy has been applied to the Apple Watch UI, minimizing clutter and presenting only the most crucial information, making interactions fast, intuitive, and stress-free during use.
04. PROTOTYPE
4.1 Design System
The design system was built to feel modern, approachable, and intuitive, reflecting the calm reassurance the app aims to provide. I chose Urbanist as the typeface for its clean, geometric lines and high legibility, ensuring clarity across both mobile and wearable devices. The deep blues and purples were selected for their suitability in night-time usage, creating a sense of comfort without glare. Vibrant accents of signal green add instant visibility for key actions, guiding the user’s attention in critical moments while keeping the overall look balanced and calm.
Buttons & Icons
Alert Red
Alarm Button
#FF0000
Urgent Coral
Post emergency UI
#FF6B6B
Color Palette
Twilight Blue
Setup Background
#F1F5F9 - #263393
Silver Mist
Main text
#D6D6D6
Electric Green
Route, Positive feedback
#00FF7B
Graphite Hues
Map
#2F2F2F
#494949
#6D6D6D
#ADADAD
Urban Aura
Cards, input
#182BA3 - #A558E5
Trust Purple
Logo, accents
#A558E5
Style
Font Size
Weight
Use
H1
H2
H3
Body
Typography
Small Text
36-48px
28px
24px
18-20px
14-16px
X.Bold
SemiBold
Urbanist
Aa
Medium
Medium
Regular/light
Logo, Initial button
Section headings,pop ups
Cards, Buttons
Main copy, dashboard text
Notifications text
Logo
4.2 High Fidelity Design
Find Close by Essentails
Soft Alerts to keep friends updated
Emergency Button
4.3 Key Features
Quickly reroute to nearby necessities like grocery stores, pharmacies, or coffee shops without breaking your journey. Essentials seamlessly adjusts your path, so you stay on track while making convenient stops.
Send discreet location updates to your trusted contacts, giving them peace of mind without raising unnecessary alarms. Perfect for moments when you just want quiet reassurance.
Press and hold the button for 3 seconds to activate emergency protocols, notifying emergency services and trusted contacts with your live location. The delay helps avoid accidental activation.
Seamless Apple Watch Integration
4.4 Apple Watch Integration
The app extends its core features to the Apple Watch, offering quick access to route sharing, soft alerts, and emergency assistance right from the wrist. Designed for one-handed, glanceable use, the watch interface keeps users connected and reassured without distraction, perfect for on-the-go safety during night walks.
4.5 Apple Store Preview
From Concept to Storefront
The app is presented in a realistic Apple Store mockup, showcasing how it would appear to users browsing for personal safety tools. The preview highlights its clean interface, intuitive controls, and key features like route sharing, discreet check-ins, and emergency support — all designed for both iPhone and Apple Watch.
This full user flow demo walks through the entire experience — from setting a destination and adding trusted contacts, seek for essentials, sending soft alerts, navigating safely, and activating the emergency button — showing how each step works seamlessly together.
4.6 End-to-End Experience
05. REFLECTION
What I’ve Learned?
#1. User-Centered Design for Stressful Contexts
#3.Ensuring Scalability and Integration
#2. Integrating Multiple Features Seamlessly
Designing for users in potentially anxious situations underscored the need for intuitive, low-friction interactions. Features had to be accessible with minimal cognitive load, ensuring users can operate the app quickly and confidently during their walks.
Combining navigation, soft alerts, essentials, and emergency functions in one app revealed the challenge of maintaining a clean UI while supporting complex workflows. Prioritizing core tasks and designing for progressive disclosure helped keep the experience streamlined.
Building for both mobile and wearable devices required careful planning to maintain consistent user experience and functionality across platforms.
Next Step
#1. Community-Sourced Safe Spots
#2. Integrate Music and Podcasts
#3. Conduct In-Depth Usability Testing:
Implement a feature where users can rate and share trusted “safe spots” like well-lit stores or friendly cafes, helping others plan safer routes based on real experiences.
Explore partnerships or APIs to seamlessly integrate popular audio apps, allowing users to enjoy entertainment without leaving the safety app, reducing app-switching distractions while walking.
Run extensive user testing sessions with diverse participants to uncover pain points and refine interactions.
© 2025 Taxiarhis P.
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