Wher – Safe Navigation App for Women

Project Overview

Experience and interface design for the first app that suggests safe routes for women, based on collaborative assessments of streets and regions. The project involved extensive European research and user-centered design to create a navigation tool that prioritizes safety alongside efficiency.

Key Achievements

• Research with 178 women across 6 European cities (Milan, Turin, Catania, London, Barcelona, and Berlin)
• Created comprehensive personas and empathy maps to guide design decisions
• Structured intuitive screen flows and user journeys for improved navigation clarity
• Designed collaborative safety rating system for streets and neighborhoods
• App launched with 4.7-star average rating in app stores
• Featured in international press as pioneering safety-first navigation solution

Impact Metrics

Design Process

Research Phase: Conducted in-depth qualitative research across 6 major European cities, gathering insights from 178 women about their safety concerns, navigation habits, and desired features.

Persona Development: Created detailed personas and empathy maps representing different user groups (commuters, night workers, tourists, students) to ensure the design met diverse needs.

UX Design: Structured clear user journeys that balanced safety information with usability, ensuring the app remained intuitive even under stress or time pressure.

Collaborative Safety: Designed a community-driven safety rating system where users could share assessments of routes, creating a constantly updated knowledge base.