Siya Jain Product + UX Designer Let’s Connect
  • UI/UX Design
  • Industrial Design

What if dignity was designed into the system?

Role
Project Manager
Timeline
10 weeks · Fall 2025
Team
13 people
The Helping Mamas system: standalone and wall-mounted vending units, kit packaging and reusable pouches, all in soft rose.

Problem

Low-income individuals struggle to access menstrual products, and schools and libraries lack the resources, storage and restocking to supply them consistently.

Solution

A menstrual care ecosystem of modular dispensers, bundled kits, tap-to-access cards, sustainable packaging and awareness campaigns, making distribution dignified, efficient and scalable.

Impact

Client-approved and production-bound, with a scalable menstrual care ecosystem designed for deployment across 100 locations.

01 · The Challenge

Period Poverty in Public Spaces

Proof that period poverty still keeps dreams on hold. Menstruation remains one of the most common reasons for absence, silence and stigma in public spaces.

1 in 5

students in the U.S., and 23% globally, face barriers to menstrual care.

  1. Access

    Many schools lack dedicated period product infrastructure.

  2. Affordability

    1 in 4 menstruators struggle to afford products regularly.

  3. Awareness

    Periods are still stigmatized; conversations happen behind closed doors.

The client

Helping Mamas Has the Supplies, Distribution Is the Challenge

Helping Mamas is a nonprofit that provides essential baby and period products to women and children in need. Today, five vans travel to schools, shelters and community centers, and the model runs into the same walls again and again.

  • Unpredictable supply
  • Limited coverage
  • Inefficient logistics
  • Lack of dignity
  • No real-time data

The ask

Create a dignified, compact and adaptable solution that not only distributes products, but also raises awareness, rethinks packaging, and explores beyond the machine.

02 · Research

Research Insights

We spoke to the people affected, read what’s been written and went to the places where access breaks down.

70+
interviews with students, staff and partners
100+
articles and reports on menstrual equity
20
site visits to schools, libraries and community centers

What the numbers say

41%
rise in the average price of a pack of pads since 2019
4 in 5
girls hide their period products when they walk out of class
2 in 5
have worn products longer than recommended for lack of replacements
82%
of the people we interviewed find prices “too expensive for something so essential”

Menstrual product inaccessibility is structural, driven by inflation, stigma and institutional gaps, not an individual shortcoming.

Six insights that shaped the design

Key pain points. From the system side: refill burden on staff, a community-based distribution model, and period poverty isn’t only lack of awareness. From the user side: variety of needs in limited space, access isn’t enough because dignity matters, and design should feel supportive, not clinical.

Five pillars of dignity

  • Choice
  • Access
  • Experience
  • Equity
  • Sustainability

How might we

design a dignified, sustainable and reliable machine for menstrual products, so it’s always accessible to those who need it?

03 · The Ecosystem

Four Parts of Bloom

Bloom rethinks how menstrual care is distributed, accessed and experienced. Four touchpoints work as one, building an environment of dignity, not dependency. Pick one to see its role.

BloomTap a touchpoint
The standalone unit with its frosted front and rows of kits.

Product experience

The Vending Machine

Wall-mounted and standalone units that dispense two curated kits in schools, libraries and community spaces.

Design criteria

  • Product Capacity

    Serve consistent demand.

  • Cost & Scalability

    Affordable on a nonprofit budget, adaptable to different contexts.

  • Accessibility

    Ease, privacy and comfort of use.

  • Sustainability

    Responsible materials and lifecycle.

  • UX Simplicity

    Clear enough to use without instructions.

  • Feasibility

    Practical in time, material and maintenance.

04 · Exploration

Product Exploration

We sketched this many because we tested every idea against the design criteria, looking for the one direction that met all of them. Only the concepts that held up were refined further.

Machine sketches and refined grey concept models, with the preferred direction highlighted in rose.
200+ machine sketches
Packaging sketches, from boxes to pouches, with the preferred direction highlighted in rose.
150+ packaging sketches

05 · The Experience

The User Journey

A student’s path through Bloom, in five moments.

  1. A student notices the Helping Mamas unit in a school hallway.01

    Discover

    An approachable presence that normalizes access and invites her in with warmth, not stigma.

  2. She browses the unit’s screen.02

    Explore

    Clear visuals and simple language on the screen make the kits easy to understand.

  3. She holds up her Helping Mamas card.03

    Tap

    One tap of her card redeems her monthly access. Simple, dignified, free from dependence.

  4. She collects her kit from the retrieval bay.04

    Receive

    Her chosen kit is dispensed instantly, packed for ease and comfort.

  5. She walks away down the hallway, the pouch on her backpack.05

    Carry

    Discreet packaging fits her routine. She carries away confidence, not just a product.

Storyboard illustrations are AI generated.

06 · The Machines

Machine Sizes

Through testing, feedback and iteration, one system embodied everything Helping Mamas stood for: a wall unit for small spaces and three standalone sizes that scale with demand.

Capacity
Size
Dispensing
Refilling
Ideal for
The wall-mounted unit, front view.

Wall mounted

  1. Buttons for Dispensing

    One button for each of the two Helping Mamas kits.

  2. Tap-to-Redeem Card Reader

    Tap or swipe the Helping Mamas card to redeem free products.

  3. Product Retrieval Bay

    A rounded, open compartment for easy, hygienic collection.

  4. Refill Panel

    A small side door lets staff restock quickly.

The standalone unit, with a frosted front, a screen and a hand icon over the pickup area.

Standalone

  1. Screen Interface

    A small touch screen for kit selection, refill alerts and gentle awareness messages.

  2. Frosted Display

    A see-through front shows the kits inside, building trust and transparency.

  3. Retrieval Box

    The hand icon signals where to pick up.

  4. Refill Door

    A discreet side door for quick, hygienic refills.

07 · Packaging & Card

Kits, Pouch and Card

What someone carries out of the bathroom matters as much as the machine. The packaging and the card were designed to be discreet, durable and personal.

Rose vacuum-sealed kit packs with a heart graphic.

Primary packaging · Evoseal

Evoseal Kit

Vacuum sealing keeps every kit hygienic and small. The pack is moisture-resistant and wipe-clean, and sits securely on sinks and ledges.

Kit 1
16 pads · 14 tampons
Kit 2
6 pads · 24 tampons

Secondary packaging · Evia

Evia Pouch

A foldable pouch to discreetly carry 2–4 pads, in synthetic leather with a soft fabric interior and a slot for the Helping Mamas card. Clip it to a bag or carry it on its own.

The rose reusable pouch, open, holding pads. The pouch on a strap, to clip onto a bag.
The Helping Mamas access card.

The Helping Mamas card

Monthly Access Card

  • Tap once per month to receive a curated kit.
  • Smart tracking monitors need and manages refills.
  • Privacy-first: no personal data, only dignity and access metrics.

The campaign

Awareness Posters

  • Poster: Stronger than her cycle.
  • Poster: Step out without barriers.
  • Poster: Productivity flows with support.
  • Poster: Freedom shouldn’t pause.
  • Poster: Rest without shame.

08 · Impact & Learnings

Outcome and What I Learned

  1. Individual

    Empowerment and confidence.

  2. Institutional

    Improved attendance and inclusivity.

  3. Societal

    Normalizing period conversations.

  1. 01

    Leading for the First Time

    The challenge

    This was my first time as a Project Manager: leading a team, making decisions and delegating without formal leadership experience.

    What I learned

    How to establish clarity, build trust and lead through alignment rather than control.

  2. 02

    Managing Parallel Workstreams

    The challenge

    Running research, design and system development at once made timelines, dependencies and alignment hard to keep in sync.

    What I learned

    To prioritize communication, set clear checkpoints and adapt plans as constraints changed.

  3. 03

    Designing for Dignity at Scale

    The challenge

    Turning a sensitive mission around menstrual dignity into practical, scalable decisions was emotionally and strategically complex.

    What I learned

    To balance empathy with feasibility, so the solution stays respectful, maintainable and impactful.

The SCADserve team with Helping Mamas, in front of the Helping Mamas wall.

Enabling women to embrace their periods as moments of dignity and strength, not sacrifice or shame