A life management app built for the people who actually use it.

NDIS & Accessibility · Medium App

The client.

A disability support professional based in the Northern Territory with close to a decade of hands-on experience in the NDIS sector. He'd spent years working directly with participants, support workers, and families. He also had a personal connection to disability through his own family.

He wasn't a tech person. He was someone who'd lived this problem every single day and finally decided to do something about it.

The idea.

A mobile app that puts NDIS participants in control of their own life management. Their schedule, their health information, their support coordination, their daily routines. Not a tool for providers to manage clients. A tool for the participants themselves.

The core belief behind it was simple: participants should own their own data. They should be able to see their week at a glance, get reminders when they need them, and share specific information with the people who support them, on their own terms.

The challenge.

This wasn't a simple app. The users ranged from people with high cognitive function to participants who are legally blind or living with early-stage dementia. One design couldn't assume a single level of ability. Every screen needed to work for someone who reads confidently, someone who relies on voice prompts, and someone who needs large, clear visual cues. All at the same time.

On top of that, the app needed to support multiple user types with different levels of access. Not everyone should see the same information. Getting those permission layers right was critical because this is sensitive personal and health data.

There were also platform-specific constraints. Features like voice reminders behave differently on Android and iOS, and we had to design flows that worked within each platform's limitations while still feeling consistent to the user.

The process.

Week 1. Discovery

We started with a long first session. The client brought years of real-world stories. Specific participants he'd worked with, the workarounds they were currently using, the things that frustrated them about existing tools. We mapped out four distinct user personas, each representing a different level of ability and a different relationship with technology.

We also looked at what was already on the market. The existing options were provider-facing tools, built for organisations to manage their clients, not for participants to manage their own lives. That gap was the whole reason this app needed to exist.

Week 2. Structure

This is where the complexity became real. The app needed to handle a wide range of daily activities, each with its own set of fields, its own recurring logic, and its own rules about who could see or edit it.

We mapped out every user flow, every data relationship, and every permission boundary. The client and I went back and forth through every scenario. What happens when a support worker logs a visit. What happens when a family member opens the app. What does a participant see when they wake up in the morning.

Weeks 3 and 4. Design

Accessibility drove every design decision. We chose a highly readable, dyslexia-friendly typeface. The colour palette was intentionally muted. Soft blues, greens, and warm tones to avoid visual overwhelm. Cards were large with clear labels. Touch targets were generous. Voice prompts were integrated where the platform supported them.

The home screen was designed to give participants a clear, block-by-block view of their day. Each activity type had its own visual identity so users could scan their schedule without reading a word. We designed separate login experiences for each user type, each leading to a tailored view of the same underlying data.

Week 5. Prototype and handoff

The final prototype was fully interactive. You could tap through the entire app, add activities, navigate between days, switch user roles, and experience the permission boundaries firsthand. It wasn't a slideshow of screens. It was something the client could put in front of real users and potential investors to demonstrate exactly how the app would feel.

Alongside the prototype, I delivered complete Figma files, developer implementation notes, and a clear scope document for the development phase. The client walked away with everything needed to brief a developer and move straight into build.

The result.

A fully designed, interactive prototype covering dozens of screens across multiple user roles. A life management tool that puts participants first, with thoughtful permission layers for the people who support them.

The client came in with a strong idea and deep subject-matter expertise. My job was to turn that knowledge into something structured, tested, and ready to build. Over our weekly sessions, we went from a feature wishlist on a page to a tappable prototype that he could take straight to a developer.

That's what happens when the person you're designing for actually knows the industry inside out.

What made this project work.

• The client was a genuine subject-matter expert. He didn't need to guess what users wanted because he'd lived it.
• We designed for the hardest use case first. If the app worked for someone with vision impairment, it would work for everyone.
• Weekly sessions kept momentum high. Decisions were made in real time, not buried in email threads.
• The prototype wasn't decorative. It was functional enough to demo to investors and brief developers directly.

Related: App design for NDIS & accessibility · What is an MVP? · How the five-week process works