5
Women interviewed
3
Campaign stages
2
Core motifs
1
Cross-platform campaign
"
How will people talk about menopause
if they don't know much about it?
-Key Insight
How will people talk about menopause
if they don't know much about it?
-Key Insight
5 Key findings
5 Key findings
Format Matters
Format Matters
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Medidical Professionals
Medidical Professionals
All participants identified the NHS as the most reliable source were valued for its lack of commercial agenda and plain language. Private brands were met with scepticism.
All participants identified the NHS as the most reliable source were valued for its lack of commercial agenda and plain language. Private brands were met with scepticism.
Lived Experience & Facts
Lived Experience & Facts
Every lady wanted both "concrete medical facts" and real stories from other women. Neither alone felt enough.
Every lady wanted both "concrete medical facts" and real stories from other women. Neither alone felt enough.
Anonymity
Anonymity
Users will consume others' stories but won't share their own unless fully anonymous. Any community or sharing feature must protect identity completely.
Users will consume others' stories but won't share their own unless fully anonymous. Any community or sharing feature must protect identity completely.
Interviews with women aged 20–65, plus input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Interviews with women aged 20–65, plus input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
5 Key findings
Format Matters
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Medidical Professionals
All participants identified the NHS as the most reliable source were valued for its lack of commercial agenda and plain language. Private brands were met with scepticism.
Lived Experience & Facts
Every lady wanted both "concrete medical facts" and real stories from other women. Neither alone felt enough.
Anonymity
Users will consume others' stories but won't share their own unless fully anonymous. Any community or sharing feature must protect identity completely.
Interviews with women aged 20–65, plus input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Research confirmed what instinct suspected: menopause is not being discussed, especially among younger women. It is viewed as a "disgrace" in some cultures, a subject for "banter" in UK workplaces, and an ignored topic in schools.
Research confirmed what instinct suspected: menopause is not being discussed, especially among younger women. It is viewed as a "disgrace" in some cultures, a subject for "banter" in UK workplaces, and an ignored topic in schools.
One interview participant, aged 20, had only learned about menopause two years prior. Another only learned because of a cause she was following , otherwise, she said, she probably wouldn't have looked it up at all.
One interview participant, aged 20, had only learned about menopause two years prior. Another only learned because of a cause she was following , otherwise, she said, she probably wouldn't have looked it up at all.
Misinformation fills the void. But the misinformation is a symptom. The root problem is the silence.
Misinformation fills the void. But the misinformation is a symptom. The root problem is the silence.
Interviews with women aged 20–65. Input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Interviews with women aged 20–65. Input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Result
In the app, users select a menopause stage. Pick a symptom as a track. Press play and learn what is really happening in the body.
The Pause function identifies what's wrong and links directly to correct, trustworthy information. Ignorance, interrupted.
Result
In the app, users select a menopause stage. Pick a symptom as a track. Press play and learn what is really happening in the body.
The Pause function identifies what's wrong and links directly to correct, trustworthy information. Ignorance, interrupted.
Canesten
Overview
Menopause, over half of the population will are or will be acquainted with it, yet conversations around it remain limited, uncomfortable, and often delayed until symptoms begin. While researching female intimate health, I realised something important: People cannot talk about menopause if they don’t know enough about it to begin with. This project began as a digital platform to highlight menopause misinformation. However, through research, interviews, and iteration, the problem evolved into something larger: The issue was not simply misinformation. The issue was silence.
Client
Canesten(University Project)
5
Women interviewed
2
Core motifs
1
Cross-platform campaign
3
Campaign stages
Research confirmed what instinct suspected: menopause is not being discussed, especially among younger women. It is viewed as a "disgrace" in some cultures, a subject for "banter" in UK workplaces, and an ignored topic in schools.
One interview participant, aged 20, had only learned about menopause two years prior. Another only learned because of a cause she was following , otherwise, she said, she probably wouldn't have looked it up at all.
Misinformation fills the void. But the misinformation is a symptom. The root problem is the silence.
"
How will people talk about menopause
if they don't know much about it?
-Key Insight
5 Key findings
5 Key findings
Interviews with women aged 20–65, plus input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Interviews with women aged 20–65, plus input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Format Matters
Format Matters
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Medidical Professionals
All participants identified the NHS as the most reliable source were valued for its lack of commercial agenda and plain language. Private brands were met with scepticism.
Lived Experience & Facts
Lived Experience & Facts
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Short videos, diagrams, and digestible chunks were consistently preferred over long articles. Accessibility of format is as important as accuracy of information.
Anonymity
Anonymity
Users will consume others' stories but won't share their own unless fully anonymous. Any community or sharing feature must protect identity completely.
Users will consume others' stories but won't share their own unless fully anonymous. Any community or sharing feature must protect identity completely.
Design Decisions
Interviews with women aged 20–65, plus input from a medical professional, surfaced consistent patterns across generational lines, and a clear direction for the solution.
Music as Metaphor
The album-cover UI was stripped back so the music language works quietly. The intention was to be a wordplay on the "pause" within Menopause. The metaphor just makes it feel approachable rather than clinical.
Campaign first, platform-second
Research showed that younger women aren't searching for menopause information. The physical campaign reaches them passively, in bathrooms, at bus stops, on social media. All before they know they need it.
Credited Sources Linked
Every piece of symptom information links to the NHS and other credible sources. This directly addresses the research finding that women trust the NHS over commercial brands.
Design Decisions
Design
Decisions
Design
Decisions
Music as Metaphor
Music as Metaphor
The album-cover UI was stripped back so the music language works quietly. The intention was to be a wordplay on the "pause" within Menopause. The metaphor just makes it feel approachable rather than clinical.
The album-cover UI was stripped back so the music language works quietly. The intention was to be a wordplay on the "pause" within Menopause. The metaphor just makes it feel approachable rather than clinical.
Campaign first, platform-second
Campaign first, platform-second
Research showed that younger women aren't searching for menopause information. The physical campaign reaches them passively, in bathrooms, at bus stops, on social media. All before they know they need it.
Research showed that younger women aren't searching for menopause information. The physical campaign reaches them passively, in bathrooms, at bus stops, on social media. All before they know they need it.
Credited Sources Linked
Credited Sources Linked
Every piece of symptom information links to the NHS and other credible sources. This directly addresses the research finding that women trust the NHS over commercial brands.
Every piece of symptom information links to the NHS and other credible sources. This directly addresses the research finding that women trust the NHS over commercial brands.
Project Reflection
Project Reflection
The double diamond process was critical to reaching that clarity. The Discover phase revealed the silence as the real problem. The Define phase crystallised the insight. The Develop phase gave the campaign its three-phase structure. And the Deliver phase confirmed that the music metaphor worked and not as decoration, but as a genuinely lower-barrier way into a stigmatised subject.
What I'd do differently: test the physical campaign touchpoints earlier, with a wider and younger audience, to validate whether the billboard format creates the "wait , I didn't know I needed to know this" moment the concept relies on.
The double diamond process was critical to reaching that clarity. The Discover phase revealed the silence as the real problem. The Define phase crystallised the insight. The Develop phase gave the campaign its three-phase structure. And the Deliver phase confirmed that the music metaphor worked and not as decoration, but as a genuinely lower-barrier way into a stigmatised subject.
What I'd do differently: test the physical campaign touchpoints earlier, with a wider and younger audience, to validate whether the billboard format creates the "wait , I didn't know I needed to know this" moment the concept relies on.
Result
In the app, users select a menopause stage. Pick a symptom as a track. Press play and learn what is really happening in the body. The Pause function identifies what's wrong and links directly to correct, trustworthy information. Ignorance, interrupted.
In the app, users select a menopause stage. Pick a symptom as a track. Press play and learn what is really happening in the body. The Pause function identifies what's wrong and links directly to correct, trustworthy information. Ignorance, interrupted.
In the app, users select a menopause stage. Pick a symptom as a track. Press play and learn what is really happening in the body. The Pause function identifies what's wrong and links directly to correct, trustworthy information. Ignorance, interrupted.
Reflection
The biggest shift in this project was understanding that the platform's job wasn't to start a conversation; it was to continue one. The campaign had to do the harder work first: reaching women who weren't looking, creating a moment of recognition before any education could happen.
That insight, "how will people talk about menopause if they don't know it's happening?", reframes everything. It moved the project from a health tool into a campaign and gave the platform an audience.
The double diamond process was critical to reaching that clarity. The Discover phase revealed the silence as the real problem. The Define phase crystallised the insight. The Develop phase gave the campaign its three-phase structure. And the Deliver phase confirmed that the music metaphor worked and not as decoration, but as a genuinely lower-barrier way into a stigmatised subject.
What I'd do differently: test the physical campaign touchpoints earlier, with a wider and younger audience, to validate whether the billboard format creates the "wait , I didn't know I needed to know this" moment the concept relies on.