Astorya
Astorya is a memorial platform where people can leave digital messages that are only revealed after their passing. It's a bridge between memory, emotion, and technology. This was my graduation project, created together with Yann Tagakou and Helia Donadello as part of our final year at Thomas More Mechelen.
Mission
Astorya’s mission is to help people preserve meaningful memories, stories and messages during their lifetime to be revealed after their passing. We empower individuals to leave a lasting legacy for their loved ones or create heartfelt memories for others, ensuring that no story is lost and every voice can echo beyond life.
Problem Statement
In today’s digital age, there’s no meaningful way to leave behind personal messages or memories that are revealed after someone passes away. Traditional memorials lack emotional depth, while digital content is often scattered or lost. There’s a need for a thoughtful, secure, and lasting way to preserve memories and connect with loved ones beyond life. Astorya fills this gap offering a digital platform where stories, messages, and emotions can be shared, in a deeply personal and timeless way.
Empathize
Goal & research question: Astorya aims to create a digital memorial space for those in their final stage of life, their loved ones, and those grieving. The central research question was: How can I design an empathetic and meaningful memorial platform through digital means?
Target group
- People in the final stage of life: Such as young adults or individuals with terminal illnesses. They seek to leave behind memories, love, and personal messages. Real-life stories like those of Eva Hermans-Kroot, Myrian Salembier and Nihal Taplak greatly inspired our concept.
- Bereaved loved ones: Family and friends who have lost someone. They look for comfort, a way to cherish memories, and a digital connection that keeps their loved one close.
- Digital generations: Millennials and Gen Z prefer symbolic, digital rituals over traditional mourning practices. They value personal, creative ways to remember someone.
- Elderly users: Though interested in preserving memories, many still prefer physical methods like books or letters. Only digitally skilled seniors formed a smaller, secondary audience.
Research approach
To deeply understand our audience, we conducted a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research. We interviewed Michèle from Amfora, a Belgian initiative that helps people capture their life stories for loved ones. This helped us understand how storytelling and legacy can offer emotional support.
We also visited a local senior residence, De Meer in Vilvoorde, where we spoke with elderly residents about how they reflect on their lives and preserve memories. Their perspectives showed us the value of tangible memories and the hesitations around digital solutions.
Additionally, we conducted online surveys to gather broader input from various age groups, and we spoke with a funeral director to better understand how digital tools could complement traditional mourning practices. All these conversations helped shape Astorya into a sensitive, respectful, and meaningful experience for different users.
Persona Visuals
Key Insights: People seek personal, symbolic, and accessible ways to remember or be remembered. Digital metaphors like stars make grief more tangible. Users expect emotional space, privacy, and tools that allow them to express and preserve their legacy with care.
Define
Based on our interviews, surveys, and emotional insights, we defined the core problem as follows: "How can we offer people, especially those in their final life stage and their loved ones a digital space to preserve memories, express emotions, and stay connected even after death?"
Astorya is not just a memorial tool, it’s a symbolic space where memory, technology, and emotion meet. Users needed a platform that:
- Offers comfort and a feeling of connection during and after loss
- Allows people to leave personal messages that become visible after death
- Respects privacy and the emotional weight of grief
- Uses symbolic and poetic visuals (the stars) instead of heavy, dark imagery
- Feels human, intuitive, and calm not cold or tech-driven
These needs shaped our decision to focus on storytelling, symbolic interaction, and minimal design. Astorya had to be more than functional it had to feel meaningful.
Ideate
Based on the needs and emotional insights gathered during the empathize and define phases, we began an open brainstorming phase to imagine what form Astorya could take. We explored various symbolic and interactive concepts that would resonate with our primary audience: those facing loss, saying goodbye, or preserving memories.
Brainstorm & concept exploration
We did creative exercises like brainstorming and sketching. This led to ideas like a personal 3D-room and VR. The idea of a personal star felt the most powerful and meaningful.
Name creation
The name "Astorya" comes from the words “story” and “aster/astra” (which mean star). It shows that the platform is about sharing stories and keeping memories alive.
Sketches & early concepts
We translated our ideas into rough sketches and interface mockups. Stars would represent lost loved ones. Each star, when tapped, would reveal digital memories videos, messages, photos, shared by the departed. This idea informed our layout, color choices, and emotional pacing.
User Flow
You can view the full flowchart as a PDF via the button below.
View Flowchart (PDF)Feature overview
Astorya lets users share memories via stars privately or publicly. They can upload text, video, voice or photos, choose recipients to share with, and set when memories unlock.
View full feature list (PDF)Key ideation decisions
- Personal stars: Each person gets their own star, offering a symbolic and unique memorial space.
- Emphasis on emotion: The design is subtle, spacious, and symbolic not literal or overly functional.
- Privacy by choice: Every memory can be kept private for family or made public in the shared memorial sky, the user decides.
- Future unlock: Messages and memories can be set to appear only after death, giving lasting meaning.
This phase laid the creative foundation for Astorya’s distinct voice and symbolic language.
Design
We focused on calm, symbolic visuals that support the emotional tone of the platform. The color palette is soft and respectful, with a lot of space and minimal distractions.
The typography combines a poetic serif with a modern sans-serif, creating a balance between emotion and clarity. Icons and UI elements are round and subtle to enhance approachability.
Moodboard
The moodboard captures the emotional tone of Astorya peaceful, poetic, and symbolic. It includes references to stars, calm colors, handwritten textures, and light.
Logo
The Astorya logo is elegant and minimal. It reflects the brand's soft and respectful character. The flowing curves and subtle star detail give it a timeless feel.
Favicon
The favicon is a simplified version of the logo, used to make the brand recognizable in browser tabs.
Color Palette
The Astorya color palette is divided into brand, neutral, and functional colors. Each group supports the emotional tone of the platform in a specific way.
Brand Colors
#1F113A
#FFEED6
Neutral Colors
#0F0F0F
#FAFAFA
#FFFDF7
Functional Colors
#CA73FF
#3FFBFB
#5ECFFF
#EC6FFC
#60FFC8
#F48CC2
#67CA4F
#FF7466
#77E8B8
Typography
For Astorya, we combined a poetic serif typeface with a modern sans-serif. This pairing enhances both the emotional and functional aspects of the platform.
SunrOll – poetic dispLay typeface
Used for titLes, quotes, and eMotionally impactful mOments.
Alice – Elegant Serif for body text
Used for body copy and descriptive text throughout the platform.
Grid & Layout
Astorya uses a 12-column grid system on desktop and a 4-column grid on mobile. This ensures consistent alignment across sections while allowing flexibility in layout composition. Generous spacing and margins reinforce the calm and respectful tone of the platform.
5. Prototype
After defining the core structure and visual tone of Astorya, We translated the concept into a series of prototypes. We started with low-fidelity wireframes to test layout, user flow, and overall structure without the distraction of visuals. These sketches helped validate initial assumptions and identify usability issues early on.
Once the structure was validated, We moved on to high-fidelity prototypes that incorporated real content, the final typography, color palette, and interaction design. These prototypes included key interactions such as making a star, uploading memories, and selecting recipients.
User feedback played a central role during this phase. We conducted informal usability tests to observe how users interacted with the interface emotionally and functionally. Their input helped refine the experience, especially around navigation clarity, the emotional pacing of memory release, and the privacy settings of each memory.
6. Test & Refine
To evaluate the usability and emotional impact of Astorya, we conducted both in-person user tests and remote testing via Useberry. These tests allowed us to observe how users interacted with key flows such as reserving a star, uploading memories, and navigating the memorial sky.
The physical user tests provided valuable insights into emotional responses and intuitive behavior. We observed where users hesitated, what they found confusing, and how they responded to symbolic elements. Useberry enabled us to gather additional feedback remotely, with click paths and task completion rates that helped identify friction points in the flow.
Based on these findings, we refined the user interface by improving navigation clarity, adjusting the emotional pacing of memory releases, and introducing animated onboarding to gently guide new users. We also added more granular privacy settings for each memory, empowering users to decide who sees what and when.
Final Design
The final version of Astorya brings together everything we envisioned: a calm, symbolic, and emotionally aware platform. Every design choice from color to typography to interaction was carefully made to support users during deeply personal moments.
The interface feels light and poetic, with soft animations and intuitive navigation. Users can create and personalize their stars, attach memories in various media formats, and assign each memory to specific loved ones either privately or within the shared memorial sky.
Explore the webapp Explore the appWhat I Learned
I learned a lot through this project, from making a clear plan and setting my own deadlines to working together with others as a team. It was challenging at times, but also a very valuable experience.
I discovered how important it is to design with empathy, especially when the topic is emotional, like loss and remembrance. It's not just about making things look nice, it's about helping people feel understood and supported. I also learned how to work with 3D in Figma (Anima), how to design in a 3D space, and how to turn those ideas into an app.
I improved my skills in UX/UI design, prototyping, and thinking about how users experience a product. Most of all, I learned that technology can be used to create meaningful connections, even after someone is gone.