Designing for
Formation

Why I Built This

As a woman who was raised Catholic, I found myself at one of the lowest points in my life. I felt as though everything around me was falling apart. At the age of 47, I found myself returning to the Church, this time as an adult and entirely on my own.

Much of what I knew came from culture, family traditions, and lived experience rather than from a deeper understanding of Roman Catholic teaching and practice. I realized I was not alone. Some participants were coming from other Christian denominations. Some were preparing for marriage. Some were seeking Baptism for the very first time. Our stories were different, but we shared something important: each of us had been led here for a reason.

When I entered OCIA, I was excited to learn more about the Catholic faith. What I did not expect was how much of my learning would happen between classes. The information was there, but it was spread across conversations, handouts, websites, notes, and memory. For someone like me—curious, eager to learn, and looking for insight before going deeper—this made the process harder for me.

This is not about replacing OCIA or turning faith into an app. It is about creating a study guide: a supportive, educational companion that could help participants stay oriented as they move through formation.

What I Heard From Participants

I also realized I was not the only one trying to find my footing. I spoke with fellow OCIA participants about what brought them to the Church, how they were learning outside of class, and what they expected from the formation experience.

Everyone's story was different, but the need was consistent: people wanted more clarity, more continuity between sessions, and a simpler way to understand what mattered most without having to piece everything together on their own.

That shifted the problem from a personal frustration to a design opportunity. This was not about replacing OCIA or turning faith into an app. It was about creating a study guide: a supportive, educational companion that could help participants stay oriented as they moved through formation.

The Audience

The primary audience was OCIA participants: adults and teens entering or returning to the Catholic Church, each with different levels of familiarity, confidence, and context.

Some people were hearing terms and traditions for the first time. Others had grown up around the faith but were now approaching it with new questions. The product needed to meet people where they were without assuming too much or oversimplifying the experience.

Design Constraints

I treated the constraints as part of the product strategy. The app needed to be simple, mobile-first, and easy to understand at a glance. It could not try to replace the human formation experience, speak on behalf of the Church, or become another overwhelming place to manage.

The goal was clarity, not complexity: give participants the meat and bones of what they needed to follow along, written in plain English, with enough structure to support deeper learning when they were ready.

Product Decisions

I focused the first version on the parts of the experience where structure mattered most: weekly readings, formation topics, Mass information, and a simple way to understand what was coming next.

I intentionally did not start with accounts, social features, discussion boards, or complex personalization. Those ideas may have a place later, but they were not the immediate problem. The immediate problem was orientation.

Creating a Formation Guide

Once the readings had a home, the same structure could support the rest of the formation experience. A participant should not have to remember where a handout went, search through old messages, or guess what was coming next.

The app became a lightweight guide: one place to check the formation schedule, revisit topics, and stay connected to the rhythm of the program throughout the week.

Designing for Real Use

Because the app was designed for people moving through a real formation experience, it needed to feel calm and usable in everyday moments. Someone might check it before class, after Mass, late at night, or while trying to remember what to read next.

Light and dark mode supported that practical use case. It was a small design decision, but it reflected the larger goal: reduce friction wherever possible.

The Role of AI

AI changed the pace of the work, but it did not define the problem for me. The insight came from lived experience, observation, and conversations with other participants. AI helped me move faster from that insight to a working prototype.

That speed mattered because it shortened the distance between noticing a real problem and testing a possible solution. Instead of leaving the idea in a notebook, I could make it tangible enough to evaluate, refine, and explain.

The Outcome

The result is a small, focused web app designed to help OCIA participants feel more oriented as they move through formation. It brings readings, schedules, and key information into one place so the experience feels less scattered and more approachable.

For me, the value of this project is not that an app exists. It is that a common learning gap became visible, researchable, and solvable through design. The product is simple on purpose because the need was simple: help people understand where they are, what is next, and how to keep learning with confidence.