pumpspotting
We partnered with pumpspotting to design a platform that helps breastfeeding moms find and share safe, supportive places to nurse and pump. What began as a mobile app grew into a national movement, earning recognition from Apple, Vogue, and MassChallenge. From a pitch on Apple TV’s Planet of the Apps to a 40-foot RV tour, our collaboration brought connection and visibility to motherhood in powerful, design-led ways.
About the project
What we’ve done
UX/UI Design
Web and Mobile Development
Project Management
Quality Assurance
From Vision to Reality
Great products don’t happen by chance. Through research, strategy, and design, we shape raw ideas into seamless experiences that make an impact.
Challenge
Create the go-to community for breastfeeding moms – a safe, trustworthy, and invaluable platform to help them achieve their breastfeeding goals.
Solution
A hub for breastfeeding support, both tactical and emotional, in the form of an active community of fellow moms; on-call experts; searchable articles and well-timed love notes from pumpspotting; beautiful progress visuals and celebrations; and a place to find, search and share places to nurse and pump on the go.
Results
Brella’s app makes it easier to be a parent. With integrated software for teachers, front desk staff, and admin teams, the app unites the entire continuum of child care.
Design
Our main challenge: Designing for a deeply personal and underserved need. We set out to build a product that made breastfeeding moms feel seen, supported, and less alone—but that meant designing with empathy at every level. Our challenge was to create a space that felt both practical and
emotionally safe: part map, part community, part cheerleader. From helping moms find places to pump to receiving encouragement and expert advice, every touchpoint needed to reflect trust, care, and inclusivity.
Our second challenge: Creating a space where moms feel seen, heard, and supported Pumpspotting isn’t just about logistics—it’s about emotional support. One of our biggest design challenges was creating a digital environment where moms could safely and confidently share questions, worries, and wins with others who understand. We designed a community-first experience that makes it easy to post concerns, tag topics, and get
responses from real people—including certified experts like IBCLCs. While waiting for replies, users receive words of encouragement and affirmations to remind them they’re not alone. From thoughtful visual language to gentle interactions, every screen is designed to reduce stress and reinforce connection—because sometimes, the most powerful thing a parent can hear is “me too.”
Our third challenge: Making it easy to find (and share) safe, welcoming places to pump. At the heart of pumpspotting is a simple but powerful idea: no mom should feel stressed about where to nurse or pump. Our challenge was to design a seamless map-based experience that helps users quickly locate nearby, mom-approved spots—whether they’re in a mall, an airport, or a hidden gem in their neighborhood.
Moms can also contribute by adding new locations, uploading photos, tagging amenities (like privacy, outlets, changing tables), and leaving helpful notes for others. We also introduced a personal tracking dashboard, allowing users to log pump sessions and view their progress over time. By combining discovery, contribution, and reflection, we created a tool that turns a daily need into a moment of shared support and visibility.
Project Roadmap
Design
Development
Ongoing Maintenance
A revolutionary breast pumping solution for the workplace.
We worked with our design partner, Joana Galvao, to create pumpspotting’s unforgettable logo, which we consider the perfect combination of heart and boob.
Amy and I were fast friends, and our creative partnership on pumpspotting has continued and grown into other avenues over the years. We were cast on Apple TV’s Planet of the Apps and pitched to Gwyneth Paltrow, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jessica Alba and Will.I.Am. After the show, we used the app as a jumping-off point for an on-the-ground movement.
With the help of supporters on Kickstarter, pumpspotting launched a cross-country tour in its 40-foot RV, The Breast Express, designing an in-person experience to extend the work of the app, and integrating them with each other.
pumpspotting competed in the MassChallenge startup competition in 2018, where it was recognized as a Top 26 startup and won the PepsiCo Business Services Prize.
Apple named pumpspotting a “top 5 app for motherhood” and vogue says it is leading “the new breastfeeding revolution”.
Health and Wellbeing
Families
iOS
Android
What we delivered
From Vision to Reality: We Bring Ideas to Life with Precision, Innovation, and Excellence.
Design
Created easy-to-use, delightful and on-brand user experience for parent on-boarding, community feed, sharing and rating places to nurse and pump, content feed
Additional features unlocked by corporate clients, including private community feed, company-specific content feed, company-specific pumpspots with check-ins and check-in inspiration cards, notes of encouragement and support delivered at key times relative to mom’s return to work
UX/UI design for mobile apps on iOS and Android
Continuous iteration and design of new features
Development
Iterative, agile development process with focus on fast releases to bring solutions and new features live for customers as quickly as possible
Team of two developers focusing on mobile front- and backend
Dedicated project manager and quality assurance (QA) specialist
Continuous iteration and development of new features
Tech Stack
Frontend
Angular 9 //Framework
rxjs //stream processing
ngx // store
moment.js // lib for working with dates
quill // text editor
Backend
MongoDB + Mongoose //data storage & processing
JS In-app-purchase //billing
Nest.js //Framework
AWS s3 // photos storage
Swagger // API documentation
moment.js // lib for working with dates
Mobile
react native // framework
react native firebase // deep links
react navigation // navigation
pendo, flurry // analytics
redux // storage
redux-persist // local storage
moment // date processing
code push // update app
iap // payment lib
onesignal // push notifications
reanimated 2 // animations
Core Features
Parent app: Register and update child profiles; book child care, workspaces and events in one, 3-step workflow; notifications at pickup times and safe pickup workflow with time-limited secret passwords; identity and gps verification; buy and manage child care plans; manage profile; manage safe pickups and edit permissions in real time
Pickup app: Accept and deny safe pickup invites; notifications at pickup times and safe pickup workflow with time-limited secret passwords; identity and GPS verification
Teacher app: View children in classroom with potty training status and allergies at-a-glance and by hour + full child profiles with a click: separation experience, favorite things, food preferences, and others
Front desk app: Check children in and out of child care safely; check parents in and out of workspaces and events; manage accounts; make bookings and manage payments; Stripe integration and point-of-sale; and others
Administrative app: Manage all administrative functions of center, including bookings, accounts, staff permissions and promotion codes, accounting and KPI tracking; run custom reports
WLCM is excellent at project management — they feel like part of our team.
Amy Vanharen, CEO, pumpspotting
We communicate very easily with them via Slack, Zoom, or email, and they’re very responsive. Moreover, they’re very forthcoming and transparent about the budget, scope, and sprints.
Working with them, I always feel that I have access to both the project’s information and WLCM’s team members because they’re always ready to answer questions. Additionally, their work is always on time and well executed. Whenever something veers course, they’re very good at communicating those challenges and keeping us abreast of any changes so that we don’t get any surprises.