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Case Study
Anthaathi
A bereavement companion that helps Indian families navigate loss — from the first hours to lasting remembrance.
Overview
Anthaathi is a mobile app designed for the Indian context of grief. When someone passes away, families are thrust into a maze of rituals, paperwork and logistics — often within hours. Anthaathi brings gentle structure to those first days: step-by-step guidance for last rites across faiths and regions, coordination tools for family and community, and a private space to remember long after the thirteenth day.
Role
Product Design, UX Research
Client
Self-initiated
Industry
Grief & Wellbeing
Timeline
8 weeks · 2026
00
Before — SharePoint (mockup)
After — DAMS portal
01
Understanding grief in the Indian context
When a death occurs in an Indian household, the family has almost no time to grieve. Within hours they must inform relatives, arrange the funeral and begin rites that vary by faith, community and region. I interviewed families across three states, priests who perform last rites, and funeral service providers to map what those first thirteen days actually look like.
Three findings shaped the product. The burden of coordination almost always falls on one person — usually the eldest son or a close relative — while their own grief is postponed. Ritual knowledge is fragmented and passed down orally, so families are often unsure what comes next. And because death is a taboo subject, nobody prepares for it; every family starts from zero.
02
Designing with restraint
Grief demands a different design language. Anthaathi avoids everything that makes apps feel like apps — no streaks, no attention-seeking notifications, no celebratory micro-interactions. The interface uses large type, warm neutral surfaces and one action per screen, so it can be used through tears, at 2 a.m., by someone whose only other app is WhatsApp.
The rites guide adapts to faith, community and region, and every step can be handed off to a relative with a single tap. A private remembrance space opens after the final rites — a place for photos, stories and anniversaries that gently shifts the app’s role from logistics to memory.
03
Outcomes & learnings
Concept walkthroughs with six families who had experienced a recent loss validated the core premise: structure is comfort. Participants consistently described the rites checklist and the delegation flow as “one less thing to hold in the head.” The remembrance space tested as the most emotionally resonant feature — several participants asked when they could have it.
The project taught me to design for someone’s worst day: to measure success not in engagement, but in how quickly a person can put the screen down and return to the people around them.