Bloom helps parents in Romania break taboos about sexuality and gender by normalizing age-appropriate sex education conversations with kids at home. It is designed as a stackable kit with three physical parts: a voice assistant, thematic cards, and a listening object, along with a corresponding app. These components provide tools and methodologies to help parents reflect on their influences and biases and facilitate positive conversations with their kids about intimate topics.
The app is the initial interaction space of Bloom, offering media, articles, myth-busting facts, prompts, and conversation archives. It is a private space for parents to learn, reflect, and prepare, and acts as the connection point when moving from text to voice conversations with the device. Bloom is lightweight and easily movable to different rooms in the house. The design is modular in its physical design and interaction points. Families can choose between modalities when engaging with the product, asking questions, answering prompts, or responding to scenarios. The listening object and cards are further tools in the Bloom kit to facilitate active and empathetic communication based on the circle process, a methodology introduced to users by the Bloom assistant.
The content provided in Bloom is based on the WHO’s Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe, which provides a framework of topics to introduce to kids from ages 0 - 15+ (WHO Regional Office for Europe & BZgA, 2017). The agent is designed as a trusted friend and expert who understands Romanian culture and has experience in health and child education; someone who listens without judgment, nudges users to critically reflect, and provides trusted sources for further learning.
Teaching sex education in schools is a political topic in Romania. There is a clash between traditional values from the Orthodox church and younger generations calling for more open conversations about sex. Romania has the highest rate of under-15 pregnancy (Eurostat, 2025) and the lowest gender equality ranking in Europe (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2024). But an intergenerational shift is occurring. Millennial and Gen Z parents on social media are critically reflecting on what language is passed down to kids. In 2025, demonstrations are demanding greater protection of women and gender equality. While they wait for public policy to catch up, Bloom is a solution to help parents who are interested in shifting culture now.
Bloom video (winter nights soundtrack).mp4
The functional prototype for testing is taller to hold the technical components.
