A set of emojis to communicate when you are menstruating at work.
Client: Flo Health
Duration: 2 weeks, (2021)
Topic: Period Destigmatising
The Brief
I worked with Flo on a campaign to use emoji as a more approachable and opt-in alternative for menstruating people to talk about periods at work. The emoji come with a guidebook which detail the context in which the emoji are intended to be used. There is also advice for people who don’t menstruate about supporting those on their period.
Research and Methodology
The inspiration came from a LinkedIn post I made in 2021 which went Viral and led to a collaboration with Flo and 2 weeks of user research in collaboration with the marketing team :
"A few months ago, I told 11,000 people at work that I was on my period.
It’s normal for me to throw up from pain on my period and I found myself uncontrollably cramping during meetings. I had just come back from being ill, and worried it would look like I was ‘slacking’.
I didn’t feel comfortable starting this conversation in the team room, so I used a red drop emoji and set it as my ‘Slack’ status. It was my way of saying “I’m in pain, please be mindful and recognise that I might not have the energy to deal with some tasks.” For me, this was essential information for me to do my job, but it’s a very personal choice.
It ended up sparking many conversations across the company, with some colleagues expressing they too had the same experience, some who were unsure about the approach, and others who didn’t have periods wanting to know how best to support. The conversation also expanded into thinking about other hormonal changes, such as IVF and menopause.
I raised this during International Women’s day because menstrual anxiety can affect all people who have periods/PMS and can still impact our lives profoundly. And remember periods can affect more people than women as well – including nonbinary, intersex people, and trans men."
Key Insights
Many people who menstruate and have heavy symptoms still want to work during their periods and do not want to be seen as someone who is always sick. Communicating that you are on your period does not mean you are ill, but that you might be taking things slower than usual.
Download the Emojis and the guide to use on Slack
