Introduction
When I first joined this project, I was working remotely with a design agency in Singapore while based in Malaysia. The client, Nirvana Memorial Group, is one of the largest providers of bereavement care services in Asia. I had never stepped into their offices or met their agents in person. Instead, I connected with them through video calls and virtual meetings.
From the beginning, it was clear this was not just another “digital transformation” project. It was about designing for a deeply sensitive and emotional moment in people’s lives. Our work spanned a customer app (iOS & Android), an iPad-exclusive agent app, a mobile app for agents, and a secure internal web portal.
Client
Nirvana Memorial Group
Timeline
April 2024 - January 2025
Role
Product Designer
Problem
During my calls with Nirvana’s staffs and agents, I was struck by how efficient and professional they were in guiding families and individuals through a sensitive process. Yet behind that efficiency, the systems they relied on were fragmented and manual. Forms, WhatsApp messages and siloed databases that required extra effort to keep everything aligned.
For customers, this meant the journey wasn’t always straightforward. Whether planning ahead, purchasing a niche or funeral package in advance through installments or full payment, or arranging services after a loved one had passed away, it could be difficult to find information or make bookings with confidence.
Agents, while diligent, often had to juggle multiple disconnected tools, which slowed their ability to respond instantly and added stress during peak moments. Meanwhile, internal staff faced limited visibility and poor coordination across touchpoints, making it harder to manage records and maintain oversight.
The result?
Customers struggled to access clear information and book services seamlessly.
Agents had to manage repetitive, manual tasks across different systems.
Internal staff lacked the coordination needed to oversee the entire process.
Nirvana wanted to address these gaps by creating a digital ecosystem that connected customers, agents, and staff in one seamless flow.
Goal
Our goal was simple in words but complex in execution:
Make bereavement arrangements less overwhelming for customers.
Empower agents with digital tools so they could focus on compassion, not paperwork.
Streamline operations to reduce duplication and errors.
In short, design an ecosystem that was empathetic, supportive, and practical. Streamline funeral planning with a customer-friendly app.
Our Users
Through conversations, I mapped out three key user groups:
Customers: individuals or families seeking funeral arrangements, often well before a loved one passes away. Many purchased niches or service packages in advance, either through installments or full payment to ease future burdens and reduce costs. In moments of bereavement, however, some also turned to Nirvana for immediate arrangements. Across both cases, customers needed clarity, guidance, and reassurance.
Agents: trusted guides in the process, supporting families with sensitivity while managing inquiries and purchases. Though highly efficient, their work was often slowed by manual and fragmented systems. They needed tools that streamlined their workflows so they could focus on care.
Administrators: staff overseeing records, compliance, and internal coordination. They needed visibility and accuracy across touchpoints to manage the business effectively.
Each group carried different emotional and operational needs but all were deeply interconnected in the ecosystem.
Process
As I could not conduct in-person research, I relied on video calls for online interviews. This meant I had to listen very closely, not just to what was said, but to tone, pauses, and the emotions beneath words.
Research
One of the most eye-opening moments during our remote calls was realizing how differently customers approached Nirvana’s services. Many were not only grieving families seeking immediate arrangements, but also individuals purchasing niches and packages years in advance. This mix of urgency and long-term planning shaped our design decisions: flows needed to feel reassuring and clear in the moment of loss, but also practical and transparent for customers making proactive, financial decisions.
Stakeholder interviews with Nirvana teams to understand the business perspective.
Video calls with staff and agents to hear their frustrations and pain points.
Mapping the information architecture based on agent and staff stories and existing documents.
Synthesis
I organized insights into themes: emotional burden, duplication of tasks, lack of transparency, and information scattered across platforms.Ideation
Balancing compassion with clarity was one of our biggest challenges. For example, during early prototypes, we tested copy that was extremely direct about pricing and procedures. While transparent, it felt too cold for grieving families. On the other hand, softer, more empathetic wording risked leaving details unclear. Through multiple iterations, we found a middle ground: language that was respectful and sensitive, yet still clear enough for customers to make informed choices.
We brainstormed features that could directly address these themes.
I sketched early flows for both customer and agent apps.
Testing & Iteration
Remote usability tests gave us small but powerful insights.
One test revealed that customers were confused by overly technical terminology, so we adjusted the language to be warmer and more human.
Impact
Early feedback from agents suggested they could onboard customers faster and with fewer repeated steps. Administrators appreciated having a centralized view of records instead of juggling multiple tools. Although quantitative data is still being collected, qualitative insights pointed to smoother workflows and higher confidence among both customers and staff.
One agent shared this during a follow-up call:
While still in pilot phase, the project created immediate benefits:
Agents could manage bookings and payments more efficiently.
Families had a clearer, guided process during a difficult time.
The business gained a centralized, digital ecosystem instead of fragmented processes.
Even more importantly, the tools allowed agents to spend less time on paperwork and more time supporting families emotionally.
Final Designs
The ecosystem included three main products:
Customer App: guiding families through services, payments, and updates.
Agent App: streamlining workflows, reducing duplication, and giving agents more confidence.
Admin Portal: providing oversight, record management, and operational clarity.
The designs balanced professionalism with empathy: clean interfaces, simple flows, and a tone of voice that felt respectful and supportive.