GriefGuide

Most wellness apps go light and airy. GriefGuide goes dark — deep midnight blue (#0E1628) creates intimacy, like a candlelit room. Grieving people often find bright UIs jarring, especially at night. The dark palette also signals that this is a serious space — not a social network, not a marketplace. A place to process something real.

Every AI-generated message, obituary text, and memorial quote uses Lora — a warm serif. UI labels and data use Inter. This creates a consistent distinction: the machine speaks in a human voice, the interface stays out of the way. The military AI guide uses the same Lora voice for its opening message — the AI speaks with the same warmth whether the topic is grief or service benefits.

GriefGuide uses 17 distinct accent colours across 73 screens — one per feature cluster. Sage (#7A9E8E) for emotional support. Amber (#C9956A) for tribute. Teal (#5B8FA8) for estate. Deep navy (#1B3A6B) for military — distinct, serious, and immediately legible as a different register. No colour was chosen for aesthetics alone; each signals a category shift to the user.

The animated ambient circle on the splash screen signals: something alive is here with you. It's the app's emotional signature — warmth without words, presence before the first interaction. The animation breathes at roughly resting heart rate, which research shows reduces perceived stress.

The intake screen asks "Who did you lose?" before anything else. Relationship chips are the first UI element touched. Then — critically — a military service question: "Did they serve?" Two chips, six branch options, a note explaining what unlocks. This question is asked here because every downstream feature (burial honours, VA benefits, Presidential Memorial Certificate) depends on the answer, and the family deserves to know those benefits exist from the very first screen.

The home screen organises all 73 screens into eight named clusters. Urgent items surface at the top. For military families, a Military Honours section appears as a persistent top-level entry — same visual weight as estate tasks and funeral planning. It does not hide behind a sub-menu because its time-sensitivity (funeral honours must be requested promptly) makes discoverability critical.

The AI companion has two modes — Emotional Support and Funeral Q&A — switchable via tabs. The default is emotional support because that is what is needed first. A third tab leads to professional referrals. For military families, a fourth entry point appears: "Military benefits" which routes to the Military AI Guide. The AI companion never conflates grief support with bureaucratic guidance — they are kept separate and distinct.

Warm mauve (#A07090) signals therapeutic calm. The referral banner appears only when the conversation turns to deep emotional distress — never after routine questions. The AI recognises the moment when human professional support becomes the right call, and makes that transition feel like care, not rejection.

Deep navy (#1B3A6B) is the only accent in GriefGuide that references national colour — it is reserved entirely for military content and never reused. The SVG flag renders crisply at any screen density where an emoji would blur. Action links use warm gold (#F0C040) against the dark card surface — high contrast, immediately actionable. The guide is structured in priority order: DD-214 first, because it unlocks everything else.

The certificate preview renders in parchment (#f5f0e8) inside the midnight blue phone — a deliberate inversion, the same technique used for the obituary and funeral program. The document is the centrepiece. GriefGuide pre-fills the form entirely from the estate profile so the family only confirms, never re-enters. The Presidential eagle in the header is the only image in GriefGuide that is not an emoji or icon — because this document warrants the weight of a real graphic.

Warm purple (#7B5EA7) was chosen because it sits between the emotional sage of the AI companion and the ceremonial amber of the tribute cluster — a transitional colour that signals reverence without severity. The faith tab appears as the third tab in the AI Companion navigation, accessible in one tap. When a faith background is known from intake, the AI personalises every resource — denomination, local congregation, grief groups, and scripture — so it never feels generic. When no faith is stated, universal comfort resources appear. Pastoral referral is one tap, not buried in a settings menu.

Estate task labels avoid corporate language. "Cancel utilities" becomes "Cancel utility accounts." The AI tip surfaces the most time-sensitive task first with an explanation of why — not just a red badge. Urgency is contextualised, not alarming.

The memory vault treats voice notes as first-class memories. Many families only have one recording of their loved one's voice — a voicemail, a birthday message. The vault preserves audio alongside photos and stories with equal visual weight. These are not attachments. They are irreplaceable.

The grief tracker uses Kübler-Ross stage language but frames it as "where you are right now" rather than a diagnosis. The weekly chart shows patterns without judgment. The AI synthesises entries and reflects them back — not as analysis, but as acknowledgement.

3AM Mode strips everything away. Three options: Talk, Breathe, or Listen. No navigation, no notifications, no feature discovery. The screen is designed for the specific experience of waking at 3AM unable to cope. The AI response in this mode is slower, warmer, and never pivots to tasks.

The voice AI screen centres around a breathing orb that pulses when listening and stills when the AI speaks. This gives the conversation a physical presence — something to focus on when words are hard. The transcript appears below in Lora italic, treating spoken grief with the same care as written memoir.

The guest book entry action is "Light a candle" — not "Post a tribute." The flame animation and candle count give the book a sense of gathering. Each candle represents a person who paused to acknowledge the loss. The count becomes a measure of how much someone was loved.

Choosing a funeral home, caterer, or contractor while grieving are some of the most difficult consumer decisions a person will make. The AI pre-filters every list by relevance, reviews, and budget — then ranks. The first result is the right call most of the time. The bereavement badge is earned through verified GriefGuide family reviews, not paid placement.

The obituary questions use prompts like "What was she like in the morning?" instead of "Describe the deceased." The AI uses these story fragments to generate an obituary that reads like it was written by someone who knew her — because it was. The parchment preview creates a striking visual contrast that signals: this document matters.

The belongings hub routes each item to one of four destinations: keep, donate, sell on the Estate Marketplace, or dispose. The AI scanner identifies objects and estimates value. For military families, service items (medals, uniforms, flags) are flagged separately with a note that they may have historical or ceremonial significance before routing is suggested.

Marketplace listings show the family story alongside the item. Buyers aren't buying a Singer sewing machine — they're buying something that belonged to Margaret Collins, 76, who sewed for her church for 40 years. This context increases sale prices and helps items find owners who will genuinely care for them.

The florist finder uses rose (#C4687A) — a deliberate reference to the most common sympathy flower, making the colour itself instantly readable as "this is where flowers live." GriefGuide-verified partners appear first with the bereavement badge, earned through reviews from families who used them during bereavement — not paid placement. The service date is pre-populated from the estate profile so every inquiry is pre-contextualised. Non-partner florists appear below, dimmed, ensuring the family always has options but the best-vetted options are always first. The card banner uses soft floral emoji rather than images — lightweight, no licensing concerns, universally recognisable on all devices.

Forest green (#2D6A4F) was chosen because it references earth, nature, and gentle return — the emotional register of natural burial is entirely different from the formality of a traditional cemetery, and the colour signals that immediately. The AI explanation of what natural burial means is placed above the results, not below them, because for many families this is the first time they have encountered the concept. The card structure mirrors the Florist Finder and Cemetery screens for visual consistency across the Services cluster, but the banner uses botanical emoji rather than formal imagery. The "What is natural burial?" explainer card has the highest visual weight on the screen because education comes before conversion.

The Stay in Touch feature turns the guest book into a lasting family network. Every person who scans the QR code or fills the contact form becomes part of the Family Circle — a persistent, private contact network that outlasts the funeral. The AI nudge prevents the Circle going cold by surfacing anniversaries and suggesting check-ins.

Cemetery pins use forest green (#4A7C59) — the colour of grass, of nature, of rest. The detail screen shows plot options with availability and pricing visible without a quote request. For military families, national cemetery eligibility is surfaced as the first option — free burial is a benefit many families do not know about.

The program preview renders parchment (#faf6f0) inside the midnight blue phone — a deliberate inversion. The document is the centrepiece. The AI generates the order of service from the obituary answers already given. When a repast venue is booked, it automatically populates the program's repast section.

Scripture selection is positioned between the program questions (Screen 35) and AI generation (Screen 36) — so the family's choices are baked into the program before it's composed. The amber accent (#C4984A) connects it visually to the obituary and funeral program cluster. Each card shows the verse, then the AI's reasoning for choosing it — pulling from the deceased's obituary story prompts, faith background, and life details. Tradition chips (Baptist/Catholic/Jewish/Islamic/Universal) let families switch without re-entering any data. Selected verses are passed directly to the program generator as structured inputs, not as free text.

The QR code is designed for a small card placed at the service entrance. At 80×80px on the phone, the code renders clean. The scan landing page shows the obituary first, then an invitation to join. Deep violet (#8B6BAE) signals reverence. Analytics show who scanned, when, and from where.

Estate documents require notarisation at the worst possible time. The Find a Notary screen surfaces mobile notaries (who come to you) as the first option. Teal accent (#3B7A8A) connects it to the broader estate cluster while remaining distinct from estate task management blue.

Most people do not know if their loved one had life insurance. The search queries the NAIC database, state unclaimed funds, employer records, and financial institutions simultaneously. The results screen shows found policies with claim instructions. Deep gold (#B8952A) signals documents and assets, distinct from every prior accent.

Warm green (#4E9E6E) signals hope and growth. The expense breakdown on the campaign page is intentional — when donors see exactly where money goes they give more confidently. The QR code for the service day lets attendees donate in the moment. The dashboard shows paid, pending, and due expenses alongside total raised — one financial view.

Warm burgundy (#9E4E5E) signals hospitality and togetherness. The "Add repast to program" toggle is the key innovation: one decision automatically updates the printed funeral program so every guest knows where to go after the burial. Venue types include banquet halls, church halls, restaurants, and community centers.

Steel blue (#4A7BAE) signals clarity and collaboration. The 2×2 video grid mirrors familiar video-call apps so family members in different cities feel immediately at home. A shared agenda panel updates in real-time during the call. Meeting links share to the Family Circle in one tap.

Deep rose (#B84A6A) is warm and memorial. The floating comment overlay appears on the camera feed itself and auto-fades after 60 seconds, so remote viewers feel present without distracting from the service. Reactions give absent attendees a way to express without interrupting. The replay archives to Memory Vault with chapter clips.

Deep teal (#2E8B7A) signals financial clarity and calm. The AI generates a local-average itemised estimate before any vendor is contacted, so families walk into conversations knowing what is reasonable. The cost offset ideas screen reveals what the industry rarely advertises: third-party caskets save $1,500, FEMA offers up to $9,000, and parish halls are often free.

Generative audio via Tone.js means no two families hear the same melody. The piece is composed fresh every session. Four mood presets allow any family to choose the emotional register. For veteran families, a fifth chip appears — Military Burial Music — unlocked only when veteran_status is true in the estate profile. This section presents four additional selections: Taps (the traditional military farewell, AI-adapted for the ambient memorial context), Hymns of Service, Battlefield Grace, and Stars & Stripes Tribute. The military music section is visually distinct (deep navy #1B3A6B) within the screen, maintaining the military colour system that runs throughout the app. It is never shown to non-veteran families — there is no empty chip, no "not applicable" state. It simply does not exist for them.