Overview
A redesign of one of my earlier passion projects for a mental health application.
I helped design an application that anyone of all ages can use to help relax during those stressful times in your everyday life. It can help provide a sense of stability with a human approach.
Duration
Nov - Feb (13 weeks)
Role
UX Researcher
Product/UI Designer
Team
Solo
Design Challenge
HMW create a solution for users who want to focus on mental health along with self-care?
Background:
In 2020, there has been a staggering rise of mental illness due to Covid-19. People have had to get used to social distancing, not being able to have human contact due to quarantine. Because of that, most citizens were diagnosed with Anxiety, Paranoia and Stress, whether it be not being able to find work or not being able to see a loved one.
The Problem:
There has been a difficulty trying to keep a relaxed state of mind during tough times. Most applications deliver a sense of relief, but it still doesn't satisfy the urge for human contact, since there isn't anything human about the applications.
Solution Preview
A simple, soothing design that is appealing to the eyes.
Users can notice simple shades of green and gray, along with colorful accents such as blue and yellow.
Text on onboarding screens are easier on the eyes.
There are fewer distractions and the user face is straight to the point when in use.
Provide curated routines based on user's preferences.
Users can seamlessly log their concerns and be able to get advice from other user's along with instructors.
The application will take on a humanistic approach by being able to curate your preferences by also recommending you groups where you are able to speak to other app user's that share the same topics or interests as you.
8 in 10
Adults say the coronavirus pandemic is a significant source of stress in their lives.
— APA.ORG
1 in 9
Adults say their mental health is worse than it was at this time last year
— APA.ORG
18%
Of people ages 18-59, in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.
— APA.ORG
Research
Competitive Research
Market Research
I started with analyzing the market to get a better understanding about the learning industry, how it has been change since the pandemic and what's the current trends.
User Research
Interviews revealed 3 pain points with regard to their mental health status since Covid.
I conducted 10 interviews with people between the ages of 18 to 35 to understand their needs and frustrations. To my surprise, here’s what those pain points were;
Design opportunities
I built a feature plan to start off with, to structure and organize my idea flows.
I took important mainstream flows across existing apps, assuming that they would help our users.
The team and I took insights and brainstormed ways to translate that into a solution
I gathered important insight and translated that into feature plans.
Failure of my first iteration… & Refined progress
My first round of User Testing did not perform great. 2 out of 5 people think they were impossible to build. I had to redo my wireframes.
So I scraped everything and reframed my initial idea.
Design
How might we
create a solution to help users improve their mental health along with keeping a regular regimen.
Key Points
Easy navigation for less tech-savvy individuals
Roles and passwords to highlight safety
Logo & Branding
Reintroducing Cerene.
Before moving on to the UI design, I began with planning the concept for discovering and determining brand's attribute, brand identity. I first came up with the app name and the word "Cerene" which represents calm, peaceful, and untroubled; tranquil. As simple as that, Cerene was born, to help relieve the stress of everyone's every day problems.
It was essential to bring a positive, delightful feeling to appeal to and encourage users. I then created a mood board in which I put ideas, concepts together to set the direction of the new branding while keeping in mind this, I discover and determine the brand attributes and keywords #Soothing #Earthy #pleasant
Here’s a quick video of the application being used, you’ll be able to try it out yourself down below!
It's a showtime!
With all the revisions have been made and the established UI design elements, I created the final prototype that provides all the information necessary for users to seamlessly connect with their friend and get recommendations from their loved ones.
What I learned
This project was my first time designing an end-to-end mobile app which provided me with an excellent opportunity to learn mobile design and practice my design skills. I'm glad that I have an opportunity to deep dive into iOS Human Interface guidelines to better understand how I should design apps that bring more pleasant & desirable experiences for mobile users.
Gain an understanding of the self-care market space during the extensive research phase, learn about the evolving roles of technology and support.
Learn how the crucial role of UX writing & microscopy plays to guide users clearly and precisely. This ensures that users can achieve their goals with minimal friction while interacting with the app, especially during onboarding flows.
Prioritization strategies. After having tons of ideas from the brainstorming session, I had to step back and be realistic about what was feasible within the time constraints and decide which ones to prioritize for implementation. The persona & user journey helped cut out distractions, guided me to pin down the minimum viable product (MVP) amidst various constraints.