introSPECTIVE
Your inner compass to peace. IntroSPECTIVE is a mental wellness solution tailored for busy adults and those transitioning into early adulthood seeking to enhance self-awareness while expanding the array of resources available to those dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. It offers a daily opportunity for mindfulness practice, whilst encouraging individuals to explore their thoughts, feelings, and inner experiences. This convenient and personalized tool empowers users to work through their episodes in a way that aligns with their unique coping rituals.
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Brand Designer
DURATION
3 months
DESIGN TOOLS
Figma
Figjam
Photoshop
Opportunity awaits!
00.
[overview]
What works for one may not work for all. In an ideal world, we'd all be experts in navigating our own mental labyrinth, equipped with the perfect toolkit for the job. But life isn't always that straightforward. That's where a resource comes in, one that caters to both the pros and the newcomers in the self-care game.
THE PROBLEM
Resources for mental health lack the personalization required to effectively accommodate the unique coping mechanisms individuals employ when dealing with their mental health experiences.
Solution highlights
SOLUTION 01
Random Daily Notifications
The daily notification gently prompts users to take moments for self-reflection, fostering mindfulness and self-awareness even during unplanned times. These check-ins encourage users to pause and consider their mental state, aiding in the early recognition of stress signs and proactive stress management.
SOLUTION 02
Adjustable Timed Check-Ins
Participants can use personalized timed check-in entries to schedule moments for self-reflection, aiding in proactively evaluating mental well-being, tracking mood shifts, and spotting stress triggers.
SOLUTION 03
Mood Statistics and Activity Analyzation
The app lets users track their moods regularly, displaying this data as mood statistics to reveal emotional trends over time. By logging daily tasks, both work-related and personal, users can see how these activities link to their mood and stress. The app uses this data to spot connections between activities, settings, and mood changes—like revealing if longer work hours cause more stress.
SOLUTION 04
Varied Expression
Users have a range of options, like journaling, voice memos, pictures, videos, and associating emotions with songs, to express their thoughts and feelings. This variety caters to different preferences for self-expression. When feeling stressed or anxious, users can select the mode that best helps them cope, like listening to a favorite song or recording a voice memo about their emotions, providing a calming effect and serving as stress relief.
Understanding competitors' strengths and weaknesses
03.
[COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS]
Through a quick test of each app, I discerned the features that proved useful and identified those that posed obstacles to a seamless user experience.
Direct Competitive Analysis
Secondary Competitive Analysis
KEY TAKEAWAYS
01
Familiarity is efficient
Ensuring a user-friendly interface is crucial, as complexity can lead to overwhelm users. Therefore, it's essential to integrate straightforward and familiar design patterns.
02
Room for improvement
While each app offered valuable features, none of them could truly claim to be an all-in-one solution.
03
Balance
Personalization is advantageous, but it should be balanced, as excessive personalization may contribute to overstimulation.
What to keep in mind
04.
RESEARCH GOALS & OBJECTIVES
RESEARCH GOAL
Explore the behaviors users engage in when managing their mental wellness, what role stress, anxiety, and depression play in their lives, and what their frustrations are.
OBJECTIVES
01
Understand what people do in order to cope with their mental health experiences.
02
Learn how people seek to improve their mental health and reach their mental wellness goals.
03
Determine what could better promote emotional well-being practices that could be complimentary to traditional therapy.
04
Uncover how people's mental health affects their daily life and what is detrimental.
Who am I designing for?
05.
USER INTERVIEWS
Given the intimacy and sensitivity of mental wellness, I chose to conduct in-depth face-to-face interviews with 6 people who experience stress, depression, and anxiety in their daily lives.
Through these interviews, I gained valuable insights into how they approach episodes of stress, depression, and anxiety, their experiences with resources outside of traditional therapy and medication, and the role of mental wellness in their everyday lives.
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USABILITY TEST1. Onboarding Experience Scenario: You've just downloaded the Introspective app. Open it and complete the onboarding process. Tasks: Sign up for an account. Set your preferences (if applicable). 2. Daily Check-In Scenario: Imagine you want to start your day with some introspection. Open the app and perform a daily check-in. Tasks: Start a new daily check-in. Document your entry for the day. Save or submit your responses. 3. Introspective Journaling Scenario: You've had a challenging day, and you want to journal your thoughts and feelings. Use the app to write an introspective journal entry. Tasks: Access the journaling feature. Write an entry about your day and document your mood. Save or submit your journal entry. 4. Mood Tracking Scenario: You want to track your mood for the day. Use the app to log your mood. Tasks: Find the mood tracking feature. Log your mood for each day of the week. View a graph or summary of your mood history.
Interview Summary
What do our users need?
*
Achieve work-life balance and self-awareness
They are feeling stressed and overwhelmed by work, and they are having trouble finding time for themselves. They are also unsure of how to find resources for mental wellness that are tailored to their specific needs.
*
To maintain and practice coping rituals regularly
They are struggling with perfectionism and self-doubt, and they are finding it difficult to cope with stress and anxiety. They are also interested in learning more about mental wellness and how to improve their overall well-being.
*
To find a resource that helps balance work-life
People are finding it difficult to manage their time and responsibilities, and they are looking for a way to reduce stress and anxiety. They are also interested in finding a resource that is convenient and easy to use.
What should influence future design decisions?
06.
AFFINITY MAPPING
Interview Summary
Affinity mapping allowed me to organize and synthesize the information collected from user interviews. It revealed common pain points and desires, that helped identify key themes like the need for structured self awareness and personalized content.
Making time for myself comes at the cost of something else
I'm unable to work unless my mind is clear.
Work-related stress has been spilling into my personal life, making me more irritable lately
Work-related stress has been spilling into my personal life, making me more irritable lately
Key Insights and Frequent Patterns
07.
AFFINITY MAP INSIGHTS
Affinity mapping allowed me to organize and synthesize the information collected from user interviews. It revealed common pain points and desires, that helped identify key themes like the need for structured self awareness and personalized content.
Work-Life Balance and Stress Management
100%
Face balancing their work and personal lives while managing stress effectively. This pattern underscores the need for strategies and resources to maintain a healthy work-life balance, establish boundaries, and effectively manage work-related stressors.
Emotional Well Being and coping strategies
83%
They employ practices like journaling, selfies, mood trackers, and routines. Social support plays a crucial role in alleviating emotional burdens, but can only help so much to some participants. Overall, this pattern underscores tailored coping, self-compassion, and self-care in addressing emotional challenges.
Reflection and Self-Awareness
50%
Emphasize the importance of self-reflection and self-awareness in their lives. This pattern involves recognizing the value of pausing to reflect on one's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This pattern highlights the role of introspection in personal growth and emotional well-being.
Self-Improvement and Productivity
67%
Have a keen desire for self-enhancement and increased productivity in their lives. They are motivated to improve various aspects of themselves, such as time management and prioritizing their 'me' time.
Time to Humanize Our Research!
08.
USER PERSONA
Based on insights from interviews, I created user personas: Stevie Stiles and Eliott Penn to humanize our target audience and guide design decisions. My journey began by giving life to "Stevie Stiles" the stressed newly promoted marketing director and "Eliott Penn" the avoidant software engineer as user personas. These personas anchored me in the real individuals who would depend on my app, ensuring that their distinct challenges and aspirations drove my design decisions.
STEVIE STILES
ELIOTT PENN
Which story speaks louder ?
09.
STORYBOARDS
I explored how individuals like Stevie and Elliott might use the resource to simplify their lives by merging their needs with the solution. My main challenge was finding a balance between a universal coping method and one that's achievable. While inclusivity matters, keeping it simple is convenient. Storyboard 1 aimed at practical stress, anxiety, and depression solutions, while Storyboard 2 focused on emotional expression for overall well-being. Based on user resonance, I chose the direction of Storyboard 2 for my design solution.
Storyboard 1
Storyboard 2
Creating Opportunities out of
Frequent Patterns
10.
POV + HMW STATEMENTS
With a deeper understanding of the user base, I formulated a Point of View statement that framed the problems I aimed to solve that would guide me in the ideation phase. HMW (How Might We) statements followed naturally, helping me transform challenges into opportunities.
POV
For busy professionals juggling work and personal life, finding an efficient balance is crucial. They struggle to set boundaries, manage stress, and access mental health resources easily. The frustration arises when work stress seeps into personal life, impacting their emotional well-being. How can we create tools and resources that empower individuals to set clear boundaries, handle stress, and conveniently access mental health support, fostering a harmonious work-life balance and improved mental wellness?
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USABILITY TEST1. Onboarding Experience Scenario: You've just downloaded the Introspective app. Open it and complete the onboarding process. Tasks: Sign up for an account. Set your preferences (if applicable). 2. Daily Check-In Scenario: Imagine you want to start your day with some introspection. Open the app and perform a daily check-in. Tasks: Start a new daily check-in. Document your entry for the day. Save or submit your responses. 3. Introspective Journaling Scenario: You've had a challenging day, and you want to journal your thoughts and feelings. Use the app to write an introspective journal entry. Tasks: Access the journaling feature. Write an entry about your day and document your mood. Save or submit your journal entry. 4. Mood Tracking Scenario: You want to track your mood for the day. Use the app to log your mood. Tasks: Find the mood tracking feature. Log your mood for each day of the week. View a graph or summary of your mood history.
How might we personalize a resource that empowers individuals to set clear boundaries, manage stress, and access mental health support conveniently, so they can achieve a harmonious work-life balance and better overall mental wellness.
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USABILITY TEST1. Onboarding Experience Scenario: You've just downloaded the Introspective app. Open it and complete the onboarding process. Tasks: Sign up for an account. Set your preferences (if applicable). 2. Daily Check-In Scenario: Imagine you want to start your day with some introspection. Open the app and perform a daily check-in. Tasks: Start a new daily check-in. Document your entry for the day. Save or submit your responses. 3. Introspective Journaling Scenario: You've had a challenging day, and you want to journal your thoughts and feelings. Use the app to write an introspective journal entry. Tasks: Access the journaling feature. Write an entry about your day and document your mood. Save or submit your journal entry. 4. Mood Tracking Scenario: You want to track your mood for the day. Use the app to log your mood. Tasks: Find the mood tracking feature. Log your mood for each day of the week. View a graph or summary of your mood history.
How might we empower individuals to develop and maintain effective coping strategies to enhance their emotional well-being?
-
USABILITY TEST1. Onboarding Experience Scenario: You've just downloaded the Introspective app. Open it and complete the onboarding process. Tasks: Sign up for an account. Set your preferences (if applicable). 2. Daily Check-In Scenario: Imagine you want to start your day with some introspection. Open the app and perform a daily check-in. Tasks: Start a new daily check-in. Document your entry for the day. Save or submit your responses. 3. Introspective Journaling Scenario: You've had a challenging day, and you want to journal your thoughts and feelings. Use the app to write an introspective journal entry. Tasks: Access the journaling feature. Write an entry about your day and document your mood. Save or submit your journal entry. 4. Mood Tracking Scenario: You want to track your mood for the day. Use the app to log your mood. Tasks: Find the mood tracking feature. Log your mood for each day of the week. View a graph or summary of your mood history.
How might we assist individuals in their journey towards self-improvement and increased productivity in both their personal and professional lives?
-
USABILITY TEST1. Onboarding Experience Scenario: You've just downloaded the Introspective app. Open it and complete the onboarding process. Tasks: Sign up for an account. Set your preferences (if applicable). 2. Daily Check-In Scenario: Imagine you want to start your day with some introspection. Open the app and perform a daily check-in. Tasks: Start a new daily check-in. Document your entry for the day. Save or submit your responses. 3. Introspective Journaling Scenario: You've had a challenging day, and you want to journal your thoughts and feelings. Use the app to write an introspective journal entry. Tasks: Access the journaling feature. Write an entry about your day and document your mood. Save or submit your journal entry. 4. Mood Tracking Scenario: You want to track your mood for the day. Use the app to log your mood. Tasks: Find the mood tracking feature. Log your mood for each day of the week. View a graph or summary of your mood history.
How might we encourage individuals to engage in regular self-reflection and develop self-awareness to better understand their emotional and behavioral patterns?
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
11.
SITEMAP
To assess the logical structure of my app, I organized a closed card sort involving 5 participants through the use of Optimal Workshop. The card sorting process garnered positive feedback and enabled me to reorganize the hierarchy into a more user-friendly structure for seamless app navigation.
01
Initial Sitemap
Ensuring a user-friendly interface is crucial, as complexity can lead to overwhelm users. Therefore, it's essential to integrate straightforward and familiar design patterns.
02
Card Sorting
5 participants
42 Cards
6 categories
03
Revised Sitemap
Ensuring a user-friendly interface is crucial, as complexity can lead to overwhelm users. Therefore, it's essential to integrate straightforward and familiar design patterns.
Initial Sitemap
Revised Sitemap
Initial sitemap vs revised sitemap after card sorting
UI Design
12.
USER INTERFACE
Brand
UI Kit
Playing with Mid-Fidelity Designs
13.
MID-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
Apps like One Day Journal, Daylio, Dailybean, and Tangerine stood out to me the most since they each offered different modes of entry documentation such as journaling, voice memos, pictures, etc. Through a quick test of each app, I discerned the features that proved useful and identified those that posed obstacles to a seamless user experience.
5
user flows
60+
screen designs
3
days to create a prototype
Are my designs usable &
understandable?
14.
USABILITY TESTING
This is where I had the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of my mid-fidelity prototype with actual users. I closely observed their ability to navigate through the app seamlessly and pinpointed entry points while they successfully completed 4 scenario tasks.
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USABILITY TEST1. Onboarding Experience Scenario: You've just downloaded the Introspective app. Open it and complete the onboarding process. Tasks: Sign up for an account. Set your preferences (if applicable). 2. Daily Check-In Scenario: Imagine you want to start your day with some introspection. Open the app and perform a daily check-in. Tasks: Start a new daily check-in. Document your entry for the day. Save or submit your responses. 3. Introspective Journaling Scenario: You've had a challenging day, and you want to journal your thoughts and feelings. Use the app to write an introspective journal entry. Tasks: Access the journaling feature. Write an entry about your day and document your mood. Save or submit your journal entry. 4. Mood Tracking Scenario: You want to track your mood for the day. Use the app to log your mood. Tasks: Find the mood tracking feature. Log your mood for each day of the week. View a graph or summary of your mood history.
Test Objectives
01
Evaluate the app's navigational ease by observing users as they follow task prompts and navigate through it.
02
To assess the intuitiveness of features and their interaction with users.
03
Determine whether participants perceive introSPECTIVE and its check-ins as valuable and envision incorporating them into their daily routines.
04
Uncover any point of overstimulation while interacting with the app.
Embracing the way my users navigate through introSPECTIVE
15.
ITERATIONS
Round 1
The first round revealed users were having difficulty navigating through entries and searching for specific data.
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Improved organization and searchability: A search bar would allow users to quickly find specific entries in their journal, based on keywords, dates, or other relevant criteria. This would make it easier for users to track progress, identify patterns, and access specific entries for review or reflection.
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Enhanced navigation and filtering: A filter calendar button would enable users to easily filter their journal entries by date, allowing them to focus on specific periods or trends in their mental wellness journey. This could be particularly helpful for identifying triggers, analyzing mood patterns, or tracking progress over time.
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Promoted reflection and self-awareness: By making it easier to find and revisit specific entries, a search bar and filter calendar button would encourage users to engage in deeper reflection and self-awareness. This could lead to a better understanding of their mental wellness patterns, identification of potential triggers or stressors, and improved self-care strategies.
Prototype
17.
PROTOTYPE
SOLUTION 01
Random Daily Notifications
SOLUTION 02
Adjustable Timed Check-Ins
SOLUTION 03
Mood Statistics and Activity Analyzation
SOLUTION 04
Varied Expression
Wisdom for the future
When you're riding the wave of creativity, it's essential to remind yourself that you might not always have the best design solutions in mind. I appreciate the practice of conducting interviews with potential users and going through usability testing because, as thrilling as it is to create, witnessing how your designs can genuinely enhance a person's tasks is even more rewarding. Researching the individuals who will interact with the app was a privilege and served as a constant reminder of the real-world impact of the work I was doing.
Being a perfectionist can consume you to the extent of debilitation. I encountered this situation multiple times throughout this project, but it was crucial for me to strike a balance between perfectionism and practical efficiency. When you channel your time and energy into the wrong areas, burnout becomes a real risk, and that's detrimental not only to yourself but also to stakeholders and the users you aim to assist.
For this particular project, I would welcome the opportunity to carry out another round of usability testing and to collaborate with a developer to extend its reach to a broader audience. I take pride in what introSPECTIVE has evolved into, and I believe it has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for individuals facing mental and emotional challenges.