Role
Solo UX/UI Designer
Time Frame
10 weeks
Tools Used
Figma, Invision, Canva, Otter.ai
Methods
Ideating, Prototyping, Testing, UI Design, Branding
As the world continues to grapple with the repercussions of COVID-19, mental health is increasingly becoming a priority.
bloom. is an iOS wellness app that equips individuals with various tools (e.g., meditation, yoga) to prioritize self-care. It is also designed to help people reflect, analyze and explore their inner-selves in a safe, inviting space. Through this, bloom helps individuals find a haven amidst the stress of everyday life.
The Problem
Only ~2% of government health budgets are spent on mental health, despite prevalence of mental health issues.
25%
increase in global prevalence of anxiety & depression due to COVID
Young adults
suffer the greatest increase in mental health concerns compared to other age groups
5.8 million
Canadians feel they need but cannot access any mental health support
The Solution
Helping people take care of themselves and finding stability amongst turbulence.
Self care made easy
Offering a variety of easy, anytime self-care activities to tackle stress, anxiety, self-esteem, and mental health misconceptions
A place of reflection and discovery
Journaling eases depression and anxiety by processing thoughts and emotions.
With bloom, users can:
-
Express in multiple ways
(emotion tracker, voice, images, videos, written forms)
-
Explore deeper with AI-generated prompts
Sprinkling in more plants 🌱
-
Journey through time with plant-based future journaling
-
Grow plants by completing daily self-care activities
-
Statistics excite you? Monitor your progress, gain insights and understand yourself better!
Research Methods & Insights
How is mental health perceived? What are the existing solutions and why are they ineffective?
Primary Research
01.
I interviewed 12 young adults (18-34 y/o) on their attitudes, behaviours, challenges surrounding mental health.
Insights
Different techniques
YAs wished they knew different ways to regulate their emotional well-being
Space to reflect
YAs often seek a space to reflect on their thoughts and feelings as a way to manage their stress
Competitive Analysis
02.
There's so many mental health apps out there yet many have low retention rates. How come?
Insights
-
Often overloads users with too much info
-
Lack novelty & multi-functionality
-
Excessive or lack of customizability
During my research, it became clear that mental health is perceived to be a public health issue where many people feel helpless about the lack of support. I chose to take on a preventive approach – empowering self-care for psychological strength and resilience. This approach fosters personal control, easing pressure on mental health systems leading me to my ‘How Might We’ statement:"
How might we empower young adults with mental health tools in order to relieve day-to-day stress so that they improve their overall mental health and well-being?
Specifying user needs
Persona & Experience Mapping Exploration
Taking all my research findings, I reflected on the combined insights and plotted a narrative for Ruth's experience to empathize and identify opportunities where I could intervene with my digital solution.
Emphasizing journaling and reflection...
Design Solutions
Challenge: How much is too much? What should I focus on?
My digital solution's functionality became more defined as I aimed to balance user needs for variety while avoiding feature overload. To gain insights, I consulted with previous interviewees, and the consensus was to emphasize one self-care technique while offering a range, typically between 5 to 8.
As my research emphasized the need for reflection and thought regulation, bloom focuses more on journaling.
But how would someone like Ruth use bloom to journal?....
Task: Creating a new journal entry
hover on each sketch to bring it to life ~
1. PIN-Protected
Ruth would enter her PIN since bloom is secured to protect users' privacy.
2. Easy to access
Ruth is greeted with a nice positive quote, and can quickly access all available self care activities
3. Intuitive
A simple calendar and a big + button that users are familiar with
4. Tailored Preferences
Ruth could write, speak, use images/videos and even generate an inspirational prompt
Iterations & Revisions
Usability Testing
With a mid-fi prototype, I conducted two rounds of usability testing with 5 testers in each round completing 5 tasks. The results from each round of usability testing were used to inform my design changes for a new iteration.
Though legible, some users felt that fonts and icons can be more prominent
Increased discoverability & visibility of items
The addition of tags for easier information retrieval and entry organization.
Though legible, some users felt that fonts and icons can be more prominent
Challenge: Usability need or preference?
In this stage, distinguishing between personal preferences and genuine usability needs in the feedback was challenging. Testers had varying opinions on the "done" button placement – some wanted it at the bottom, others at the top, and some preferred both. A question that helped me get through this was ‘Does this impact the user’s capability of effectively doing the task?'.
bloom. beautifully conveys how each and everyone of us are unique ‘seeds’ but each with our potential to bloom into different types of flowers - we all have the potential to live and bloom into the best versions of ourselves.
