Can your mobile device transform from a distraction to a steadfast ally, bridging the gap between well-being and daily engagement?
Problem
Individuals struggle to cultivate a consistent and holistic approach to well-being in their daily lives, facing challenges such as:
- Lack of motivation
- Difficulty establishing healthy habits
- Feeling isolated in their wellness journey
- Difficulty establishing healthy habits
- Feeling isolated in their wellness journey
Approach
Timeline: 9 weeks
I strategically phased my UX initiative into three key stages, leveraging a systematic approach to enhance organization and foster an intuitively cohesive user experience:
- Research
- Ideation
- Design
Goals
- Increase user motivation to adopt and sustain healthy habits
- Enhance overall engagement through personalized and interactive features
- Tailor the user experience to resonate with unique personas, ensuring relevance and relatability
- Enhance overall engagement through personalized and interactive features
- Tailor the user experience to resonate with unique personas, ensuring relevance and relatability
RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis: Headspace
Key Elements
Headspace showcased good use of space, and a simple UI to not overwhelm their user.
- Rounded corners, avoiding potentially uninviting UI elements
- Simple graphics and colors, not overdoing their design elements
- Very simple menu selection
Competitive Analysis: Fabulous
Key Elements
Fabulous focuses on the journey that users will go through, emulating the real-life journey they go through; helping users visualize their growth, in addition to:
- Beautiful graphics throughout the entire user flow
- Implements gradients that are inviting and capture emotion
- Encouraging language that motivates the user
Inspiration: Duolingo
Key Elements
Duolingo is known for gamifying the experience of learning a language, increasing user retention, and also...
- Utilizes Characters/Personas to increase engagement
- A bright and inviting color palette that invites the user
- Not afraid to add personality to the design, making it very attractive
IDEATION
Emerging Themes in Research
These three apps were able to make the journey of mental health more fun and engaging, allowing users to stay committed to their goals.
Headspace focused on bright colors and simple graphics, and Fabulous focused on the story-telling aspect of the app and how it really
users stories. Duolingo embraces the idea of interacting with the users, as the characters display a large range of emotions that add reliability to the interface.
Headspace focused on bright colors and simple graphics, and Fabulous focused on the story-telling aspect of the app and how it really
users stories. Duolingo embraces the idea of interacting with the users, as the characters display a large range of emotions that add reliability to the interface.
What worked well in these designs:
- Less is more, designs weren't too complex for the user
- Inviting color schemes
- Well-planned content models for each menu item
How could I implement these key elements:
- Rounded corners: inviting UI elements
- Simple and bright color palette
- Have characters display a range of emotion
- Allow users to connect with the personas, possibly through relatability
- Encouraging messages throughout the user's experience
User Personas
DESIGN
User Flow
Sketches and Wireframes
Experimentation
This project involved extensive experimentation, encompassing various elements such as grid layouts, color schemes, utilization of negative space, character animations, and prototyping. The intricate design process reflects meticulous attention to detail across multiple aspects.
Final Designs
I meticulously crafted a seamless and engaging user experience by employing:
- 8-column grid system with an 8-pixel vertical spacing, ensuring consistent and visually appealing layouts, with an aspect ratio of 4px.
- I assigned unique color schemes to each persona, amplifying their distinct personalities. This thoughtful approach not only added vibrancy but also created a relatable and personalized journey for users.
- Emphasized user guidance, the designs were meticulously crafted to lead users effortlessly from one interaction to another.
- A simple navigation with three options, the home screen, the journal, and the explore page.
- Every interaction done in the app will allow users to easily track their habits for future growth.
Project Takeaways
Navigating the complexities of Thrive turned out to be a more intricate journey than I initially envisioned. Starting with ideation, figuring out how to seamlessly incorporate personas into the user experience posed a unique challenge. I had to decide whether these personas would be interactive characters or revealed gradually throughout the journey.
I learned how to:
-Define a clear user flow within a tight timeline
- Prioritize features and experiences carefully. In the end, I settled on guiding users through onboarding, showcasing different personas, and finally unveiling the interface.
- Pay attention to micro-spacing intricacies and focus on creating an intuitive design system that could evolve organically.
Despite the challenges, I found myself deeply engaged in the project and proud of the outcome. This experience provided valuable insights for future projects, setting the stage for improved approaches in the future. Excited about the lessons learned, I look forward to applying them in upcoming endeavors.
