Lighthearted App
Overview
Lighthearted is an application I developed as part of a UX course in the spring of 2021. The project's objective was to address contemporary challenges related to mental, physical, financial, or spiritual well-being, with a specific focus on individuals aged 40 to 60. Identifying the prevalent issues of stress and a lack of self-reflection within this demographic, I conceived an app dedicated to enhancing mental health and promoting happiness. This app is thoughtfully designed to seamlessly combine mood tracking and visualization techniques in a delightfully simple manner, infusing a touch of humor for stress relief. Furthermore, it aims to offer users a user-friendly experience through a clean and uncluttered design, ensuring that users don't feel overwhelmed.
Discovery
Competitive Audit: The competitive audit displayed here was undertaken with a bit of a different approach. My process involved selecting a competitor each week and conducting a thorough analysis to draw comparisons with the app I was in the process of developing. I wrote paragraphs based on my findings.
User Research: To ensure my app would effectively address user needs, I conducted interviews with several potential users from the target demographic to gain insights into the challenges they were encountering. Among the most prevalent issues was a sense of loneliness and difficulty in self regulating moods, resulting in feelings of sadness and anxiety. During these conversations, I inquired about the activities or elements that provided comfort during such times. Users frequently mentioned that humor and music had a positive impact on their mood.
I also inquired about their preferences regarding wellness-focused apps, discovering that customization played a pivotal role in user satisfaction, and daily notifications were effective in maintaining regular engagement. Furthermore, users expressed a preference for symbol-based communication, such as emojis, over text input.
These interviews reaffirmed the necessity for incorporating progress tracking, personalized quotes, music, and emojis into the app to provide users with a means of self-expression.
Reflectly
My first observation regarding this application was it’s calming visual design. Additionally, it innovatively transformed notifications into what it termed "positivity reminders" on the user's mobile device. I found the inclusion of voice memos and emojis particularly noteworthy, as they offer convenient alternatives for expressing emotions when typing is impractical. Reflectly proved to be highly impressive, and I derived valuable insights from it to enhance and reconfigure my own concept, aiming to distinguish my app from others in the market.
Breeze
While this application did not exhibit the same level of design finesse as Reflectly, I obtained two valuable insights from it. Initially, upon launching the app, I was genuinely excited by the availability of personality quizzes for mental health evaluation, meditation videos, and wellness courses. However, my enthusiasm quickly waned when I discovered that a paid subscription was required for access. This presented a significant user pain point, considering that individuals seeking mental health apps are often doing so as an alternative to traditional paid therapy. This experience prompted me to prioritize offering my app for free and exploring alternative monetization strategies. On a positive note, I was inspired to incorporate engaging quizzes, much like those on the Breeze app, into my own project.
UX Design
Journey Map :
Having gained insight into user preferences for the app, I proceeded to develop a customer journey map to chart out the user's interaction with it. The guiding principles for the design included:
Ensuring a clean and comprehensible design.
Integrating calming and simplistic color palettes.
Infusing a sense of lightheartedness and humor into the app's user experience.
Sketching: Leveraging the extensive research conducted during the initial phase, I transitioned to the next stage and began sketching. These sketches served as a good way to encapsulate the user desires and preferences gathered from my interviews, pertaining to what they wanted in a mental health app.
