Team
Maria Iracli, Noam Bergmann
Role
UX/UI Designer
Tools
Figma, Figjam, Illustrator
Duration
10 days
Deliverables
MVP App
The Challenge
Ironhack presented me with the challenge to create a mobile wellness app with a disruptive concept.
Our goal is to help our imaginary client “The Health Conference” create a new digital offer for their members that helps them live healthier lives.
For this project my teammate Noam and I chose to design a disruptive concept for a gamified app that will help people with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression create healthy habits in a playful way. Moreover we want to de-taboo the topic of mental health. Note here that this app will by no means replace professional help but could be used as additional help in every day life.
Secondary Research
Approximately 1 in 7 people in Europe have a mental health disorder, with women being more affected. Hormonal fluctuations and gender-related challenges like discrimination, unequal pay, and caregiving responsibilities contribute to higher rates among women. Mental health disorders are legitimate medical conditions requiring treatment and support. There is a need to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and improve access to quality mental health care services.
Gamifying Mental Health
We aim to challenge the societal taboo surrounding mental health by using unconventional and playful methods. Our goal is to encourage users to engage with their mental health habits more easily and meaningfully. By creating interactive experiences, users can work on their mental health without feeling burdened by the task. There is a gap in the market for mental health apps that are both gamified and focused specifically on mental health. While most mental health apps take a serious approach, more gamified apps tend to focus on general habits rather than mental health.
Quantitative Research
We conducted a survey with 108 participants, with the majority being women. The participants were mostly in the age group of 29–34 and introverted, and most of them reported suffering from more than one mental health issue, with anxiety being the top disorder. Interestingly, exercise was reported to have the most positive impact on our users, regardless of the specific disorder they were dealing with.
Qualitative Research
User interviews provided valuable insights into the experiences and perspectives of individuals dealing with mental health issues. Three key themes emerged consistently: the importance of nature for mental wellbeing, the challenge of maintaining long-term habits, and the need for open discussion and reduced stigma. These findings highlight the importance of developing a mental health app that addresses practical challenges and societal barriers. The interviews also helped us create an Empathy Map and Persona to better understand users' needs.
Persona
Our target user persona is Amy, an introverted woman dealing with social anxiety. Amy's main challenge is maintaining her positive mental health habits in a sustainable manner. She seeks a solution that allows her to adhere to these habits without feeling judged or experiencing fear of failure.
User Journey Map
Throughout Amy's typical work day, she experiences a rollercoaster of emotions and situations. The most critical pain point is reached when she finishes work. Instead of doing something good for herself, she lies on the couch and gets trapped in endless scrolling through social media, using it as a coping mechanism to distract herself from her worries.
Problem Statement
"How might we..." Statements
Crazy 8’s & MoScoW Method
Once we had our problem statement, we began brainstorming solutions by asking ourselves:
“How might we reduce the barriers for people to start positive habits?”
Our ideation process led us to develop a main feature based on geolocation. We created a gamified map that encourages users to be active outside while also providing mental health exercises and tracking options.
MVP Statement
Mid-Fis & Usability Testing
After designing the low-fi screens, we conducted concept testing with very positive results and helpful feedback, that we used to convert into our mid fi wireframes. Furthermore, we also did usability testing which revealed some important ambiguities within our screens and our user flow.
Visual Competitive Analysis
We compared 3 competitors to each other, Fabulous, habitica and equoo.
Visual Appeal: Each competitor aims to create an appealing visual experience for their target audience.
Unique Aesthetic: They have distinct aesthetics that differentiate them from one another.
Color Usage: All competitors incorporate a variety of colors into their branding.
Individuality: Each competitor seeks to establish its own identity and stand out in the market.
While Fabulous embraces a playful and modern aesthetic, Habitica opts for a vintage look, and Equoo adopts a more unconventional and messy appearance. Despite their differences, all three competitors prioritize visual appeal, incorporate color into their branding, and strive to establish their unique identity in the market.
Moodboard & Brand Attributes
Colors & Typography
We chose rather dark colors to intensify the magical, mystical feeling of the app. A bright pink works as our accent color and gives emphasis to important elements and guide the user’s attention to where it is needed. We paired two typefaces Pally, a rather playful typeface and Inter, a more serious one. We used Pally for the gamy part of the app, like XP Points, and Inter for the more educational, serious part. This pairing can help to create a balance between the fun and serious aspects of the app and can ensure that the user receives all the necessary information in a clear and concise way.
Design System
We have taken a modern approach to our branding strategy by incorporating cards and buttons into a clearly structured layout. Our aim is to create a user-friendly experience that is both visually appealing and easy to navigate. To achieve this, we have adopted a more concise use of color and playful visuals. We implemented a design system to achieve consistent branding, faster iterations, improved collaboration, scalability, and an enhanced user experience.
Desirability Testing
Our product got positive user validation through desirability testing, where most users recognized its mystical and magical atmosphere.
Prototype in action
The app is set in a magical forest that serves as an analogy for the mind and its complexities when dealing with mental health issues. The goal is to keep the forest in balance and defeat the evil witch Agonia, that represents mental health issues. Agonia stands for fear and sorrow in Greek.
On Boarding
The on-boarding process explains that completing missions around journaling, mindfulness, breathing, and meditation can help users achieve their personalized mental health goals.
The app encourages players to step out of their homes and move around. It also enables players team up with others to support each other on their mental health journeys.
Their customized mental health goals will determine the missions they tackle, using the best techniques that suit their specific needs.The immersive and easy-to-use game experience encourages users to keep improving their mental health.
Completing Missions
The main screen of the app is the forest’s map, which shows the different missions nearby. The top-right legend provides icons and their explanations for the different exercises available. Players can choose a mindfulness exercise by selecting the appropriate icon and following the arrow to the mission’s starting point, as indicated by a pink arrow. Upon completing a mission, players receive rewards, such as XP points and flowers, which help them progress through the game’s story. In the mindfulness mission example below, the user had to observe their surroundings and take a picture of something special that caught their eyes. After submitting the users can also see the submission of others, which fosters a strong sense of community and encourages mutual support among users.
Quests, Journal & Profile
Quests:
Weekly quests encourage players to complete missions, both personal and social, to earn rewards and level up. Each week, players get three quests: personal, friends and community quests. These quests can be different each time and usually ask players to complete missions and gather XP points or other resources to successfully finish them.
When a player completes a quest, they receive a rewarding opportunity to unlock the next phase of the captivating story, by clicking the button on the journey section. After pressing it, they get a letter left by the magical creatures, to uncover more about the forest's history, gain useful tips to sustain their journey, and actively participate in the immersive storyline. This narrative draws analogies to mental health, allowing users to read and learn about vital and supportive concepts while fully immersed in the gaming experience.
Journal:
The journal section provides players with a self-guided personal diary where they can receive rewards for journaling, and a second page to view their past journaling missions.
Profile:
The profile page displays the player’s avatar, level, XP points, and personal goals. Users can edit their personal goals, access the settings, and delete their profile from the bottom of the page.
