Feeling Write is a mindful journaling app focused on promoting emotional well-being by tracking daily moods. Designed to streamline emotional expression and symptom control, the app features a simple, intuitive interface.
Role:
UX/UI Designer
Purpose:
Brainstation Capstone
Tools Used:
POP by Marvel, InVision, Figma, Adobe Illustrator
The Project
In today's fast-paced world, many individuals struggle to find effective and convenient ways to manage their mental health. Traditional journaling can be beneficial for emotional expression and symptom control, but it often falls by the wayside due to the time and effort required. Digital solutions offer potential, but many existing apps lack the user-centric design needed to encourage regular use and meaningful engagement.
Problem Statement:
Individuals seeking to process their thoughts and emotions often struggle to find an effective support tool. They may clutter their notes app with entries or attempt to keep a journal, only to forget about it over time. How might we create a journaling app that supports emotional well-being and encourages consistent use?
Problem Goals:
To design a user-friendly journaling app that promotes emotional well-being by making it easy to track daily moods and process thoughts effectively.
What Does Success Look Like?
Providing users with a dedicated, intuitive platform that encourages consistent journaling. The app should help users improve their mood, manage their symptoms, and engage in positive self-talk. It should also enable users to identify and address negative thoughts and behaviours through regular use.
The Process
Research
User Interviews:
To gain a deeper understanding of user needs and behaviors related to journaling and mental health, I conducted interviews with a diverse group of individuals. The aim was to uncover their current practices, challenges, and desires for a journaling app that promotes emotional well-being.
Method
We conducted a series of user interviews with 10 participants who regularly engage in journaling or mood tracking. The participants included a diverse mix of ages, backgrounds, and journaling habits to capture a wide range of insights.
Key Findings & Insights:
The interviews revealed several important insights that will help shape the development of the journaling app:
Current Practices
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Many users utilize their notes app to write down their emotions spontaneously without overthinking.
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Some use their daily agenda as a journal but would prefer to separate personal and career goals.
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Users generally do not track their moods but expressed interest.
Frustrations
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Users are frustrated with paid features that restrict access to essential functions.
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There is a strong desire to see progress over time, which current apps often fail to provide.
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Concerns about privacy and someone else accessing their journal entries.
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Many users do not know where to start with journaling and feel overwhelmed.
Mental Health Needs
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Individuals struggling with their mental health are keen on tracking their mood daily for better self-awareness.
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Those not regularly struggling with mental health seek an outlet for personal growth.
Desired Features
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An intuitive, easy-to-use interface that simplifies the journaling process.
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Features that allow users to track their mood and progress over time.
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Clear separation between personal and professional goals.
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Enhanced privacy controls to ensure the safety of personal information.
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A focus on both daily mental health tracking and personal growth
Competitor Analysis:
For a comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape, I conducted an analysis of existing mental health and journaling apps to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and potential areas for improvement.
Key Findings & Insights:
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Simplicity and Usability: Users prioritize intuitive interfaces for seamless mood tracking and journaling, expressing frustration with overly complex apps.
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Customization: Users value customizable features and personalized prompts that cater to their diverse needs and preferences.
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Privacy: Strong privacy measures are crucial, as users are concerned about the security of their personal information and journal entries.
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Balanced Pricing: Users seek apps with valuable free features and reasonably priced premium options, avoiding frustration with essential features being locked behind paywalls.
Define
User Personas:
After conducting thorough user research, we created three detailed personas to encompass the diverse needs, goals, and frustrations of our target users. Our goal in developing these personas was to maintain a user-centric focus throughout the project, ensuring that our design decisions effectively address the specific requirements and pain points of our users.
User Flow & Task Analysis:
Each persona has distinct goals based on their specific needs and preferences. Sabrina John focuses on efficiency and quick access, Khalid Ahmed seeks comprehensive data analysis and in-depth tracking, while Emily Rodriguez values simplicity and guidance through beginner-friendly features. The user flows are designed to align with these goals, ensuring a tailored user experience for each persona.
Information Architecture:
I designed a simple information architecture to create a user-friendly experience. This structure, based on user research insights, aims to minimize decision fatigue and enhance usability. The core features such as mood tracking, journaling, and analytical tools are organized intuitively for quick access. The home screen and settings are kept straightforward and customizable. This approach ensures that users can easily engage with the app's features, promoting consistent use and emotional well-being.
Ideate
Low Fidelity Prototypes:
In the initial stages of design for "Feeling Write," I focused on creating low-fidelity prototypes to refine the core features and user flow. Using the POP app for testing sketches, I identified key areas for improvement, such as the need for a dedicated landing page and a more informative home screen. This led to reorganizing the home page to present essential information upfront, facilitating easy navigation and enhancing overall accessibility. These early prototypes allowed me to iterate quickly based on user feedback and ensure the app's design aligned with users' needs for a seamless and intuitive journaling experience.
POP prototype app by Marvel
Iterative Sketch Prototypes:
Based on insights from the initial low-fidelity prototypes, I created another set of sketches to further refine the design of "Feeling Write." These new sketches incorporated feedback and showcased different screen versions, allowing for more targeted testing and iteration. This approach ensured that the mid-fidelity prototypes would be more aligned with user needs, providing a solid foundation for the app's continued development.
Test
Usability Testing:
Conducting usability tests for the "Feeling Write" app was crucial in refining the user experience. During this phase, users were tasked with scenario-based activities to test the app's main features and provide general feedback.
Key Findings:
Positive:
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Easy Mood Tracking: Users appreciated the simple and intuitive design, making mood tracking straightforward.
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Liked Prompts: The journal prompts were well-received, helping users organize their thoughts effectively.
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Quick Note Addition: Users liked being able to add notes to their mood entries, enhancing the depth of their journaling.
Negative:
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Navigation Confusion: Some users were unsure how to navigate around the app and suggested adding indicators and improving the swipe feature.
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Unclear Features: Certain features, such as badges and the calendar, were unclear to users, indicating a need for better explanations or adjustments.
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Customization and Personalization: There was a desire for more personalized elements, such as adding profile pictures and making the activities tab more personable.
Iterate
Design Changes
Based on user feedback, I made several key changes to improve the app's usability. I incorporated suggestions such as removing unnecessary headers, adding indicators for swipe functionality, and making descriptive word selectors optional.
This updated version featured enhanced navigation, more intuitive layout, and clearer text. To ensure a cohesive and visually appealing design, I focused on maintaining a strong visual hierarchy, consistent typography, and ample white space for better readability throughout the app.
Accessibility
To enhance accessibility and ensure compliance with WCAG guidelines, I made several thoughtful changes to the app design.
Improved Contrast and Text Size
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Originally, some text elements had insufficient contrast and small font sizes, making them hard to read for users with visual impairments. I increased the contrast and adjusted the text sizes to enhance readability and ensure that all users can comfortably view the content.
Revised Colour Scheme
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Based on feedback, I reassessed the colour scheme, particularly for text elements. Originally, colours like white on light blue and white on yellow failed accessibility checks. I adjusted these colours to ensure they meet accessibility standards, improving visibility and readability for all users.
Design Systems
I created a design system language that could be followed in the future to ensure consistency throughout the app.
Final Product
Final Prototype
After extensive user research, testing, and iterations, the final product successfully aligns with the project’s objectives of promoting emotional well-being through a user-friendly journaling app.
Key Features include:
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Mood Tracking and Analytics
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Users can easily track their daily moods and view progress through intuitive charts, enabling better self-awareness and mental health management.
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Customized Journal Prompts
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The app offers a variety of journal prompt categories, tailored to user needs such as emotional exploration, gratitude, and mindfulness, encouraging consistent journaling practices.
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Enhanced Accessibility
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The design improvements, including better color contrast, larger text sizes, and descriptive labels, ensure the app is accessible to a broader audience, meeting WCAG requirements.
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Privacy and Security
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Incorporating features like password protection to open the app, the design addresses user concerns about privacy and data security.
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Interactive and Intuitive UI
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The final high-fidelity prototype features a clean, organized interface with easy navigation, clear text, and prominent interactive elements, making the app straightforward and enjoyable to use.
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These features collectively provide a comprehensive solution for users seeking to manage their mental health through mindful journaling, offering a visually appealing, accessible, and secure platform.
Reflections
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges was ensuring the app’s design was both functional and visually appealing while addressing users' privacy concerns. Balancing simplicity and comprehensive features required multiple iterations, especially when integrating mood tracking and detailed analytics. Additionally, aligning the design to accessibility standards proved to be demanding, as it involved thorough testing and revisions to ensure the app met WCAG requirements.
What can be improved?
While the final product meets the core objectives, there are areas for improvement:
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Enhanced Personalization: Incorporating more personalized features, such as adaptive journal prompts based on user behavior, could further improve user engagement.
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Expanded Resources: Offering a wider range of mental health resources and crisis support directly on the main page would provide users with immediate assistance when needed.
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Refined User Experience: Simplifying navigation and adding more onboarding tutorials could help users, especially those unfamiliar with digital journaling, to navigate the app more intuitively.
What's Next?
Moving forward, the focus will be on:
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User Feedback Integration: Continuously gathering and implementing user feedback to refine features and improve usability.
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Advanced Analytics: Developing more sophisticated mood analytics and visualization tools to provide deeper insights into users' mental health trends.
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Platform Expansion: Expanding the app to other platforms, such as web and wearable devices, to reach a broader audience and provide more accessibility options.
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Community Features: Adding features that foster community support and interaction, allowing users to share experiences and advice within a safe environment.
By addressing these challenges and focusing on these improvements, the app can better serve its users and make a significant positive impact on their mental health and well-being.
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