A mindfulness app that provides a safe space through journaling and recommends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) based exercises to change negative thoughts into positive ones.
Defining the Problem
Memories we associate with negative emotions limit our perspective and influence our future life experiences by reinforcing negative thought patterns which shape our daily lifestyle.
Objective
To design an interactive service, product or mobile application that
emphasizes human memory.
Our Goal
Provision of a safe space that promotes freedom and independence to express one's thoughts, beliefs and feelings freely. To aid transform any negative expressions into positive ones and foster an optimistic attitude.
brighter- Vision Video
brighter Vision Film by: Jared Wersota (Editor and Videographer), Aparna Somvanshi (Script and Actor), Amanda Kong (Graphics and Actor), Connor Mclerney (Actor), Nandika Gupta and Baley Firlus)
Understanding the relevance of the problem
The Research Methodologies Overview
Survey Insights
We aimed to define our target demographic by gaining quantitative data. For the User Survey, we procured 173 responses in around 6 days.
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Interviews
In order to gain qualitative understanding of people’s emotions and experiences and achieve a deeper understanding of the different types of coping mechanisms used we conducted 8 User Interviews with 4 Males and 4 Females.
We aimed to gain industrial insights from subject matter experts by conducting 4 expert interviews.
The Package: Cultural Probes
Experimental Group:
• Journal
• Letter of instructions
• Hand Grip
• Stress Ball
• Heatable Stuff Animal
Control Group:
• Journal
• Letter of Instructions
• Candy
• Emotion Stickers
The Journal
The Journal Studies were divided into two different sections:
• Positive Affirmations and Motivations
• Self- Reflection and Data Visualization
Cultural Probes Findings
Data Affinitization
700+ data points with over 150+ clusters
Target Demographic
12 - 23 year olds
• Younger individuals started being exposed to traumatic events around the average age of 12
• Older audience members were inapplicable due to lack of data and rigid coping mechanisms
Competitor Analysis
1.
Based on the understanding, we started conceptualizing
Initially, we came up two different concepts from our idea pool.
An algorithm based iPad/tablet application that allows users to record or write their experiences, using which it identifies negative and positive thought patterns and recommends exercises/activities that assist in coping with the emotional process
An emotional artificial intelligence robot that provides a safe space and social structure to help people process negative experiences and suggest methods to maintain a positive outlook
We chose to focus on the first concept but with additional features from the second concept
Introducing brighter
“brighter” is a mindfulness app that provides a safe space for people to express their thoughts through journaling and recommends CBT-based exercises, guided by an emotional voice assistant, to help them transform their negative experiences and emotions into positive ones.
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Information Architecture
Initially, we came up two different concepts from our idea pool.
Wireframing and Prototyping: Lo-fi and Mid-fi
Tools Used: Figma
MID-FI WIREFRAMES
Evaluation Methods
Quasi Empirical Method
- Wizard of Oz
- Thinking Out Loud
Questionnaire (System Usability Scale)
12 Scheduled Participants
3 Rounds
Design Updates and Iterations
Results from the System Usability Scale from Rounds 1 and 2
Home
We received great positive feedback on the customization aspect of our app. People really enjoyed the rewarding aspect of being able to unlock new furniture or house plants to decorate their safe space.
The participants suggested that we add more customization unlockables, and so we delivered!
Exercises
The CBT exercises were not fully designed & this confused the participants. Our goal was to have El, the emotional assistant, guide users through the exercise, but this was not coming across. We did a complete redesign of the exercises user flow, made it more conversational & added improved the wording of the exercises to make it more empathetic.
Trends
A constant point of challenge for our team was figuring out the best way to illustrate journal entry insights to the user that is actually helpful for them. Our goal was to help them identify their recurring & dominant thought patterns & highlight things that helped them feel better. With feedback from the first and second user tests we were able to make this screen much more insightful for the user.
Processbook 🔗 / Application Prototype 🔗 / Poster 🔗
A mindfulness app that provides a safe space through journaling and recommends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) based exercises to change negative thoughts into positive ones.
Application Prototype
Application Features
How does it work?
