THE PROBLEM
Mental health affects more than 60% of youth in America and is a pressing issue to address. There are cultural, social, and financial barriers that prevent youth from seeking mental health resources and services. How can we utilize artificial intelligence to mitigate the issues of accessing mental health resources for our youth?
Create an app that addresses mental health by utilizing AI and allows users to trust AI more.
This project is part of a semester-long course (Topics in Design) in collaboration with IBM Watson™ (AI Software).
PROJECT DETAILS
Duration and Team
4 members:
Developer, researcher, designer, project manager
Semester-long project
Role
Lead Designer
Software
Figma
Deliverables
Research
Brainstorming
Persona
Wireframes
Final Prototype
PHASE 1: DISCOVER
PHASE 2: DEFINE
Competitive Analysis
PHASE 4: DEVELOP
BRAND GUIDE
Typography and Color Palette
Sans-Serif creates a soft aesthetic and easy-to-read font.
Soft blue represents calmness and tranquility. Psychologically, blue is a symbol of trust, a color used often in corporate branding.
PHASE 3: IDEATION
PHASE 5: PROTOTYPE
User Journey
From what we gathered, we want our users to achieve clarity and overall contentment after using the app. Most students do not have time or resources to access actual therapists--Our app aims to make it easier for them to receive help.
Best
Sellers
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Back in
Stock
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Secondary Research
According to our research, we found that:
AI is still a sensitive topic, and not many people are willing to trust it.
However, the majority are open to the discussion and the use of it for mental health.
The majority of people struggle with at least one type of stress or have mental health issues.
Despite having access to mental health resources, many people are not likely to utilize those resources: such as on-campus mental health centers.
There is a disparity between wanting anonymity versus having a personal experience with the AI.
Despite having ways to alleviate many people suggested using the AI app to suggest coping mechanisms and stress alleviating methods.
Survey
Out of 62 responses with 77% University students; 23% Community college; 50% Senior Year:
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87% have health insurance
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50% don’t know their health insurance. Therefore, our solution can help educate users on health insurance plans.
Interviews
The majority of people felt comfortable discussing their mental health with other people. They had a close network of people they could trust. However, some people expressed feeling:
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“Don’t want to burden the people around me sometimes”
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“Afraid that it would be seen as attention-seeking"
Questionnare
We asked users what kind of app features they would like to see.
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Prompts to vent
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Open chat to talk to a person anonymously
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Progress tracker: daily/weekly mood tracker
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A way to search for specialists in certain fields of mental health to be directed that is accessible for the patient, either locally or remotely.
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Goal setting
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Booking appointments
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Coping mechanism suggestions
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Connect to hotlines
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Various types of chatting
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Conversational
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Guiding
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Advice
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Headspace
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Guided meditation and mindfulness exercises
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Questionnaires about how you are feeling at the moment
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Possible premium membership
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Tracks progress
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News and articles
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Color scheme
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Many things are locked unless you have a premium
Humans Anonymous
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Not a very safe space--no separation between minors and adults
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Triggering topics in meeting rooms
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No mediators
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Scheduled meeting times don’t allow people with emergencies to talk.
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Mods (bots) kick out inactive people in meeting rooms but don’t detect racism, harassment, etc.
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Paywall to customize profile
WYSA
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While the app claims to offer therapy, mental health coaching is only available via text messaging.
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Varying costs for the premium version. There is select free content, but most of the app is locked behind a paywall.
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All of the CBT activities and exercises are done with the guidance of the AI chatbot, which can be frustrating for some.
Brain Storm
We brainstormed features that best represented the app's needs. We changed color customization, as we received feedback from peers that color does not accurately represent mood because it varies from person to person. Instead, we focused on objective mood ratings based on an illustrative scale, as you will later see in our final mockup
Best
Sellers
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Back in
Stock
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Meet Seraphine
Meet our primary persona, Seraphine Saddique, a 22-year-old senior college student diagnosed with depression.
From our research, we discovered that students value anonymity, security of information, signs of progress or improvement in mental health, and being educated on mental health.
We generated user personas of college students that covered areas of concern from our research. Using the information we gathered, these personas range from various cultural backgrounds and family views on mental health. One thing personas have in common is the distrust for AI to address mental health for humans.
Barriers to Mental Health Services
We identified key variables that cause students to have issues accessing mental health services. This exercise allowed us to narrow down the problems we can address in our final product.
Customization
AI tailored experiences with journal prompts, interactive chats, and widgets.
Anonymity
Input data is always confidential.
Progress
Review your monthly progress and view your daily, weekly, and monthly moods.
Privacy
Always ask for consent! AI will not ask invasive questions, and you have the option to edit and delete journals or chats.
Accessibility
Free 24/7 support. Additional health insurance features.
Solution
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Future Scope
While we are still getting on our feet, we will be partnering with non-profit organizations and universities by offering them a one-time payment. They will help distribute it through Student Services and promote it through social media and events.
User Flow
After identifying key features, a "happy path" is created for the user. The ideal path:
1. Onboard with questionnaires
2. select mood or prompt for the day
3. Write a prompt that encourages self reflection
4. Save prompt in a folder
5. Engage in AI emmersion activity for self-soothing or chat with AI
6. Rate your experience
7. Track your mood and filter insights
8. Navigate to profile to add tracker widget to home screen
9. View final report at end of journey
Best
Sellers
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Back in
Stock
Based on our problem definition, we found 5 key points that our app needed to address.
Wireframe
For the lo-fi wireframe, we transferred the onboarding process, interactive chat, and mood tracker to the final prototype. However, for the Home Page and Color Diary Entry, this idea had to evolve. Color is subjective to each user, therefore it should not be an indicator for emotions. Instead, a better solution would be for users to identify their emotions through words, as shown in the final mockup.
Wireframe
For the lo-fi wireframe, we transferred the onboarding process, interactive chat, and mood tracker to the final prototype. However, for the Home Page and Color Diary Entry, this idea had to evolve. Color is subjective to each user, therefore it should not be an indicator for emotions. Instead, a better solution would be for users to identify their emotions through words, as shown in the final mockup.
Wireframe
For the lo-fi wireframe, we transferred the onboarding process, interactive chat, and mood tracker to the final prototype. However, for the Home Page and Color Diary Entry, this idea had to evolve. Color is subjective to each user, therefore it should not be an indicator for emotions. Instead, a better solution would be for users to identify their emotions through words, as shown in the final mockup.
Variations
Final Design
Logo Ideation
A cloud represents a peace of mind. "AIght" is a play on words between the trendy gen-z slang and the use of the letters "AI."
In the app, the cloud is also a companion that guides our user through coping strategies, interactive chats, navigating journal entries, and more.