CareerFoundry project
Buoy app
There is a great need and market for assistance in conquering mental health struggles; stigma and financial situation seem to go hand in hand preventing users from reaching out for help.
overview
Buoy is a native app designed to support users in improving mental health. Via connection to licensed therapists, chat with supportive AI, and educational tutorials Buoy is a resource for all, wherever they may be on their mental health journey.
problem
Care and support for mental health struggles can be cost prohibitive, annoyingly time consuming, or too sensitive to address openly.
goals
Design an app that brings a variety of resources to users: free and anonymous mental health AI chat, matching to therapists for live sessions, and video tutorials for self-improvement and learning. This app will fill the affordable and accessible care niche that connects reluctant users, in a safe and welcoming way, to licensed professionals through live chats, video content lessons, and self-help tools. The videos will not only grow users’ skills but also build trust, comfort, and interest in connecting with the professionals creating them.
scope
User Experience Design, Interaction Design, Product Thinking
role
UX Designer (student)
tools
Figma, Sketch, Usability hub, InVision, Google Survey, Zoom, Optimal Workshop card sorting, Canva
research
Information gathering began with extensive competitor research, heuristic evaluation of existing mental health apps, and interviews.
Apps in the mental health space do offer connection to therapists and free access to meditation or guides, but there were still gaps in the market and opportunities to improve these services.
There was a risk of the target audience still being too reluctant to engage with and seek out help. There are also a few apps on the market already that do prioritize anonymity, but Buoy could do better.
A major differentiating factor will be the offering of free content and conversation, which other apps do so limitedly.
To minimize the risk of potential data breaches (which further breeds user distrust): allow users to opt-out of providing certain information, one-time payments as to not keep billing information on file, and partnering with processing platforms of uncompromising security.
Following a better understanding of the current mental health app landscape, behaviors of the existing users, as well as characteristics of my target audience, I created three key personas to illustrate the Buoy users.
personas
user journey mapping
Taking into account the traits of these users in combination with anticipated user tasks I created journey maps to help flesh out the features, navigation, and other key elements needed in order to construct a site map (and uncover any other necessary features or design elements).
first wireframe iterations
From the onset I was committed to the tile display for content, as it is engaging, aesthetic, and clear but also familiar to users (thanks to Instagram, Netflix, Pinterest, etc).
Because AI chat was not only a way to support users’ mental health but also to gather data to better serve and build for the users, it was originally suggested that on-boarding and AI chat would occur simultaneously. Additionally, users would not have to do a separate registration questionnaire if the AI chat had already gathered enough pertinent information.
Commitment to an easy and optional therapist-matching questionnaire remains throughout all the iterations, while fidelity and mechanisms have improved.
testing
A Remote (Moderated) Test of the Buoy app was conducted using a task-based walk through addressing:
key navigation points
finding mental health support
the booking (of an appointment with a therapist) process.
the goal:
Proof of obvious and clear navigation that helps users efficiently complete a task; and evidence that the supportive and trust-building interface encourages continued engagement.
synthesizing test results and feedback
Through building, testing, and feedback of the prototype it became clear that I needed to create additional wireframes for pages connected to the core features (such as the "My Account" page to locate and join appointments, as well as display the notification and device-linking capabilities of interest in future iterations). Heightening the iconography as well as the verbiage for supportive mental health conversation improved the user experience and better illustrates the tone and tenor of the app.
revision process
updated wireframes
As user feedback demanded (and was originally part of the design, but not yet built out in the prototype) displaying info/preview of content was added. When users hold down on a tile a small overlay appears to give a synopsis of tutorial topics and duration.
The AI chat evolved to become one brought to new users via an overlay introduction to Aimie, the AI bot. If users choose to engage, the chat is redirected to the chat platform (screen looks different, more clearly a chat, with consistent use of ample user-directed exit or continue options). Chat-bubble-by-chat-bubble screens were included in the prototype to better illustrate the intended flow of conversation.
Combining the questionnaire, the survey, and the info-gathering chat functions was an example of letting business goals dictate design. It was realized (through prototyping and testing) that this was actually not user-friendly or helpful to users accomplishing tasks. Learning this and revisiting initially-identified user goals was crucial to reworking the questionnaire and therapist-matching flow.
As fidelity increased, headshots of therapists were included as well as the same information in overlay when users press down on the photo tile.
takeaways
It was clear to me that periodically refocusing on the user goals was crucial for my UX designs; thinking only of business goals or flashy tech features were most often to blame for time and energy “wasted” on unusable or cumbersome features.
I would have preferred to move from low-fidelity wireframes into style guidelines and branding and then into increasing fidelity. It was inefficient of me to increase the fidelity of my wireframes before having determined a cohesive visual style.
potential next steps
Given more time and engineering resources the animations, tutorial content, and AI chatting could be further built out. Even for prototyping purposes, a more reactive AI chat and tutorial samples would better illustrate the vision of Buoy and allow for more detailed user feedback.
Even more user interviews with subjects that have utilized traditional in-person therapy as well as remote would help to better identify what is working in the space, as well as existing pain points.
