Discovery

User Research

13 different individuals answered a series of questions to help me further understand how much people currently know about mental health, language they are using and how they might want to share or learn about that information. 

The main takeaway from researching is that most people don’t feel educated enough on the topic of mental health and that alone is creating a barrier in both talking about it and addressing ones health. 

Although people enjoy sharing stories with others they hesistate to engage in online community due to privacy and trust. Overall people value the opportunity to reflect on others experiences. 

I asked my participants to list off as many terms/ phrases related to mental health that they could think of and the results proved that despite our intentions we are all using the wrong language the majority of the time. 

The Solution

To inform and teach people about mental health and begin the journey of removing stigmas around mental illness by changing the language we use & through sharing experiences for others to reflect on. 

Competitive Analysis

Understanding how direct and indirect competitors are currently solving problems for users and looking for opportunity gaps that could live within the marketplace. 

The target users for this product are pro-active advocates and tech users; individuals who will look for a solution in the tech industry. Someone who typically finds ease and comfort in using applications or web-based solutions. This audience is eager to learn. Most of our users have run into barriers when attempting to address a mental health issue and are ready to start making a difference. 

User Needs

Unpacking user research

Research brought forth the needs of users for this product. This product differs from others and addresses the needs of the target market by directly providing easy to understand terminology and definitions, by offering related articles to mental health topics they find interest in, and by creating a safe environment for people to share experiences. Users desire trust and to feel a sense of realness when discussing mental health related topics.

• Access to information to gain knowledge about mental health
• Guidance in understanding the proper language that can aid in reducing stigmas around mental health.
• Easily accessible space to save like-minded articles. Saving time is vital.
• A sense of trust and realness from the support community.

User Goals

Brainstrorming the possible UX for a new application requires feature prioritization in order to successfully build a go-to-market MVP. I explored many solutions and created user flows to make informed decisions. 

Revised workflow

Prototyping

Ideation and visual exploration

Initial sketches

Wireframes

Hi-fidelity 

Interaction workflow

User Testing

Insights from Invision app and UserTesting.com

Performed user testing both in person and online to understand the mental models of target users. 

Final Design

The Minimun Lovable Product