Project Management
Oversaw development
Research & Analysis
Field research, interviews
Design & Prototype
Ideation, wireframe, mockups, prototype
User Testing
Usability tests, interviews
Toolstack
Adobe XD
Sati is a mobile application designed to assist patients in effectively managing phobia symptoms. It employs a range of psychological therapies, including exposure therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to provide comprehensive support and aid individuals in overcoming their phobias.
A widely ignored audience
in urgent need of solutions
in urgent need of solutions
With approximately 275 million people grappling with anxiety disorders globally, constituting around 4% of the population, Sati emerges as a solution to address this pervasive issue. Specifically designed to alleviate the profound symptoms of anxiety, Sati draws inspiration from Buddhist mindfulness teachings. The primary objective is to provide users with a convenient and seamless way to manage phobia symptoms, ensuring that seeking help doesn't disrupt their daily habits and lifestyles. Sati stands as a dedicated tool to bring relief to those navigating the challenges of anxiety, promoting well-being through accessible and mindful solutions.
A lack of alternative digital solutions
Conducting thorough research, I delved into the existing market landscape to address users' needs related to phobia management and anxiety. This exploration aimed to comprehensively understand the market and industry standards, providing valuable insights to inform future decisions. Notably, the investigation revealed a scarcity of accessible digital solutions that are both user-friendly and widely available.
Many existing solutions face challenges in accessibility, either due to limited availability in certain countries or heavy reliance on aggressive marketing strategies. Additionally, the user interfaces of these solutions often suffer from issues of legibility and aesthetic appeal. These findings underscore the critical need for a more inclusive and visually pleasing digitalized solution in the realm of phobia management and anxiety, positioning Sati as a thoughtful response to these identified shortcomings in the current market.
Competitor analysis of an example currently available on the market
Following my user interviews, I uncovered compelling insights regarding the current needs of individuals grappling with phobias.
These insights, encompassing accessibility, trustworthiness, and empathy, are invaluable in shaping the design and functionality of our solution for individuals with phobias, ensuring that it resonates with their mental models and user journeys.
User personas & journeys based on outcomes
Persona 1: Dorothy, the Seeker
Identified Need: Lack of fast, accessible solutions for managing her agoraphobia
Journey Focus: Allyson's journey centres around discovering the personalised app that seamlessly integrates into her daily, busy life, offering accessible tools to navigate the challenges posed by her phobias on a day-to-day basis.
Persona 2: David, the Assurance Seeker
Identified Need: Trust in health services with government affiliation.
Journey Focus: David's user journey revolves around seeking reassurance and reliability in a health app by prioritising features and information associated with reputable institutions like the NHS, in time for his blood test.
Persona 3: Sarah, the Comfort Seeker
Identified Need: An app that provides a friendly, empathetic, and personalised experience for her specific fear of dogs.
Journey Focus: Sarah's journey revolves around the search for an application that not only addresses her fear of dogs but does so with a tailored compassionate touch. She seeks a user experience that goes beyond functionality, aiming for a solution that intimately understands and supports her unique needs throughout the process.
Ideation
I decided to utilise the mind map and Crazy 8's workflows to help iterate on some ideas and start putting pen to paper on solutions.
Crazy 8s
Practising a Crazy 8s workflow was instrumental in crafting a personalised user journey, fostering a laser-focused approach to meeting individual user needs and profiles.
Site map & user flow mapping
User flow mapping was essential in creating a streamlined and user-friendly app experience, identifying potential issues, and enhancing personalisation options.
Crafting clarity and compassion: promoting simplicity and empathy in the UI
In architecting the low-fidelity prototypes for Sati, my strategic approach was anchored in two fundamental pillars: embracing minimalism and nurturing an empathetic user journey.
Embracing minimalism: My design ethos centred on minimalism to ensure clarity and ease of use. This involved distilling the interface to its essentials, thereby reducing cognitive overhead and enabling users to concentrate on managing their phobias with minimal distraction.
Nurturing an empathetic user journey: Recognising the nuanced needs of our user base, I intentionally incorporated elements of warmth and understanding. Through carefully selecting visuals, language, and interactive features, I crafted an environment that resonates with users on a functional level and provides emotional support and encouragement.
Visual identity
The UI components for Sati were deliberately chosen for their simplicity, avoiding any elements that could overwhelm users, especially those dealing with severe anxiety. The overall UI design prioritizes a sense of spaciousness and warmth to create a welcoming and calming user experience.
Colour
Colour in Sati contributes to its enjoyable and uncluttered experience. By employing a restrained colour palette, the primary focus remains on the on-screen communications, preventing any distractions from the main goal—helping users alleviate their symptoms.
Typography
I chose the Avenir typeface for its readability, especially since our colour scheme incorporated contrasting colours. Avenir is consistently used across the website, and users upon testing appreciated the lowercase style for its subtlety, aligning perfectly with the website's intended ambience and purpose.
Illustrations
The illustrations chosen were sourced from freely available resources and selected because they harmonized with the predetermined colour scheme of the UI. Their rounded and friendly aesthetics were in line with the app's aim to create a warm and welcoming user experience, offering users a sense of comfort throughout their journey.
Usability testing
To gain crucial user insights, I conducted UX testing using Maze. This system allowed me to send short, guided tasks to users so I could measure usability. These are examples of some of the tasks I set users to complete leading them to key features and pages to measure their success rate and manage to view progress as I continued improving the prototype.
Synthesis
I conducted usability testing with 12 users, and in Pathway 1, I observed a 75% success click rate but encountered a 38.8% misdirected path issue, mainly stemming from unclear CTAs initially. To address this, I redesigned the CTAs and introduced hover-only mood buttons, significantly reducing user confusion. Post-changes, Pathway 2 achieved an impressive 87.5% success rate, although a 25.1% misclick rate persisted. These findings underscore the critical role of clear CTAs and navigation in enhancing the overall user experience.
Reflection
Key learnings from this process include the value of an iterative design approach based on user feedback and usability testing, which demonstrably improved the app's usability and user satisfaction. Furthermore, we recognized ongoing opportunities for refinement, emphasizing the importance of continuous monitoring and adjustments to enhance the user experience. These insights reinforced our commitment to holistic user satisfaction goals, highlighting the interconnectedness of success click rates, clear CTAs, and users' confidence in navigation. Moving forward, we stress the significance of applying these learnings to future feature developments and enhancements, as user-centric design choices are integral to creating a more effective and user-friendly app.