UX/UI Design

Sunshine: A Mobile App Empowering Self-Regulation Against Seasonal Affective Disorder

Duration
2022 Fall (4 months)
My Role
  • Strategist
  • UX Researcher
  • UX/UI Designer
Team
  • Yihao Shi
  • Siting Xing
  • Luis Guerrero
  • Vivek Selvaraj
Sunshine: A Mobile App Empowering Self-Regulation Against Seasonal Affective Disorder

Project Overview

Problem statement

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is characterized by seasonal-patterned recurring depression that often starts in the fall and lasts through the winter. Studies show that SAD and bad moods caused by cold weather are prevalent in North America. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are only a few self-regulation tools that specifically target SAD, and most of them focus on providing related knowledge and light therapy outside the clinical settings. Our design tends to fill this gap and empower self-management in a more engaging and sustainable way.

Target Audience

The focus of our product was to support two groups:

  • The first group was those experiencing a dramatic climate change as a result of relocation.
  • The second group was those with a family history of SAD or pre-existing mental illness.

I assisted in identifying these target user groups and played a major role in creating product features based on the needs of these audiences.

Functionality

To help people who suffer from SAD, our tool includes functions that will help them develop strategies to improve emotional stability:

  1. Habit Formation: Tailors a routine of regular cleaning, exercise, and appropriate sleep schedule based on user responses from a questionnaire.
  2. Mental Health Monitoring: Prevents and assesses mental health conditions through continuous tracking of mood and energy levels.
  3. Community Building: Assists in creating meaningful connections by offering access to various online and offline community resources.
  4. Professional Support: Provides direct access to mental health professionals as required, ensuring users always have expert assistance available.

01. Competitive Analysis

In order to provide a comprehensive and accessible solution, our competitive analysis included a study of existing tools focused on SAD.

This research revealed a market dominated by self-regulation tools and external resources. There was a gap in applications that offer a combination of habit formation, community support, and professional guidance. Even popular apps like Headspace lacked specific customization for SAD while promoting regular habits. This market gap was the opportunity that we sought to fill with our product.

I contributed by analyzing the book "Winter Blues," a popular resource for people with SAD. This qualitative research allowed me to understand its strengths and weaknesses, and how we could combine the positive aspects of the book with our product while overcoming its limitations.

02. User Interview

To gain more insights, I led the team in conducting qualitative interviews with 8 participants. This process revealed 3 main themes of negative experiences and challenges they faced with SAD:

  1. Lack of awareness and understanding of SAD: Interviewees reported that despite experiencing symptoms associated with SAD, they had little knowledge of SAD. Lack of education and understanding of the disorder can prevent individuals from recognizing their symptoms and seeking appropriate treatment.
“I had heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but didn't really know exactly what it entailed.”
  1. Impact of seasonal changes on lifestyle: Participants reported significant lifestyle changes during the winter months, including disruptions in sleep patterns, changes in eating habits, and decreases in mood.
“I always feel like my mood is dropping during the winter months, and it's especially bad when I can't go outside.“
  1. Need for community support and outdoor activity tracking: The interviews highlighted the participants' strong desire to be part of a supportive community where they could share experiences and solutions, especially regarding outdoor activities. They also expressed a need for a mechanism to track outdoor activities and opportunities during the winter.
“If I could track outdoor activities and opportunities during the winter, I think it would help me stay more active and improve my mood.”

03. Persona & Scenario

The user interviews informed our creation of two primary personas and one secondary persona, along with scenarios for each.

As part of the team working on this, I was particularly involved in translating the interview data into these personas and scenarios, providing valuable insights into potential user needs.

Primary Persona 1
Primary Persona 2
Secondary Persona

View three scenarios (Link)

04. Sketch

Following our thorough research, we started sketching and storyboarding to visualize the features and flow of our application.

Here, I took the lead in brainstorming and sketching out the Habit Formation and Community Building features, ensuring they were engaging, user-friendly, and met the needs identified in our user research.

My Personal Sketch - Part 1
My Personal Sketch - Part 2

05. Storyboard

06. User Flow

Next, we moved on to developing our user flow. As a team, we used sticky notes to break down the features and interactions of our product. We referred back to our scenarios, sketches, personas, and design problem statement to complete them. Then, we organized our sticky notes sequentially to represent the path that users will take. 

Sticky notes allowed us to arrange our interactions as we constructed the user’s journeys logically. 

After using sticky notes to construct our process, we translated those into a digital version on Miro and tried to connect them together.

View full resolution (Link)

07. Lo-Fi Prototype

To create our wireframes, our team first discussed the goals and objectives of our app referring back to the user flow we have previously created.

I started by drawing some low-fidelity UI elements on a whiteboard and discussing the organization of the features with our team. We decided to start working on the “add a new goal” feature because we think it is one of the most important interactions for our users. After having this interaction completed, we knew that we could build the rest of the interactions around it.

08. Usability Testing

We then conducted usability tests with five participants on our wireframe designs.

I was responsible for analyzing the feedback and incorporating it into our design iterations, focusing on streamlining the home page layout and simplifying the goal selection process.

09. Mid-Fi Prototype

We started with the improvement of our low-fidelity prototype based on the feedback from usability reports.

  • We simplified the interface by removing the hamburger menu and reducing home screen actions.
  • We streamlined the "goal setting" workflow for user-friendliness.
High-Fidelity Prototype Preparation:
  • We decided on a warm, cozy color palette, settling on a yellow theme to evoke the feeling of a sunset.
  • We chose a single typeface, Rubik, to maintain simplicity and consistency throughout our design.
  • We drew inspiration from similar products to define our product's look and feel more effectively.
Transitioning to High-Fidelity Prototype:

Though we had strong low-fidelity prototypes, when translating them to high-fidelity we realized that some features and panels needed more work.

One key challenge was how to effectively display user's mood progress on a calendar. We initially used placeholder circles, but we had to further brainstorm on tracking and presentation methods during the high-fidelity design process.

10. 2nd Usability Testing

All five testers were satisfied with our color and graphic design, indicating that it fit our product concept. They found our goal creation mechanism to be helpful in alleviating SAD symptoms. However, testers found some issues such as unclear instructions, confusing flow structure and unexpected navigation.

11. Hi-Fi Prototype

On-boarding Process
Guide Page; Login & Sign Up Page
Goal Creating Process
Rewards Page; Homepage
Mood Tracking: Notification Page; Mood Check Page; Records Page
Insights & Community Page

View full Hi-Fi Prototypes:

12. Reflection

  1. Impact on Our Problem Domain: Our design promotes a healthier lifestyle and a structured daily routine to reduce SAD symptoms. By developing positive habits such as regular sleep, cleanliness, and outdoor exercise, especially during the less sunny winter months, we aim to provide both psychological and physical relief. The main purpose of our products is to increase awareness and understanding of SAD and to aid in early detection and prevention.
  2. Aspects We Did Not Implement: Our current design is primarily designed to accommodate first-time users, ignoring the potential benefits of ongoing engagement due to the time constraints of the project. Future features could include detailed feedback based on mood monitoring and progress toward goals. For example, after a month of daily goal checking, the application could reassess the user's condition and provide suggestions for further improvement. Professional help could be suggested for users who consistently display depressed moods.
  3. Negative Consequences and Ethical Considerations: Given the sensitive nature of mental health, we are aware that our application may be misused as a substitute for professional help. We emphasize that our app is a supportive tool, not a diagnostic or treatment program for mental disorders, which requires an individualized approach. To address this ethical concern, we decided to include a feature that helps users find nearby mental health resources in the event of a crisis, ensuring their safety and well-being.