Mental Health Project
The mental health app designed for students on university campuses is a great resource that can help students improve their overall well-being.
This app can provide students with information, tips, and tools to manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health concerns.
By offering personalized support to students, this app can help them better manage their mental health and focus on their academic and personal goals with confidence.
Role:
Senior UX/Product Designer
Client:
The Faculty of Psychology
Year:
2023
the challenge
Creating a mental app that helps students manage their mental health and stay focused on their academic and personal goals with confidence is a challenging task.
One major challenge is ensuring that the app is accessible and user-friendly for all students and has a calming effect on those who use it. Another challenge is creating content that is evidence-based and tailored to meet the specific needs of students., ensuring that the app is regularly updated with the latest research and best practices in mental health.
The goals
Prioritizing mental health brings numerous benefits, empowering individuals to thrive. It enhances emotional well-being, promotes resilience, fosters healthy relationships, boosts productivity, and cultivates a greater sense of overall happiness.
1. Increase Mental Health Awareness: Students may not be aware of the impact their mental health has on their academic and personal goals.
2. Better Accessibiliy: Many students feel hesitant to seek out help or attend in-person therapy sessions. Having a mental health app provides an easily accessible platform for students to seek out the support they need.
3. Cost-Effective: Paying for therapy sessions or mental health resources can be expensive.
4. Give Personalize Support: Every student has unique needs and experiences when it comes to their mental health struggles.
5. Improve Academic Performance: With a mental health app, students can learn strategies to improve their mental health and, in turn, improve their academic performance.
Business Analysis
We took a business analysis of three existing mental health apps in the market:
Headspace
Talkspace
Calm
Key Findings:
Market saturation: The market is quite saturated, but each app has a specific niche (mindfulness, therapy, relaxation);
Subscription Model: Alll three apps rely on a subscription model, which might be a barrier for some users.
Brand Recognition: Headspace and Calm have strong brand recognition in their respective niches;
Professional Services: Talkspace stands out for offering professional therapy services.
Methodology
These methods, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, would provide a comprehensive understanding of the target users' needs and preferences, aiding in the development of a mental health app that is both effective and user-friendly.
Insights
These social vectors, obtained from the info provided through focus groups, questionnaires and expert inputs, highlight the broader impact that a mental health support app can have beyond individual users, contributing to societal change and improvement in various areas.
This allowed the team to accurately represent individuals facing mental health challenges, resulting in an empowering app experience.
Mental Health Awareness and Stigma Reduction
Educational Resources:
The app shall provide valuable information about mental health conditions, treatments, and coping strategies, enhancing public knowledge and understanding.Normalizing Conversations:
By facilitating open discussions about mental health, the app helps normalize these topics, reducing stigma and misconceptions.Personal Stories and Testimonials:
Sharing personal experiences through the app can foster empathy and a deeper understanding of mental health challenges in the wider community.
Accessibility and Inclusivity in Healthcare
Remote Access to Resources:
The app provides access to mental health resources and support regardless of the user's location, ideal for those in remote or underserved areas.Affordable Mental Health Care:
Offering free or low-cost services makes mental health care more accessible to individuals who cannot afford traditional therapy.Inclusive Design:
The app's design considers users with varying levels of digital literacy and physical abilities, ensuring it is user-friendly for a diverse population.
Community and Social Support
Support Forums:
The app offers moderated forums where users can share experiences, advice,
and encouragement, fostering a supportive online community.Peer-to-Peer Connections:
It enables users to connect with others facing similar challenges, providing a sense
of solidarity and mutual support.Group Activities and Challenges:
Organizing group activities or mental health challenges can engage the community,
promoting collective well-being and social interaction.
Personas
The personas were carefully created through collaboration between the app development team and academic institutions.
Esteemed universities, including the renowned University of Psychology, provided expertise to ensure the personas catered to diverse user needs.
This approach allowed the team to accurately represent individuals facing mental health challenges, resulting in an empowering app experience.
This process involved:
Collaborative Research: Utilizing academic resources and expertise in psychology to understand diverse mental health needs.
Surveys and Interviews: Conducting surveys and interviews with a broad demographic to gather insights into various mental health challenges and preferences.
Expert Input: Leveraging the knowledge of mental health professionals and educators to refine the personas.
Market Trends: Considering current trends in mental health and digital therapy to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
Information Architecture
Experience Design
Building a brand identity for "MentAll," an app designed to support mental health for all, involves creating a cohesive and resonant image that communicates the app's core values and mission.
Based on the name and the description, here's a conceptualization of the brand identity:
Logo Design:
The logo for MentAll could combine elements that represent the brain and inclusivity.
The brain symbolizes mental health, while a circle or a loop that encloses the brain symbol can indicate inclusivity and community.
Colour
Primary Color: A calming blue, associated with mental clarity and trust.
Secondary Color: A nurturing green, to symbolize growth and balance.
Accent Colors: Lighter shades of the primary colours for gradients, along with a warm neutral like a soft grey to maintain a non-clinical and accessible feel.
The design uses soothing colours that are often associated with calmness and mental well-being, such as blues or greens, and the brain element is stylized to also suggest a global community, linking to the "for all" part of the app's mission.
Brand Story:
MentAll's brand story emphasizes a commitment to making mental health support accessible and inclusive, highlighting the importance of community and connection in mental well-being.
