COURSE
Perceptual & Cognitive Human Factors
DURATION
10 weeks
Winter 2020
MY ROLE
Visual Lead
User Research, Visual design, Prototyping & Testing
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TEAMMATES
Aparna Somvanshi
Nandika Gupta
Baley Firlus
Connor Mclerny
THE PROBLEM
Mental health is a serious issue that many face till this day. Memories we associate with negative emotions limit our perspective and influence our future life experiences by reinforcing negative thought patterns which shape our daily lifestyle.
INFLUENCE OF PAST MEMORY ON OUR FUTURE
With our secondary research to provide us with a solid base understanding, we found that emotion is tied together with significant events. One region in the brain that is correlates to emotion is the amygdala, and appears to play a significant part in the recall of negative experiences and memories.
References:
Grief Statistics. (2019, November 21). Retrieved January 13, 2020,
from https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/grief/related/grief-statistics/#gref
DISCOVER
Moving forward, to gain a better understanding of our users, we decided to conduct two phases of primary research methods.
1. SURVEY
OBJECTIVES:
- To define a specific target demographic based on their experiences
- To gain quantitative data
INSIGHTS
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2. INTERVIEWS
- 8 users & 4 SME
OBJECTIVES:
- Gain qualitative understanding of people’s emotions and experiences
- Achieve a deeper understanding of the different types of coping mechanisms used
- Gain industrial insights from subject matter experts
INSIGHTS
3. JOURNAL STUDIES
- Experimental & Controlled
OBJECTIVES:
- Understand how participants deal with emotions on a daily basis
- Learn the process of how they handle negative events
- Gain insights on what specific habits help them overcome negativity
The Journal Studies were divided into two different sections:
- Positive Affirmations and Motivations
- Self-Reflection and data visualization
INSIGHTS
Overall, we found that in our experimental group, none of our participants found the physical objects to be of any use to deal with their negative emotions. Instead we found that:
1. Participants try to distract themselves with the things they like in a negative situation.
2. Happiness was induced by productivity.
3. Participants lean towards meditation to clear and calm their mind.
4. To get through a negative events, participants tend to turn to close friends for support and advice.
IDEATION
With over 700 data points, we were able to create 150 clusters, deducing them down to 6 crucial insights.
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INSIGHTS
DEFINING OUR TARGET AUDIENCE
ages
12 to 35
- Research showed that younger individuals started being exposed to traumatic events around the average age of 12
- Due to lack of data received and the rigid nature of their chosen coping mechanisms, older audience members were not applicable
OUR NEW PLACE
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. Let your users get to know you.
AFTER HOURS OF BRAINSTORMING, MY TEAM AND I CAME UP WITH 2 MAIN IDEAS
CONCEPT 2: Elated (El)
CONCEPT 1: Echo
An algorithm based iPad/tablet application that allows users to record or write their experiences, using which it identifies negative and positive thought patterns and recommends exercises/activities that assist in coping with the emotional process.
An emotional artificial intelligence robot that provides a safe space and social structure to help people process negative experiences and suggest methods to maintain a positive outlook.
WE ENDED UP CHOOSING CONCEPT 2 WITH ADDITIONAL FEATURES
INTRODUCING
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WIREFRAMING & PROTOTYPING
LOFI WIREFRAMES
MIDFI WIREFRAMES
TASK ANALYSIS & USER FLOWS
Adding a Journal Entry
CBT Exercises
USER TESTING
EVALUATION METHODS:
- Wizard of Oz
- Thinking Out Loud
Quasi Empirical Method
Questionnaire (SUS)
12 Participants
3 rounds
Round 1
Round 2
DESIGN CHANGES
HOME PAGE
・Decreased weather intensity
・Increased customizables
Initially, the landing page consisted of intensive weather changes depending on the users emotions, such as harsh storms. This however discouraged many to use the app, therefore we decided to do subtle changes in the weather. As for the customizables, many produced positive feedback and wanted a larger variety of how they can decorate their safe space to fit their own personal taste. From here, we added more items, where they can even customize the color.
EXERCISES
・Precise guides and prompts
・El as a VUI
・Addition of progress bars
Throughout the user testing, many participants were confused with the initial prompts. Our initial goal was to make El, the emotional assistant guide our users through these exercises. Instead of guiding them through, we decided to make it more conversational and altered the choice of wording to create a more natural empathetic character.
USER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS
・ Better data visualization
・ Clarity of journal entry breakdown
・Less emphasis on journal breakdown
Our team had a hard time trying to represent their trends and key takeaways; we had to decide what insights were actually helpful.Our goal was to help them identify their recurring & dominant thought patterns & highlight things that helped them feel better. With feedback from the first and second user tests we were able to make this screen much more insightful for the user.
HI-FI WIREFRAMES
