SweetSpot.
ROLE
End-to-end UX/UI Designer
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam, Canva
6 weeks
DURATION
Overview
In today's fast-paced world, it's crucial to look after our mental well-being. Our lives are often dominated by digital distractions, constant notifications, and daily tasks. Just as we sometimes overlook our physical health, our mental well-being can be neglected too. Our overall well-being depends greatly on the health of our minds. However, finding motivation to prioritize our mental and emotional health can be challenging.
Problem
One major issue users encounter with meditation apps is maintaining their engagement and motivation over time. Despite the benefits these apps offer, users often struggle with challenges in their commitment and progress. These challenges include uncertainties about where to begin and which meditations suit their interests.
Solution
Developing a personalized meditation journey aims to simplify the user experience for those interested in meditation. The goal is to reduce the time and effort needed, thus preventing users from feeling overwhelmed by too many choices.
RESEARCH & METHODS
Objectives
Identify the factors that hinder users from maintaining a consistent meditation practice.
Explore the motivations that drive users to stay consistent when adopting something new.
Gain insight into users’ goals and well-being.
Examine the influence of business ethics on consumer behavior.
Methods
User Survey
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis
User Survey
To get a better sense of my potential users, I conducted a survey to note:
Possible target user demographics
User interest, motivations, and obstacles
Participants: 9 | Format: Google Forms
The survey was distributed to social media channels and personal connections. The results aided in identifying the particular participant group required for the user interviews.
User Interviews
Participants: 6 | Format: 30 minute, 1-on-1 conversations
Interviews provided a more complete understanding of people’s experiences, feelings, and motivations and led us to propose a new overall direction for the product.
Rooted Points
Guided meditations play a crucial role for beginners and in maintaining retention rates.
Offering various track length options provides users with flexibility and choice.
Incorporating rewards or progress tracking serves as motivation for users.
Competitive Analysis
I looked closely at three popular apps: Calm, Headspace, and Insight Timer.
I needed to know: Which ones are the most popular? What do they specialize in? and Who uses them?
I was curious to observe how they maintain user interest and which features are most frequently utilized.
For each one, I listed what they offer and their pros and cons.
**Pro’s & Cons for the competitors graphic
What I discovered was that Calm is known for its sleep and relaxation features, Headspace is famous for expert-led meditation sessions, and Insight Timer stands out because it's all about building a community of users. However, they all faced a common problem: a task flow that wasn't very intuitive because of the numerous features each platform had.
Lack of personalization
Not suitable for busy individuals
How Might We…?
To gain a deeper understanding of the data I gathered, I decided it would be appropriate to organize my thoughts by converting them into structured "How Might We" questions.
This step was crucial in order to transform the idea in my mind into a tangible product, as it allowed me to outline my users' pain points, gains, and needs.
User Persona
Based on the user research, I developed a persona to better guide my product development process. I focused on the goals and frustrations of the persona and how they would interact with the product, which guided my design decisions.
**User Persona Graphic
IDEATE
During this design phase, I contemplated the most efficient way for users to go from downloading the app to initiating their first meditation session. To enhance my comprehension, I constructed a user and task flow diagram to visualize the various paths users could take. I also took into account the potential limitations or frustrations users might face and evaluated how quickly they could finish the onboarding survey.
User Flow
Task Flow
DESIGN
At this point in time, I had recognized what features should be included in my app. However, the next step was to bring my ideas to life through visualization.
My approach to wireframing involves diving directly into Figma to create rough outlines and sketches of my concepts. This is where I make tons of iterations and keep everything organized onto one “artboard”. This approach has simplified the process compared to sketching on a piece of paper and transferring it into Figma.
**Low-Fidelity Mockups
The primary challenge I faced was the tendency to overthink each step or screen. I aimed to avoid repeating the same mistakes as other meditation platforms that overloaded their apps with excessive features. My goal was to keep my app simple and provide users with the results they initially sought as soon as they joined. This led me to conceive the idea of implementing a survey at the beginning of the app.
The questionnaire would serve to personalize the user's experience based on their responses, influencing the app's structure, meditation types, and style accordingly. This way, users wouldn't have to spend time navigating through a vast library of meditations, eliminating the need for excessive thought and simplifying their journey to improving their mental and emotional health.
UI/Branding
SweetSpot is named after the the feeling of the meditator being the space between each thought. The intention was to offer users an initial experience that hints at the possibility of balancing their busy lives with the inner peace within. Given life's constant whirl of thoughts and obligations, the design aims to evoke calmness and relaxation.
**Logo/Iconography
The choice of indigo as the primary style was deliberate, symbolizing the third-eye chakra and intuitive energy while fostering focus. Placing indigo on a dark background not only creates a visually striking contrast but also reduces strain on the user's eyes. Furthermore, the UI elements were designed to be familiar, ensuring cohesive and inclusive iconography for all user demographics.
User Testing
I organized a user interview where participants were given the freedom to navigate through the prototype independently, with only an endpoint screen provided. This approach offered me a live glimpse into how users engaged with and navigated through the app's onboarding process.
Results:
Users appreciated the simplicity and ease of the onboarding flow.
Feedback on the design and overall vibe of the app was positive.
I was pleased to receive positive feedback, but I also felt that I lacked enough criticism on my designs. As a result, I decided to share them with my mentor and received valuable feedback, particularly on making overall UI changes.
The padding and UI elements were adjusted to have a more rounded appearance, creating a sense of continuity throughout the interface. Also, by switching the progress bar from a dull gray to a vibrant indigo color scheme, it became much easier to see and grabbed attention more effectively.
FINAL PROTOTYPE
CONCLUSION
This journey has been incredibly fulfilling. It started as a vague idea, a wish for others to meditate and enhance their mental and emotional well-being, lacking clear direction. Reflecting on it now, this path has been quite lengthy. Nonetheless, I feel grateful for all of the knowledge I've gained throughout this experience and the chance to design a product that could potentially help many individuals on their journey to self-improvement.
I take pride in this project because it marked my first venture into identifying user problems and generating design solutions to address them. This journey allowed me to recognize my natural inclination toward UI design and the critical role consistency plays in a product's success. I'm excited to continue learning and improving this skill in my future projects, and to add more skills to my design toolkit.
Next Steps?
Create a web/desktop version of Sweetspot.
Create a “light version” of the app for those who prefer.
Adjust my user-dashboard to make it less crowded and more spacious.
Add more features to the Rewards/Progress portion of the app.
Thank you so much for reading!
