TBH ( To Be Heard ) is a mobile app that connects adolescents to safe personal health and mood-based online forums, that helps eliminate the stigma of seeking help, and encourage more communication regarding mental health.
Project Synopsis
Client: BrainStation Capstone final
Role: UI/UX Designer
Tools: Sketch, Figma Invision, Keynote
Addressing the Problem (Secondary Research)
With the imposed isolation and closing of social activities, mental health among adolescents has deteriorated at an alarming rate. Prior to the pandemic, hospitals lacked the proper assistance for this demographic, COVID-19 aggravated the ill-prepared healthcare system. Parents are left to navigate the emotional distress while hospitals try to reorganize. This brings us to the main HMW:
How might we improve the mental health of adolescents, and remove the stigma when seeking help, so that they can build confidence and successfully reintegrate into society post-COVID-19?
A Girl's Best Friend
Thanks to the design process called the Double Diamond Design Process Model; I was able to comprehend my problem space and pinpoint possible solutions. Finally, apply new digital skills into a working prototype.
Time to Start Digging ( Primary Research )
The secondary research I conducted revealed distressing facts about the current state of mental health amongst young people today. Besides sifting thru medical journals, mental health articles, there was a need to synthesize my findings, so for my primary research, I conducted a survey that allowed me to focus on a specific age group within my demographic, and identify pain points related to my HMW. Here are some key findings from my google survey.
Introducing my Persona
Once I understood the themes from the data collected, I could "meet" Luke, our persona. To pour empathy into a potential user is a crucial part of the UX process; you must remove yourself as a user and instead focus on the persona's needs.
"You cannot understand design if you don't understand people" ~ Dieter Rams
Luke's Journey
At this stage of the process, it's important to compile user stories so that my product can address the needs and problems my user may come across. I compiled around 30 of said user stories, the condensed them into three 3 epics which helped me identify the main task flow.
Time to Grab Pen & Paper
I used Dribble and Pinterest to search for inspirations prior to sketching, I needed a simple but informative dashboard.
Down to the Wireframes
While constructing my wireframes, the initial vision was that of a seemingly happy surface that hides a sad inner being, to convey what adolescents tend to struggle with. With several user testings, I changed a few elements for better usability.
Let's Be Honest
When thinking of the logo, I looked for a twist on the acronym TBH which is a popular text acronym used predominately by teenagers.
Time to Get Pretty
For finding inspirations for my TBH mood board, I initially wanted a light-colored scheme, a product that evoked happiness but wasn't overbearing in bright color. Since my app pertains to mental health, I wanted to bring a calm and positive feel so that our persona Luke would have a sense of serenity while navigating the app.
It's in the details
While searching for UI inspirations, I realized the color scheme wasn't connecting with the feel of the app, so I went for a warmer tone. For the UI components, I wanted to incorporate clean and round elements so that they can translate into any OS.
Something Looks Different
After some feedback regarding my logo being too "theater" like, I went back to the drawing board and redesigned my logo and look, which ended up being the optimal choice.
Marketing Website
Having an engaging marketing website is crucial to the app's success; you want to grab the user's attention immediately and give them a sense of what's to come once they download the app!
Looking to the Future
Using the Tarot Cards of Tech tool, I was posed with Siren's question; while reflecting on the impact of TH, Luke's potential journey comes into mind. Since Generation Z is heavily dependent on online social activity =, TBH could have a positive social impact on its continuous usage, adolescents and young adults will have more confidence in knowing their story isn't an anomaly, will be better apt engaging with others during difficult times and having a better methodology in dealing with those issues.
That's All Folks!
Thank you for coming to the end of my first Project! I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I have making it.
