Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many have experienced isolation, job loss, and/or personal loss which has caused people to experience or have worsened symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Unfortunately, many of these individuals may not have access to effective coping mechanisms due to a lack of accessibility to mental health resources.
Stratus is not just an app; it's an effective tool designed to address this problem.
01
Background 📚
Understanding the User
To better understand the user, I reviewed what my target demographic would be, what goals my users would be able to accomplish, and the interface modality.
Objectives
Simplicity As a meditation app, Stratus should have a simplistic design to prevent users from feeling overwhelmed and being unable to achieve their goal of mindfulness.
Comfortability Stratus should make conscious use of rounded shapes and calm, pastel colors to create a relaxing, comfortable environment for users.
Inclusivity
Stratus should create a welcoming environment by using inclusive language for people of all backgrounds in regard to mental health.
02
Ideation 💡
Sketches
Initially, I focused on roughly sketching out Stratus' layout (specifically the layout of its core features). This included sketching explore page and the layout for video cards within Stratus.
After roughly laying out how I wanted Stratus to be formatted, I created more in-depth drawings that illustrated where specfic features would be.
Wireframing
The wireframing process was quite an interesting one, as it was my first time doing so. There also came the challenge of creating flows for my core functionalities as if I were the user myself. I began the brainstorming process and created rough wireframes.
03
In Action 📱
Prototyping
1st Iteration
After validating the necessary user flows and layout of Stratus, I began to build the 1st iteration of the prototype. I more so focused on layout rather than color as I wanted a strong base for my design.
2nd Iteration
My 2nd iteration involved making slight changes in Stratus' layout and incorporating more color into my design to make Stratus livelier and more welcoming. I added gradients for the topic buttons to make them stand out more.
Feedback
After finishing my 2nd iteration for Stratus, I asked my peers if there were any features that I should add to make Stratus more complete. Many said that it would be beneficial to add a feature that allows users to track their daily progress for stress and mental wellness.
Check-In
In my final iteration, I incorporated a check-in feature to track users' daily progress for stress and mental wellness. By doing this, users will have incentive to continue using the mindfulness strategies provided to them within Stratus so that they are visually able to see their progress.
Style Guide
I created a style guide for the Stratus app that displays the colors, typography, and icons used throughout.
How Does Stratus Work?
Stratus provides users with lifelong mental health support. Through the use of guided audio, users are able to sleep better, stress less, and focus more in their daily life. Through the check-in system, users can monitor their mental wellbeing and see their progress as time progresses.
01. Collecting references (both positive and negative) is key. Studying the competition allowed me to understand why users prefer certain meditation apps and what features should be prioritized.
02. Autolayout, components, and variants are lifesavers. Using them in Figma saved me a substantial amount of time.
03. Shape and color play an important role in how your design is interpreted by users. Many of the colors I used were pastel to convey a sense of calmness while the use of rounded shapes help to relax the user.
04. Feedback is important... Listening to and acting upon feedback is just as important. Much of the feedback I received throughout my design process led to the finalized version of Stratus and helped uplift my design even further.
05. Pace yourself. I tend to be overambitious at the beginning stage of the design process and attempt to complete the whole design in one go. Setting a pace allowed me to later reflect on my design choices and make more sound decisions rather than rushing to finish the product.
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