Final year project
Practicing Mindfulness; an aide to improving mental health [Read more]
Limbic; Mindfulness training to better cope with poor mental health
Worldwide approximately 350 million people suffer from Depression and even more, people suffer from low mood. Limbic focuses on intervention opportunities to help people cope with mental health issues in line with methods of cognitive behavioural therapy. I found an opportunity within the aromatherapy market to innovate in creating a product that not only purposefully tackles mental health through routines and the context of mindfulness but uses multiple scents meaning users no longer need to buy multiple products to use for different moods they might experience.
The design of the product aims to evoke feelings of calmness in the user due to the natural and organic form and lines. I wanted to reference sculpture within the shape and used different pieces of marble subtractive sculpture to influence the development of the form. In keeping with the organic nature, I used transparent plastic at the top of the product. Allowing the user to view the internal components in ode to essential organic design. Combined with the reflective use of colour in the white and the blue, the overall aesthetic was found by users to feel calming which means the form and functionality of the product complement each other in creating an immersive experience for the user.
Limbic
Limbic's feature set allows the user to better achieve different states of mind such as becoming more focused, better able to fall asleep, feeling more energised, feeling calmer or even helping increase/decrease a sense of appetite. The methods to achieve these states revolve around the practice of breathing but within different contexts such as yoga. The UX proposition provides users with access to guided activities based upon the user's known ability so as to consider flow state and not overwhelm them with too great a challenge and therefore invoke increased panic or anxiety. The use of colour within the accompanying app is purposeful in using colour coding to direct users to appropriate activities for the state of mind they would like to achieve according to the scents they have inserted into the physical product.
Limbic
The product features an SOS interaction where the user applies a force onto the silicone oval which covers a force-sensing resistor. When pressure is applied this begins a breathing exercise (predetermined in settings and editable for the user to alter to their preferences). The user with their phone or smartwatch and the product follows the breathing routine, inhaling - holding the breath - exhaling, to assist them in a moment where they might feel anxious or stressed to help them control any negative emotions and to calm themselves no matter where they might be.
Limbic
Limbic incites behavioural changes due to the use of multiple scents to enhance the practice of mindfulness breathing exercises to stimulate the human limbic system and amygdala. Evaluations with experts in cognitive neuroscience validated the product's feature set off combining scents, routines and mindfulness practices to alleviate symptoms of low mood. Users can use a shop feature within the app to purchase different scents and blends, such as peppermint & ginger, rosemary, lavender or even if so incline CBD oils. It would require users to select the state of mind they want to achieve with the product, then recommending the most appropriate scents to help the user achieve this.
Limbic
Limbic required minimalism in regard to the physical interaction points. Due to the product's aim of inciting behavioural changes I needed to ensure that the physical form didn't incite design friction and create further frustration in users. The main priority of the product is to assist in moments of poor mental health and therefore had to be cautious of designing other interaction points that could confuse or lead the user away from achieving their desired state. Therefore, I purposefully limited the interaction points to create the SOS breathing sequence activated by the force-sensing resistor so that the user can precisely activate that specific sequence each time they require.
&Response; Revolutionising the digital dating experience for meaningful and lasting connections
Forming a new relationship is becoming increasingly complex. Users in the pandemic flocked to digital dating media and this intake of users will continue to increase. However, this poses issues of emotional harm, behaviours of rejection and a lack of ability to emote to one another and form a lasting relationship. The research discovered how humans crave personal touch which releases oxytocin. Due to barriers of in-person interactions alternative methods such as auditory sensory inputs can be used, such as music, podcasts, sound bites. This led to the development of utilising audio to create a sensory dating experience that conveys emotion as a tool to positively impact relationships and engage users to establish a shared environment, create a sense of belonging found in familiarity, common interests, an expression which allows for vulnerability, and comfortability in socialising with a new match and potential love interest or friend.
&Response; Revolutionising the digital dating experience for meaningful and lasting connections
The Product’s core is its implementation of music and the user being able to create musical messages to send to their ‘match’, to better express their individual personalities which can be hard to convey over text. The user taps the keys after setting their sound and pitch preferences and communicates their mood, feelings and expresses themselves in a creative outlet that isn’t provided within current digital dating experiences. The product uses symbiotic play to allow users to listen to media at the same time. Thus meaning they can relate and become a part of a shared experience, even when not in the same facility there becomes a sense of belonging and unity in the action. The Digital offering implements design friction to slow the process of discovering high numbers of matches frequently in ‘shopping’ like actions and instead pairs a potential match for the week, at the end of which their pictures are revealed to therefore place an emphasis on building a relationship and focusing on personalities rather than making an assumption based upon first appearance.
Melody; A musical transcription aide
An IoT music transcription product for composers to enhance the experience of creating music and transferring melodies to paper in response to the challenge’s musicians face within the current disjointed working method. This design relied upon research and user experiences from experienced musicians to identify specific problems to streamline, thoughts, to instrument, to sheet music. Melody records music played on the piano and correctly identifies the notes played, timing, key and translates this information onto its corresponding app using the process of transcription developed in recent programming. The product detects the strength of the vibrations from the piano played and determines the appropriate dynamics and notates this on the digital sheet music ready for review and editing.
Alice Springett
An empathetic researcher and designer, focused on understanding human motivations and behaviour to uncover insights and enhance user experiences.
I believe that research and understanding not only human behaviour but the inner workings of individual human minds and the emotions their experiences can have upon their interpretation of the world around them is crucial to meaningful design.
Conducting user research allows for unique discussion with real people and allows for the exploration of their individual experiences to understand problems they encounter in their lifestyles. By not just actively listening but by applying empathy into research I’ve found that researchers and designers can better understand the emotional implications that the digital and physical products, as well as services that we design, can have upon the human mind and the behaviours that follow. I have found this to come to the fore within the problems I have tried to tackle within the context of design at university. In particular exploring mental health, relationships, social innovation and equality, creating new behaviours in the context of healthy habits.
I approach research with natural curiosity and the initial question of Why? ‘Why might a user perform a task in a specific manner?’; ‘Why might they not seem engaged with attributes of design work?’; ‘What information is vital to their trust of a platform?’. Asking questions allows for divergent thinking where instead of viewing a problem from one dimension you are able to depict an experience from a multitude of viewpoints and provides greater context.
This curiosity naturally occurs in user testing when I can take my designs and a discussion guide and apply active thinking into different environments to uncover new and exciting insights for product discovery, definition and development to create meaningful impact in the everyday life of users.
Final year project
Practicing Mindfulness; an aide to improving mental health
Awards
21' Diploma in Professional Studies, Nominated for University Placement Award by Placement company.
Work Experience
UX Intern|Nomensa - August 2019|2020
I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to intern at Nomensa. My work within this strategic experience design agency allowed me to explore a multitude of sectors and carry out digital transformations to enhance user experiences with different companies. In particular, I had the pleasure of working with some high-profile clients in the financial, health and wellbeing and charity sectors. In this turbulent year I was able to conduct numerous usability testing sessions for the development of digital services including the creation of a new financial app 'Yuh' understanding new investors and their behaviours, as well as partaking in observational research, international research, creation of experience and journey maps, desktop research, mystery shopping amongst other responsibilities. The implementation of learnings from psychology, strategy, qualitative research and design methods has taught me to evolve the product design process currently practised by traditional designers. By considering the psychological, design integrates with research to create products with the intent of furthering emotional connections between the product and the user. This sense of empathetic design allowed me to shape the behaviour of users in the digital products I was creating by supporting motivations; allowing me to innovate and turn insights into prototypes into real-world products.