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04: The Resting Space
March 2022
Lead over research, writing, and design for UX certification project
Conducted interviews; created personas, paper and digital wireframes, and low- and high-fidelity prototypes;
conducted usability studies; and iterated on designs.
The problem
Emotions are often considered right or wrong, good or bad. But the reality is they are merely uncomfortable and comfortable. And in any extreme, any emotion can be intense in ways that are counterproductive to overall well-being.
The goal
Design an app that can help users diffuse emotional intensity and find a place of balance over emotional negation, control, or elimination.
User research summary
The initial research we conducted explored what methodologies users would most want for diffusing intense emotion. Knowing we live in an age of “bite size” information, I was curious to see if users would gravitate more towards text-heavy information or towards hands-on interaction. After testing, I realized I had fallen privy to the either/or cognitive bias.
What I learned was that users didn’t want narrative or interaction. They wanted narrative and interaction.
Competitive audit
The competitive audit revealed that there is a significant gap in the market for apps aiding with emotional regulation. Most apps focus on general calming techniques or general emotion but don’t target or teach specific coping strategies for specific emotions.
Persona
Sitemap
Digital wireframes
For the digital wireframes, I began mapping out the placement of various interactions for emotional regulation. The first goal was to have the user objectively observe their emotions and assess intensity. Then, once the user has relaxed through observation, the next goal is to have them find balance through an exploration of the opposite emotion.
Usability study findings
I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study indicated that users wanted simple navigation and clear information, which guided the mockup design and high-fidelity prototypes. The second study helped us recognize the need for making relevant information even more prominent.
More narrative and options
Users wanted more narrative language to help them understand some of the more complex information. They also wanted more interactive options to help them explore emotional pairs.
Call-to-action buttons
Users were confused by “rest” being between emotion opposite pairs. They wanted this to be a CTA button instead.
Mockups
Responsive design
Key takeaways
“This app has has helped me think of emotions in unique ways, and that new perspective is changing the way I respond to them.”
Impact
The Resting Space offers users hands-on solutions and training for how to calm intense emotions and regulate back to a place of emotional balance.
What I learned
The biggest challenge for me with The Resting Space was learning how to take complex ideas and communicate them in succinct, bite-sized, user friendly ways.