Mood board showing calming color palettes, self therapy notebooks, and descriptions of types of therapy

Mood Board

Mental Health App

Mental health concerns are on the rise worldwide. Many individuals who would benefit from access to mental health professionals are unable to get this access, due to low supply and high costs. Maintaining a journal to reflect and gain insights on your day can be a useful stop-gap tool to help individuals who are struggling to connect with a therapist. I challenged myself to create a journaling app to fill this need.

The primary, potential user would be a young adult (18-25). This person would trust technology, want to work on their mental health, and have some disposable income.

Interview

I conducted an interview with a potential user to gather specific needs:

  • The app needs to be a way to build journaling "into my routine"

  • The app should help to make journaling "manageable and approachable"

  • The app needs to support either a method that is "totally freeform or really structured" (noting that each method allowed for different kinds of reflection)

  • The app needs to be cost appropriate (based on this user's report of paying $12 for a journal and roughly $250 a year for therapy)

  • The app would need to "help me do my therapy homework" to find things to reflect on

I also gained insight into using journals:

  • "Sometimes I journal in the moment of something happening and sometimes remembering to journal prompts me to reflect"

Wireframing

Wireframe displaying layout of a therapy journal app

Wireframes for three screens

I then wireframed an app with a few screens:

  • Documenting in the moment

  • Reflecting on a past event

  • Generally reflecting on the day

To meet the need for freeform or structured, I made a customizable option for the "What did you do today?"

I also added in a tracking feature - common to popular "bullet journaling" styles.

Medium Fidelity Prototyping and Design

An early prototype showing the layout of one screen

Prototype

Testing layout in medium fidelity prototype

Feeling wheel

Desk Based Research

Gloria Wilcox's Wheel of Emotions
(Source)

Minimum Viable Product

Using a Google Form, Zapier Zapp, and Google Tasks, I built a minimum viable product. This product can record a user's journal entry and create a Google Task to reflect on a recorded entry after a two-week period.

This MVP focused on the first wireframe screen conceptualized.

screen-20221020-232833.mp4

Video Using Journaling MVP

Screenshot showing the Google Task list with an entry created by the user

Task List in Google Tasks

Screenshot showing the full Google Task created from the Google Form

Task Created from Form Entry