LOGICO

Crafting an accessible, evidence-based mental health tool

Background

Once upon a time, I was an undergrad Philosophy major, learning about great thinkers and concepts of living.

One of my favorite professors introduced me to Logic Based Therapy (LBT), a methodology that uses the tenants of logic to guide people through their mental and emotional struggles.

I took a deep dive into LBT and found it to be exactly what my mind needed. I have also found great benefits from traditional therapy, but there was something special in this method: reducing mental pains to their root as misunderstandings of thought.

The Problem

There are numerous mental health apps on the market and as the industry continues to grow immensely, it has become increasingly difficult for users to make decisions and find methods that suit them.

The Solution

Logico: A logic based therapy app that allows users to complete lessons, reflect, and achieve peace of mind through various logic exercises and examples.

This project was based on a non-linear design thinking methodology which includes 5 stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test.

My Role

I conducted primary research through user interviews and defined key personas which informed my early ideations including sketches and wireframes. Eventually, I designed and tested a high-fidelity clickable prototype where users can learn the techniques of LBT simply and enjoyably.

Research

Preliminary research revealed that currently, there is only one mental health professional per 1,000 individuals seeking help. This revealed a larger problem within the mental health space- a problem of scarcity.

Yet in a 2018 study, the mental health app market accounted for 587.9 million USD and is expected to maintain a growth rate of 23.7% from 2020–2027. This led me to question: With so much immense growth in the industry why aren’t mental health apps more effective for those seeking help?

Research shows that people who engage with mental health apps only do so for an initial two week period. Those that were used beyond this time frame were used for mental health tracking rather than treatment.

How might we create an engaging mental-health based app that engages users? I set out to explore this question through 1-on-1 interviews

Primary Research: User Interviews

To better understand the user, I synthesized my interviews via empathy mapping. These empathy maps ultimately developed into user personas which allowed me to better understand and empathize with the Logico user.

The interviews showed that users have differing sentiments on the role apps should play in their life. Almost all participants expressed an openness to using apps to improve mental health, but the content that would appeal to them differed from entertainment to serious content.

Affinity Map

The insights of the interviews were placed on post-it notes and organized by pain points and suggestions in various topics of interest.

Empathy Mapping

To synthesize the commonalities in the user interviews, I created empathy maps which included three archetypes: The Power User, The Skeptic and The Artist (all of which can be seen here).

Personas

From the archetypes in the empathy maps, I created easy to compare personas based on the lifestyle and motivations of the individual users.
Compare the three main personas here.

Sitemap

Next, I initiated a top-down approach to the design flow by creating first a sitemap then user flows of crucial red routes. Planning out the information architecture greatly improved the focus of the high-fidelity designs down the road.

I began designing the information architecture of LOGICO with a Sitemap.

User Flow

Crucial red routes were mapped out into user flows.

Early sketches

Everything up to this point was building up to this stage where the visual design finally starts to come to life. There were three UI features that were essential to track the success of LOGICO and it’s users: the Dashboard, the Mood Slider and the Lesson Map.

Wireframes

Moodboard and Color Palette

The image and sensory deprivation experience of a flotation tank was the main inspiration behind LOGICO’s visual design. The idea was to create a place users can go to feel just the right amount of stimulation- just enough to focus on the task at hand.

Logo Iterations

The design of LOGICO’s logo was very intentional. The triangle is a historical symbol for clarity and especially when tipped upright, it represents an ascendance and reaching life’s peak. The circle represents human consciousness.

Seeing all options for a logo in this way helped me pick and choose aspects of each that I found interesting.

Initial High-Fidelity Screens

My initial designs included illustrations, which I found readily available in many places online. Upon receiving user feedback, our challenge was to create a screen that was less trendy and more unique.

Initially, we went white as primary color, which popped too much against the background.

Usability Testing

A clickable prototype was sent out to five users. They were given three tasks.

1. Sign up with Google
2. Complete a lesson
3. Share a quote within the lesson

Through watching and listening for their feedback, I created this document to highlight issues in the design.

Final High-Fidelity Iteration

In the final iteration, I changed as many of the issues as I could before doing my second round of testing. I increased font size and recreated the sign up screen to make it easier to understand. I also reworked the lesson to include actual content rather than the “Lorem Ipsum” text.

Final Clickable Prototype

Here is the clickable prototype real users tested.

Conclusion

My initial assumption for the project was that a Logic Based Therapy app would be therapeutic (as LBT was intended)- the end result was something that is more educational in function.

This struck the balance between useful and entertaining, something that all archetypes, personas and real users could see themselves using. This also leaves the window open for further gamification in later iterations, which would increase the likelihood of capturing users past the notorious two week window of interaction and ultimately raise the likelihood of LOGICO improving user’s lives.

Mental health is something that is intimately personal. Through empathy, research, iterations, and user feedback, LOGICO is a product that will empower people to identify, analyze and apply practices that increase their mental/ emotional wellness without the stress of decision fatigue and overstimulation. Moving forward this product will continue to evolve as I test on more users, collect more feedback, and refine my design to provide the best user experience for those seeking to improve their mental health.