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YUJ Design Challenge • Uxplorer Gold Winner • 2022
A digital wellness application that focuses on making the right balance between your digital and physical life based on your device usage.
Context
Organised by YUJ Designs every year, UXplorer offers an excellent platform for students to exhibit their elegant, human-centred product ideas. The purpose is to encourage and promote designs that drive industry growth and enrich human lives. This design challenge is open to students from around the world.
Brief
Design for Digital Wellness refers to being physically, socially, and emotionally healthy in a technology centred world. It requires us to keep the stress and problems associated with social media and digital dependency at bay.
While social media is perceived as a source of happiness, 24X7 connectivity is what everyone is aiming for. But in a day and age where we check our phones every 4 minutes, 344 times a day, digital wellness has become more important than ever.
Goal
Design a digital wellbeing solution for the above stated brief.
Process
Empathise
Literature Review
Understanding User
User Survey
User Interviews
Define
User Journey Map
Empathy Map
User Personas
Competitive Analysis
Redefined Brief
Ideate
Brainstorming
Information Architecture
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Edge Cases
Prototype
Design Strategy
Visual Language
High Fidelity Wireframes
Prototype
Test
Usability Testing
Future Scope
what's in the literature?
To get a preliminary knowledge of the topic and what has been written on digital wellness and screen usage patterns, we read research papers. We tried to identify the major relationship, patterns, and existing evidence on the topic.
Insights
Digital wellbeing apps are appreciated and useful for some specific situations.
Digital wellbeing apps should not be distracting as to say screen time replacing screen time is not a good idea.
There are a lot of engaging things to do with your phone, and it’s hard to break the habit.
Distractions can be caused by both external and internal stimuli making the user feel less productive and more stressed.
Negative effects of excessive screen usage- mental health, social interactions, the decline in quality of face-to-face interactions.
Most users use digital well-being apps for detailed statistics of their screen usage. The more accurate data, the more useful.
Digital wellbeing apps do not promote the formation of new habits and they are perceived as not restrictive enough, thus not effectively helping users to change their behavior with smartphones.
Breaking habits is frustrating, and users need to be continuously motivated in continuing the monitoring behavior to effectively use such apps.
Digital wellbeing apps do not promote the formation of new habits and they are perceived as not restrictive enough, thus not effectively helping users to change their behavior with smartphones.
The final purpose is to make users habitual to not using this app as to change their habit from within.
Users could interact through “social games”, with the possibility of setting goals, a rewarding mechanism in case
of success, and penalties in case of failures.
what is the user doing?
A good understanding of our users to know who they are, and the problems they
are facing with the existing solutions. Also, to get a deeper insight into what their motivations are, their mentality, and usage behaviors.
User Survey
From the research papers, we knew the formation of new habits and behaviors was going to be a major aspect in terms of our solution. So, we asked our users if they had any specific habits or anything productive they want to work on.
We framed the questions and floated a Google form where we asked our users about their screen usage habits.
Here are some valuable demographics from the 225+ responses we got.
Distractions
We asked our users what domain of mobile apps distracts them the most because distractions defeat the purpose and often make the user get away from their goals.
83%
Social Media
37%
Entertainment
21%
Gaming
On a scale of 1 to 5, we asked our users their drive to check their phones whenever they see a notification.
(percent of users)
Realisation
The realisation of the impact drives people to make a change in their lives. We asked users a specific set of questions for them to realise their total screen usage and the impact caused by it.
45%
32%
13%
10%
0-2 hours
5-8 hours
2-5 hours
8+ hours
Total Screen Time
We asked the respondents if excessive usage affected their mental/physical health or social interactions.
Yup
Nope
Maybe
73%
15%
12%
83%
respondents felt that they recall an app based on its brand logo.
62%
respondents could open an app based on their muscle memory.
Awareness
We also asked them if they use the in-built digital wellness applications on their devices.
Yes, but rarely!
No Idea.
66%
34%
We were curious if people were aware of the term “Digital Wellness”. 31 percent of our users did not know of the term.
I’m Aware!
Umm, what’s that?
69%
31%
Acknowledgement
Changing people’s behaviour is tough until they acknowledge the problem and have the motivation for the change.
We asked the respondents if they had a will to reduce their screen time to get an assurance of the scope of the project.
68%
Yes, for sure!
23%
Maybe?
9%
No, I am fine.
We also asked them if they follow their set timer (if they have) strictly and did not extend the timer.
34%
66%
Yes
No
Alternative
What are people doing when they are not on their devices? We asked respondents what activities they do.
38%
34%
28%
Physical Activities
Hobbies (cooking, painting)
Reading, Writing
User Interviews
To get a deeper understanding of user feelings, motivations, and how they use their mobile devices, we interviewed two users over a video call.
It was a semi-structured type of interview where we kept our questions flexible and open-ended.
Insights
Users want to see immediate results to keep themselves motivated.
They do not feel guilty about their screen time usage because all their friends are doing the same.
Due to their experience with similar apps, they suggest it to be a secure solution.
They think meditation and yoga bring them peace and energy.
They also suggested that all the screens could be connected and stats can be shown wholly.
The solution should be personalized enough for a user to choose a task on their own.
Also, think of a user who does not use their phone that much and still wants to grow a new habit.
mapping out the conversations.
An empathy map was created as another step to understanding our users better and prioritizing their needs. From the user interviews videos that we had recorded, we plotted the map.
Says
They want to have a change in device usage patterns.
Uninformed about product features.
Secure and adaptable solutions are needed.
Thinks
FOMO drives them to overuse.
Focus mode is helpful for the user.
Reminder notifications might be helpful.
4 weeks are required to adapt a new habit.
Across device linkage of the solution.
Multiple modes will be helpful.
Does
The more free time they have, the more screen usage they do.
5hrs daily usage.
Switches off mobile data to reduce distractions.
Users carry their mobile devices most of the time.
Feels
Doesn’t feel guilty about overuse because everyone is doing the same.
Immediate results might act as motivation.
Meditation and yoga can help in detoxifying.
what is the current user journey?
It was plotted to visualize the user goals and actions in a narrative. Starting from when the user decides to reduce their screen time to end up using it the same way (current day scenario).
who are the ideal users?
We chose two non-generic characters for our user personae which represents a larger targeted audience.
Aniket
22 Years
Undergrad Student
Male
Motivations
Wants to better his social interactions.
Goals
He wants to learn new things and take out time to work on himself.
Have a balanced digital life.
Frustrations
He usually loses track of time.
He is unable to manage his time.
Heavy user,
Occupied by social media and OTT apps.
Salonee
36 Years
Working Professional
Female
Motivations
She wishes to take breaks between all the hustle and give rest to her eyes.
Goals
She wants to keep herself fit, mentally and physically.
Overcome the fear of missing out.
Frustrations
Can’t help herself from keeping away from the screen.
She wants to see immediate results.
Always in front of any screen, work-related screen time is excessive.
analysing the competitors.
It was crucial to lay a foundation for our solution, so as to understand the current status of features, functions, and functionality of current digital well being applications we performed competitive analysis. Later we categorized gathered information in form of SWOT analysis.
Strength
Building new habits
Real time status and progress-dashboard
Setting up your goals
Achieving gradual step wise targets
Weakness
Irrelevant statistics and features.
Export the data
Global Usage
Export the data
Opportunity
Healthy new habits
Usage shown in calendar
Screen time satisfaction
One to one narrative language
Threat
Blocking apps which forces user to quit
Forced Offscreen
Advertisements selling their products
Facetime groups
Competition to encourage less usage
redefining the brief.
After analyzing the research, we redefined the brief to get to our ultimate goal of this project.
To channel the time spent on apps that have adverse effects into a healthy and productive habit.
As found from the research, most apps do their work just fine but fail to generate a new habit and motivation for the user to continue.
They force the user to quit by drastic changes and blocking the apps which isn’t a humane approach to make the user change their long-learned habit. Rather we should focus on changing the habits gradually and steadily with a more user-friendly approach.
let's brainstorm on ideas.
Although we had ideas from the beginning, after deciding that we will be focusing on a the digital solution we brainstormed on functions and features.
If not on screen then what?credit points??
solution as
An App
A widget
Maybe a screensaver
Not be making it competitive within the app among peers, because then it would be another social media app where users post something on the network and socialise virtually.
Randomizing app order
notifications blocker
time limit?
detox-deleting app
giving time to something productive and useful
Reminders to take a break
Widget
Creating a sense of urgency
Awareness of why user is using this much
Behavioural change
Linking screen time credit points to desired preference of activity.
Learn Something New
Warm colors help you sleep quickly, that's why blue light filters have yellowish tint. we can have our design language around that.
Three step solution
1. To stop from launching
2. To stop from over using
3. To stop from repeating
Colour blind accessibility
fingers accessibility
Never challenge the user, it would take them 5 seconds to uninstall the app. try empathizing with them and let them be their masters.
Gradually reducing the frequency of notifications and shutting down the vibrations and notifications sounds.
Multi- Device Linkage
App icon theme change
App icon placement change
Prevention of unconscious opening and usage by rearranging the order
Random skills
Cooking
Art and Craft
Learn a new language
Fitness
Ebook
Quizzing
Scream into void
App icon change
App placement change
It's not the technology that drives us to use our screens more, it's how and what we use them for. using it for the right reasons and not getting distracted from it is the bare minimum we and technology should be able to do.
Fitness
Walking
Running
Yoga Meditation
Cycling
Fitness Regime
Hobbies
Cooking
Arts and Crafts
Music lessons
Randomise
Education
Read
Write
After brainstorming and thorough ideation, we decided that the deliverables will be a mobile phone-based application, a widget on the home screen, and a system where we change the logo icon slightly of the targeted apps. The app will work on a daily points-based system of a two-day cycle.
User gain points from the total screen time of targeted apps on day 1.
Total points transfer to day 2.
User has to dissolve those points by doing a task according to their preference before they can use their targeted apps again.
They get rewarded each time they finish their tasks.
Total screen time of an app.
carried minus points from D1
assigned task before user can use that/those specific app/s again.
Day1
Day2
what are the concerned edge cases?
As the topic “Digital Wellness” stretch across a vast and varied audience, we tried to think of edge cases in our solution and a way to address them as well.
Specially Abled
Initially, tasks assigned on the app were going to be fitness based which would have focussed more on physical fitness. To make it accessible for the specially-abled audience, we incorporated meditation and hobbies of their choice.
Anyone can choose any hobbies as per their liking and start their productive journey.
Emergency Usage
On day 2, the targeted app gets blocked because the user could not complete their tasks. But in case of an emergency usage of that particular application, we have added an“emergency use” button from which the user can use.
To avoid any misuse of the emergency option, we are allowing the user for only a specific time period, the app gets blocked afterward and emergency usage is allowed only after a certain minutes interval.
Delay in Completion of Task
There can be many problems that can hinder the user to complete the task eg. unfortunate weather, medical emergencies, and many more. Firstly, the app will be blocked until and unless the user completes the task assigned to them. But to mediate the situation we have given the user option to toggle between the task assigned.
They can change it according to indoor/outdoors, shift the task to the next day, or suggest some new tasks.
what is the design strategy?
Before the final deliverables, we decided on the design strategy to approach our solutions.
Scalable
The survey educated us about users’ habits. It was no surprise to find out that when people were not using their phones, they were scrolling on other devices. Thus, offering a scalable and cross-platform solution is likely to have a better impact on device usage patterns.
Feasible
While interviewing users, we found out that they resist adapting to new habits all of a sudden and there is a larger chance of failure if we impose strict actions on their regular habits or force them to do particular tasks for their wellbeing.
Adaptable
Not all days are the same in terms of mood & motivation. This imposes a strict constraint on the scope of success of the solution. Users want to achieve certain goals without getting bored or fed up by the repetition of the activities.
Accessible
The diversity of our users shouldn’t hinder us from having access to the design solution. Every user should feel welcomed and should have a solution to their digital wellness.
Simple
As the domain suggests, our ultimate goal is to reduce users’ screen time usage. Lesser screens and features without compromising the functionality of the application were our go-to approach.
what about the information architecture?
To structure the features, organization, and flow of the application, information architecture was made.
Home Screen
Dashboard
Detailed Statistics
Week/Month wise Graphs
App wise Usage
Task Highlights
Task Overview
Task Brief
Ongoing Task Progress
Add Preferred Tasks
Suggest Something New
Modes
Minus
Focus
Work
Profiles
Account
Settings
Link Devices
FAQs
putting interface ideas to life.
Principles of Cognitive Psychology were strictly followed while designing the low fidelity wireframes of the screens, such as Gestalts Principles, Mental Models, Cognitive Load & Reachability.
adding a visual language to the ideas.
We wanted the app to have calm, soothing, and relaxing for human eyes, so, we have chosen the color scheme which fulfilled the above.
Why Dark Theme?
Early research has shown that dark mode reduces the emitting of blue light,
and can also work with a minimum contrast level sufficient enough to read.
Overall, just like our application, we wanted our users to be calmer during the whole day.
Typography
Two sans-serif fonts were selected based on their legibility.
DM Sans
Product Sans
Heading1-Bold
Heading2-Medium
Heading2-Bold
Heading3-Regular
Body1-Regular
Body2-Regular
how is the final interface going to work?
Although we had ideas from the beginning, after deciding that we will be focusing on a the digital solution we brainstormed on functions and features.
giving interactive prototype a run.
Please check out our prototype of the application. Please click/tap on the text boxes to fill them.
what is the future scope?
During brainstorming the possible tasks which could be assigned to the user, we knew the limitations of tracking activities of our user. We could use accelerometers to track users’ movement when they were outdoors. But what if they have chosen an indoor task? It is practically very non-feasible to ask the user to access them on video and audio tracking sensors.
It would be interesting if we can take this further by linking smart devices and tracking the user as they perform their activities. Technological advancements and their reach to our common user are awaited in this very case.
our takeaways.
When starting this project, we were unaware of our screen usage habits and what impact it has on us, especially our social interactions. On day 1, we both listed down how we interact with our screens without any bias just to find out how much we learned during this process.
We had disagreements, some eureka moments, and days with a lot of procrastination. In the end, we can say that we learned a whole lot and had fun during the entire journey of this project and that’s what is important.
thankful credits.
Designed with love by Rishikesh
