Overview

Momenteer is an app that exists to help individuals, particularly women in the BIPOC community, feel supported in their mental health moment-by-moment. By creating a solution that is intuitive, tailormade, and personal, we can empower individuals in their daily lives and offer support during traumatic life events. The user is given tools to self-guide their thoughts, even between therapy sessions.

Introducing Momenteer

Background

Adobe Creative Jam 2021 had challenged all professionals to design an inclusive third-party mobile app to help educate others, create awareness, encourage action, and/or facilitate access to minority mental health care for the misunderstood, overlooked and underrepresented communities. Timeline was 2 weeks.

Me and my project partner worked extensively for this Adobe Creative jam challenge. Our project was chosen for the final round out of 155 competitors. We had to present it in front of the judges online, live on Facebook. We used Miro board and monday.com for project management and collaboration. Adobe XD was used for design and prototyping.

My Role

This was a team project, me and my project partner worked hard for 2 weeks. Due to tight deadlines, planning and proper division of work was crucial. I was extensively involved in empathizing, ideation and prototype.

Kickoff & the Discovery

I wanted to dive into the psychology and possible considerations on why minorities aren't getting proper care. Based on the recent National Healthcare Quality and Disparities report there are many reasons (apart from racism, bias and discrimination in treatment), why minorities don't get proper care.

During this research I stumbled upon the statistics from National Institute of Mental Health showing that any mental illness is higher in females than males.

Evidence suggests that African American women are at increased risk for mental health problems because they are simultaneously exposed to multiple factors that can cause stress and depression. These factors may include low-socioeconomic status, violence, discrimination etc, all of which can lead to emotional distress, thus increasing women's risk for poor mental health. So I decided to narrow down the scope by concentrating on the BIPOC community, particularly women, to support their mental health.

BIPOC WOMEN ARE AT INCREASED RISK FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Deeper Insights

Competitive Analysis

Since the space is already saturated I wanted to leverage what works and identify gaps that I could incorporate in my design. I studied 3 apps namely Headspace, Calm and Savello and I realized that each has some limitations, and the personalization aspect is missing. The Headspace and Calm apps focus on meditation. Savello is a popular app.

THE COMPETITION HAD NO PERSONALIZATION ASPECT

User interviews/primary research

After researching the psychology, health and mind imbalance issues plus competition in this space, I wanted to empathize with users because interviews can give in-depth understanding of the users' values.

After one formal interview and a few informal interviews with friends and family with a variety of backgrounds, income level, age range, and geographic locations, I was able to gather qualitative data about insurance coverage, support from family, friends and community to cope up with mental illness.

Lets meet Alexis, a young professional who recently started attending therapy due to traumatic life circumstances. Finding a therapist was a journey in itself, with all of the specialities available. For many family members, she is their rock. But she needs someone to support her as well after a traumatic life experience.

Lets meet Tara, a homemaker, who is looking to overcome therapist stigma and for personalized ways to overcome negative thoughts. She is looking for a friend with whom she can discuss, share and seek advice.

HOW TO PROVIDE QUICK TOOLS

FOR VARIOUS DAILY ROUTINE SITUATIONS TO OVERCOME MENTAL ILLNESS?

Reframing the Problem

Based on research and interviews, I was able to refine the problem statement:

TO CREATE AN INTUITIVE, TAILOR MADE AND PERSONAL APP

THAT CAN EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS IN THEIR DAILY LIVES AND OFFER SUPPORT

OR COURSE OF ACTION TO HELP COPE WITH TRAUMATIC LIFE EVENTS.

Affinity Mapping and Product Vision

With these insights I was able to organize all data through affinity mapping. I tried to find similarities which helped me to categorize product vision.

Brainstorming and ideation session was focused on providing quick tools to my targeted users for various routine situations. It helped to challenge assumptions, think outside the box, and explore uncharted territory.

USERS WERE MORE LIKELY TO SUCCED WHEN THERE WERE QUICK TOOLS

IN THEIR POCKET FOR FREQUENT EVERYDAY SITUATIONS.

User Flows and Design Drivers

With constant testing and exploration I came up with the four main flows for the app design -

• Grow
• Reflect
• Talk Now
• Find a Therapist

Entry and Exit Points

Here is a glimpse of user flow diagram for Reflect:

Introducing MOMENTEER

Next Steps

For future enhancements, I would like to explore having a dark mode, and a better home screen that uses AI to show relevant topics.