Alberto Jannarone
- Product Designer
An app created for parents to asses the mental well being of their child.
Type
Product Design - iOS Mobile app
Role
UX Design
User Interaction Design
Creative Direction
Tools
DEFINE
Setting Our Goals
Our primary "How to" directive was to create a psychological survey for children that is fun, enjoyable and that doesn't feel like a survey!
How might we create an enjoyable survey experience for children and parents?
A.
B.
C.
Design an experience that is entertaining and pleasant.
Ensure the process is easy for a child to understand.
Use language and storytelling that would encourage a child to use the app.
RESEARCH
Exploring the Landscape
As part of our initial dive into the world of child psychology we interviewed children between the ages of four and nine years of age and their parents. We also observed them using their favorite apps and games in order to understand their thinking and awareness levels.
Before we got started we used competitive analysis to investigate if there were any similar products out there in order to confirm that our idea was viable.
Keeping the "how might we" questions in mind I looked for inspiration in visual design, animation, interaction and overall user experience.
Inspiration
When looking for inspiration I was looking for ideas that would bring the idea to life. It had to tell a great story, be bright, fun and accessible.
STYLE AND MOOD
We looked for the right style of imagery that would help create the world where the story would take shape.
TELLING THE STORY
The use of parallax motion is a great story telling tool. It is used to create seamless transitions and flow within the story.
BRINGING IT TO LIFE
Character animation brings a fun and engaging element to the experience.
Lean Personas
In order to get an idea of the targeted users and align the design around them, lean personas were created. These early personas are created using research cadences, basic user testing and the creation of empathy maps.
Recent Parent
Aged 30 - 40
Any gender
Motivations
I want to better understand my child and do what's best for them..
I want to know how to better help my child handle stress and specifically what causes them stress.
Pain Points
It's hard to communicate directly to my child.
I don't want to go directly to a doctor or psychologist.
Child
Aged 3 - 9
Any gender
Motivations
I like play games that have stories and adventures.
Sometimes it's fun to play games with my parents.
Pain Points
Sometimes I can't express what I feel.
I don't confusing stuff that makes me too much.
The Journey
This will be a journey that the parent and their child take together. Out of this journey we targeted three essential steps.
1
You sit down with your child and open the app. The splash screen is fun and entices your child to join in the adventure.
2
As you move through the onboarding process, your child follows along as the story begins to unfold.
DESIGN
3
Your child runs through the questions as you quietly monitor and assist them.
Concepts, Ideas and Prototypes
One of the main design challenges was maintaining the effectiveness of the product while making it easy to use and entertaining for children.
Custom animation and the use of motion also played a very large in the development of this app. Imagery, motion and language had to combine to create a complete package.
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
After sketching the ideas on paper, I moved on to the digital wireframes. Organization of content, UX writing, animation and use of motion were all key elements of the design thinking. For example, the use of parallax for story telling would have to fit perfectly within the design of the onboarding and question sections.
Onboarding
Questionnaire
The mid-fi designs contained the essential elements that would later be expanded upon with interaction and visual design.
Interaction Design
Both static design (glyphs, icons, changing colour, shape of controls) and animation of UI not only make an application stand out from the crowd, but are key to the unique experience and usability of this app.
The nature of the design is impacted by several key motivators:
empathy
environment
usability
accessibility
BUTTON FEEDBACK
A key element of interaction design, it was very important for the button feedback to flow with the environment, be easy to identify and playful.
CHARACTER ANIMATION
Animating the main character brings life to the story. It is a playful way of encouraging the user to move through the different stages of the application.
PARALLAX TRANSITIONS
Horizontal parallax was used for scrolling of the images in the gallery. Instead of a harsh transition between images the parallax scrolling created a level of connection between the images.
Hi-Fidelity Prototyping
Once all the elements were finalized and a final round of testing was done, it was all put together into one complete prototype.
Mood & Colours
A strong visual identity was key in establishing the branding and creating the right environment for the user. Little Minds defines itself in the realms of learning, curiosity and adventure. The mood and branding needed to reflect this spirit.
Comfortaa
Aa
Baloo
Aa