Dome Zone

Challenges

A significant challenge for the Dome Zone Mental Health App is ensuring widespread acceptance and effective utilisation among Australians. Despite its user-friendly design, obstacles like stigma and limited awareness may persist. To address this, we must extensively promote the app and tailor it to meet the diverse needs of users. Collecting feedback post-therapy sessions will aid in comprehending its effectiveness and guide necessary enhancements. Through these endeavours, our goal is to enhance accessibility to mental health support for all Australians.

Solution

To make mental health support more accessible in Australia, the Dome Zone Mental Health App will focus on creating an easy-to-use platform. This means simple navigation and clear instructions for connecting users with suitable psychologists. We'll also promote the app widely to raise awareness. By listening to user feedback and making improvements, we aim to increase the use of mental health services and improve well-being for all users.

Approach

Our approach to addressing the challenge of integrating standardised abuse report forms across all states for the RSPCA website redesign project involves three key steps. First, we conduct usability testing to assess the ease of use and effectiveness of the redesigned forms. Second, we use affinity diagrams to organize and prioritise feedback gathered from usability testing sessions. Lastly, we perform website analysis to identify areas for improvement based on user behaviour metrics. Through this iterative process, we aim to refine the forms to meet both regulatory requirements and user needs, empowering users to report abuse effectively across all states.

Interview Findings

5 people were interviewed and shared their experiences of seeking a psychologist.

Users want clear and concise details about a psychologist's expertise, qualifications, background, and specialization area.

Users desire a centralized location for accessing psychologists' notes, prescriptions, advice, suggestions, and links to meditation resources.

Users value seeing pictures of psychologists and having comprehensive information about their history, experience, and personal story for relatability.

Ideally, users prefer a complimentary first session, whether in person or virtually, while also prioritizing knowledge about the psychologist's education, approach, and years of practice. Additionally, they have encountered challenges in the past, prompting them to self-educate on various psychological methods.

Affinity Diagram

Pricing and Accessibility

Make the app free with no ads or offer a free trial.

Consider offering discounts on subscriptions or making the app more pocket-friendly.

Provide a refund option if users are not satisfied with their psychologist or therapy session.

Content and Features

Include more than just meditation to help users become more mindful.

Add mind-calming activities to the app.

Allow users to share their mental health journey with friends or on social media.

Psychologist Selection and Communication

Offer more information about different methodologies and psychologists' backgrounds.

Provide options for messaging, phone calls, and live chat.

Allow users to filter their searches and personalize their psychologist selection.

User Experience and Convenience

Enable voice commands for booking and finding the right psychologist.

Consider a Tinder-like swiping feature to choose psychologists.

Provide a 3D avatar of psychologists for users to see their appearance.

Payment Options

Connect the app to Medicare for automatic rebate processing.

Offer easy payment options, including After-pay.

Competitor Analysis

Head Space - Indirect Competitor

Strengths

Established brand with a recognized presence in the mental health and mindfulness space.

Comprehensive library of meditation and mindfulness resources.

Guided meditation sessions resonate with users seeking holistic mental wellness.

Weaknesses

Focus on meditation and mindfulness might limit appeal for those seeking clinical therapy.

Limited emphasis on detailed psychologist profiles or specialized fields of practice.

Potential for users to seek complementary services from other mental health platforms.

Opportunities

Expansion into clinical therapy or partnership with clinical professionals could broaden their user base.

Integration of tele-therapy services could meet the demand for more diverse mental health support.

Threats

Competition from both established mental health apps and emerging startups could impact market share.

Evolving user preferences and expectations may necessitate constant adaptation of features and content.

Competitor Analysis

Someone.Health - Direct Competitor

Strengths

Strong focus on providing a platform for users to connect directly with mental health professionals.

Emphasis on detailed psychologist profiles and specializations meets user demands for transparency.

Secure platform and thorough vetting process enhance user trust and safety.

Weaknesses

May not offer as extensive a library of additional resources or features as some competitors.

Potential need for a more robust marketing strategy to compete with larger, more established platforms.

Opportunities

Integration of additional mental health resources, such as articles or workshops, could enhance user engagement.

Exploring partnerships with organizations or institutions could expand their reach and credibility.

Threats

Stiff competition from both established platforms and emerging startups could impact market share.

Rapid changes in the mental health landscape may require regular updates and enhancements to stay competitive.

User Persona

Trevor is a builder who runs his own construction company in Melbourne. He is married to his High School sweetheart and together they have a 5 year old son. With his strong work ethic and passion for construction, he has established himself as a skilled professional in the industry. Trevor takes pride in his ability to transform architectural plans into tangible structures, ensuring they meet the highest standards of quality and safety. Family is of utmost importance to Trevor, and he strives to create a loving and supportive environment for his loved ones but is beginning to struggle with the pressure of running a successful business and support his young family.

Business Goals & Features

Drawing from the research findings and analysis, and taking into account the business requirements and objectives, I have crafted a feature blueprint designed to drive success.

Business Goal

To establish Dome Zone as the leading mental health app in Australia by providing a seamless and user-friendly platform for busy individuals to find the right psychologist, ultimately increasing user engagement and retention.

User Goal

For busy everyday Australians to easily and efficiently find a suitable psychologist through the Dome Zone app, leading to improved mental health and well-being.

Common Coal

To streamline the process of connecting individuals with the right psychologist, thereby enhancing mental health and well-being across the community.

Technical Requirement

Develop a Tinder-like swiping cards system for browsing brief information about psychologists, as well as creating profile bio pages for each psychologist including educational background, availability schedule, professional history, age, areas of expertise, and years of experience. Additionally, integrate features such as complimentary first session for new users, meditation resources, stress-relief audio, podcasts, and a search function for psychologists within the Dome Zone app.

User Insight

Trevor, who runs a business and has a family, is struggling with his mental health and well-being. He's looking for a psychologist, but during interviews, it became clear that many people have difficulty finding the right psychologist and are frustrated by the time-consuming booking process. So, we believe there's a need for a more straightforward booking system. We're confident we can help by creating a user-friendly application that makes booking easy and enjoyable.

Problem Statement

How can we make it easier for busy Australians to find the right psychologist, improving their mental well-being and quality of life?

Feature Prioritisation Matrix

After studying user feedback and affinity diagrams, we've prioritised features that allow users to browse psychologists' profiles using a Tinder-like swiping system. Additionally, we're focusing on creating detailed profile pages for each psychologist, including information on their education, availability, expertise, and experience.

To improve user experience, we're offering a complimentary first session for new Dome Zone app users. Recognising users' preference for simplicity and practicality, we're integrating additional features such as meditation resources, stress-relief audio, podcasts, and a search function for psychologists within the app.

Journey Map

Awareness and Research

Trevor heard about Dome Zone from a friend and his sister.

He wants more information about Dome Zone and its partnerships.

Trevor is doing primary research by reading reliable reviews and ratings.

Onboarding and Personalization

Trevor wants an easy onboarding process and clear navigation.

He wants to personalize his search for a psychologist and learn more about them.

Trevor values a clean and logical UI that allows him to skip unnecessary information.

Booking and Payment

Trevor wants to secure a session with a psychologist and solve his problem.

He appreciates the ability to use After-pay for payment.

Trevor values filters, relevant information, and profile pictures of psychologists.

Story Board

Task Flow & User Flow

Users can schedule appointments within the app and sync them with their device's calendar for easy management.

Step 1: Finding a Psychologist

Step 2: Swiping Cards and Psychologist Profiles

Step 3: Syncing Appointments with Calendar

Step 4: Mindfulness and Meditation Resources

Step 5: Personalised Dashboard

Step 6: Increasing Personalisation with Usage

Finding a Psychologist: Users can easily search and find psychologists based on their preferences and needs.

Swiping Cards and Psychologist Profiles: Users can swipe through psychologist profiles, viewing detailed information about their qualifications and availability.

Syncing Appointments with Calendar: Users can schedule appointments within the app and sync them with their device's calendar for easy management.

Mindfulness and Meditation Resources: Users have access to mindfulness exercises, meditation practices, and other mental health resources.

Personalised Dashboard: Users can customize their dashboard with relevant information, including upcoming appointments and personalized recommendations.

Increasing Personalization with Usage: The app becomes more personalized with each use, offering tailored messages from psychologists and specialized resources to suit individual needs.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

User's Feedback

User Testing 1

William wants more information after swiping right.

Had difficulty finding details about the free session during onboarding due to text readability issues and dark background.

Facing challenges when trying to book another appointment.

User Testing 2

Marz identified a missing navigation element required to progress to the next screen.

Found fonts challenging to read.

Suggested providing more available dates, clearer colour schemes, and synchronizing booking information with the calendar.

User Testing 3

Dan seeks more comprehensive details for decision-making.

Wishes for a broader selection of psychologists.

Overall positive experience with the app.

Appreciates being informed about the free session before confirming a booking.

Desires more information in psychologist bios and notes absence of location information in date selection.

Likes filter and features for finding a psychologist but encounters font readability issues on the welcome home screen.

Design Problem

After gathering user testing feedback from the low-fidelity prototype of the Dome Zone mental health app, we conducted a group discussion to prioritise the most critical and pressing issues for iterative design improvements.

Design Changes

In response to the feedback, we made several enhancements to improve the user experience. Firstly, we utilised the header space by introducing a circular progress bar icon, allowing users to track their current stage in the app's journey. Additionally, we implemented a 5-star rating system below each psychologist's name and education, ensuring that the star colours provide excellent accessibility contrast for all users. Furthermore, we adjusted the design's structure and layout to optimise screen space usage, enhancing overall usability and visual appeal.

Design Solution

In addition to addressing user feedback, we streamlined the user journey by consolidating unnecessary screens into a single, more efficient screen, eliminating redundancy and simplifying navigation. The calendar function was strategically relocated to the final booking stage, empowering users to seamlessly add appointment times to their local calendars. To enhance readability and visual coherence, we made adjustments to font size, text colour, and background colour throughout the app, ensuring a more cohesive and user-friendly UI design. Notably, we increased the font size on the home screen to prominently highlight that users can enjoy their first session with Dome Zone for free when booking their initial appointment, effectively communicating this valuable benefit to users.

Design Upgrade

We've enhanced the app's design by integrating appointment details with the Psychologist Bio screen, improving readability. Font sizes have been increased, and clearer colours have been used for better visibility. Users now have more information to review before booking appointments, including delivery methods and specialised fields, while the bio section remains uncluttered with only essential details. Furthermore, the selection of psychologists has been expanded, and swipe cards now offer additional information to assist users in making informed decisions. These updates are intended to create a more user-friendly and engaging experience for all Dome Zone app users.

Personalisation

Design Thinking

We've enhanced the app's design by integrating appointment details with the Psychologist Bio screen, improving readability. Font sizes have been increased, and clearer colours have been used for better visibility. Users now have more information to review before booking appointments, including delivery methods and specialised fields, while the bio section remains uncluttered with only essential details. Furthermore, the selection of psychologists has been expanded, and swipe cards now offer additional information to assist users in making informed decisions. These updates are intended to create a more user-friendly and engaging experience for all Dome Zone app users.

Onboarding Design

Dome Zone's onboarding pages offer a sneak peek into the app's features:

Find Your Psychologist: Seamlessly browse psychologists that match your preferences by swiping through profiles.

Practice Mindfulness: Explore an array of podcasts, meditations, breathing exercises, and videos crafted to help you maintain mental sharpness.

Personalised Dashboard: Get tailored resources and information on your personalised dashboard as we learn more about you.

Branding

Branding Exploration

Final UI Design

Green Colour Palette

The chosen shade of green for the Dome Zone Mental Health app was purposefully selected due to its profound psychological benefits. Green is known to evoke feelings of tranquility, balance, and harmony, making it a calming hue that can alleviate stress and anxiety. Drawing from alternative healing practices such as chromotherapy, green light is believed to have a calming and balancing effect on the mind and body. Furthermore, the Biophilia Hypothesis suggests that humans have an inherent connection with nature, and exposure to natural elements like greenery can positively impact well-being, potentially leading to improved mental health and reduced anxiety.

Prototyping & Testing

Click the photo to explore the Hi-Fi prototype.

Conclusion

Design Aspects

Prioritise accessibility, usability, clear navigation, and aesthetics to ensure a user-friendly experience and minimise user overwhelm.

Emphasise simplicity and clarity in design elements to facilitate intuitive interaction and navigation throughout the app.

Showing Empathy

Demonstrate empathy by understanding and addressing user needs to streamline the process of booking a psychologist, reducing both the cognitive load and time required for users.

Create a platform that not only facilitates booking appointments but also promotes mental well-being, designing with careful consideration for mental health and ensuring the app's features and content contribute positively to users' overall mental wellness.