PROJECTS | personal-resume

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Role

UX/UI Designer

Project Type

End to End Application

Timeframe

9 Weeks

Tools

Figma

OVERVIEW

Aurora is a mindfulness and mood-tracking app designed for busy individuals seeking simple ways to manage stress and improve mental clarity. The app provides users with a safe space to process emotions, track their moods, and engage in calming exercises without directly addressing mental health to reduce stigma.

THE PROBLEM

Finding a quick and safe way to process emotions and relieve stress can be challenging. Research indicates that approximately 41% of adults worldwide experience significant stress, with emotional stress on the rise in many countries. However, many existing solutions can feel overwhelming or time-consuming.

How might we help users express their emotions in a quick and easy way?

RESEARCH GOAL

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

To understand the current landscape of mood-tracking and mindfulness apps, an analysis was conducted on three popular competitors: Daylio, Moodnotes, and Moody.

KEY INSIGHTS

Existing apps provide mood tracking, journaling, and insights but lack a combination of personalization and gamification.
There is a lack of customization options for mood tracking and affirmations

OPPORTUNITIES

Enhanced Personalization
Customized Affirmations based on user’s moods
Seamless UI & Visual Appeal
Gamefication

While these tools help users understand their feelings and identify negative patterns, they often lack features that actively promote positive emotions. Additionally, some users find these apps complex or time-consuming to use. Our goals is to simplify this experience by offering a quick, easy-to-use tool that encourages positive emotional habits.

CONDUCTING USER INTERVIEWS

For user interviews, I spoke with five individuals aged 23-29, each experiencing different levels and causes of stress. The goal was to understand how they manage these feelings and whether they use any existing tools or apps for support.

Using insights gathered from the user interviews, I was able to build two personas Angela and Jay.

WHAT DID WE LEARN

From our user interviews, I identified key insights about how people manage stress and process emotions:

1. Simplicity

Users want quick, easy tools that don’t feel like extra work.

2. Different Coping Styles

Some prefer independent activities like exercise or gaming, while others rely on journaling or talking to friends for support highlighting the need for personalized tools that adapt to individual preferences

3. Personalization

Tailored reminders and coping strategies can make stress management more effective because they align with individual needs and preferences.

4. Managing Emotions

Users struggle to process their feelings and need simple tools to help them without adding additional stress.

CRAFTING THE SOLUTION

To address these concerns, the goal is to create a simple, quick, and stress-free tool that helps people process their emotions without feeling overwhelmed.

To bring this vision to life, I brainstormed some features to incorporate.:

A short onboarding quiz to tailor the experience from the start
Quick mood tracking for easy daily check-ins
Personalized reminders and affirmations based on user goals or emotional state
Visual mood insights to help users recognize patterns over time
Breathing exercises and calming videos to encourage mindfulness on the go

USER FLOWS

To ensure a smooth and intuitive experience, I designed three key user flows that reflect the core functions of the app

Onboarding Quiz

Guides users through a quick, personalized setup process to tailor the app to their preferences.

Logging Mood

Allows users to easily check in with how they’re feeling by selecting one or more emotions.

Viewing Daily Affirmation

Provides users with a moment of encouragement and positivity through personalized affirmations based on their mood or preferences.

DEVELOPING LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

Once the user flows were finalized, I created low-mid fidelity wireframes to bring the structure of the app to life.

These wireframes helped me plan the layout, structure, and main interactions without worrying much about the visuals yet.

I focused on making the app easy to use so people could navigate smoothly and complete key tasks without confusion. This stage was important for gathering early feedback and refining the experience before moving on to high-fidelity designs.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes_ Onboarding Quiz 1 (1).png

EARLY TESTING

I conducted early testing on the wireframes with the five participants I interviewed. Overall, the testing went well—users understood the screen flow and provided valuable feedback for improvement!

BRANDING

For branding, I chose a pastel color palette with a focus on soft blues to create a calming and soothing experience for users. The goal was to make the app feel light, welcoming, and stress-free.

HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

After refining the structure through low-mid fidelity wireframes and incorporating feedback from user testing, I moved on to high-fidelity wireframes. This stage focused on visual design, incorporating branding elements like the pastel color palette and soft UI components to reflect the calm ambience of the app.

USER TESTING

I conducted usability testing on the high-fidelity prototype with the same five users I interviewed earlier. They walked through three core flows: completing the onboarding quiz, logging a mood, and viewing the affirmation of the day.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

All participants successfully completed each task
They found the mood logging interaction intuitive, especially how easy it was to select and deselect moods
The color palette was well-received. Uers described it as calming and visually pleasing
The short onboarding quiz was appreciated for being quick and easy to complete

Overall, the testing was successful! One user recommended adding a white background to the mood logging screen to match the home screen for better visual consistency. I also spotted a few areas where I could refine some components:

Placed the field input outside of the box for better accessibility

Updated button colors to prevent user perception

Added a white background for better visibility of the selections

Added “Select all that applies” option for users

Similar to the home page, I updated button colors to prevent user perception

Added a white background for better visibility

REFLECTION

Working on this project taught me how meaningful even small, thoughtful design choices can be especially when it comes to helping people manage their emotions. I really enjoyed turning an idea into something that feels both useful and comforting. If I could go back, I’d spend more time testing different design styles earlier on and exploring more diverse user feedback. This was a great learning experience, and I look forward to growing even more in my next projects.