Case Study · Mindfulness
June 2023
My aim was to create an app that encourages mindful news consumption, promotes mental wellness, and fosters healthier smartphone relationships.
That's…a huge undertaking, what gives?
In today's media-saturated world, people are increasingly consuming news through social media, leading to unhealthy habits like 'doomscrolling' and its effects on mental health. The problem was identified through a mixed-methods research approach, including a survey, user testing, and observational research. The challenge was to design an app that encourages mindful news consumption and promotes healthier interactions with digital devices. In a world full of negative distractions, how might we design for mindful consumption?
Whew! How did you do it?
The design process began with identifying the problem: the negative impact of endless content consumption on mental health and overall well-being. The initial strategy was to use design to encourage mindful news consumption and facilitate healthier relationships with smartphones.
The process followed the double diamond design process, starting with the exploration of the problem space. This involved conducting a survey to understand users' news consumption habits and their perceptions and experiences of news consumption. The survey results informed certain design decisions for the app.
User testing was conducted to observe how individuals interacted with the app. This observational study aimed to gain insights into how people might use the app, providing a holistic understanding of user behaviour.
The design decisions made during the process were influenced by the significance of mindful reading, the impact of colour psychology in design, and the importance of user experience in shaping app interactions.
Constraints and trade-offs
The design process involved several trade-offs. One of the significant challenges was moving away from the familiar vertical scrolling pattern. An early design prototype introduced an on-screen button for scrolling, but user testing revealed that this was frustrating for users, leading to a decision to change to a familiar scrolling pattern (side-scrolling).
Another trade-off was the decision to not include breaking news notifications in the app, despite survey results indicating a desire for this feature. This decision was made to promote mindful news consumption, reducing the feeling of constantly being reminded of headlines and encouraging users to view the content when they intentionally wanted to.
A constraint was the way people hold their phones, which influenced the placement of key UI elements. The design had to ensure that they key features of the app were easily accessible to the users, regardless of how they hold their phones.
Result
The result was Mindy, a mindful news consumption app. The app features a side-scrolling navigation experience, which is a departure from the typical vertical scrolling experience in most news apps. This was designed to slow down the news consumption process and promote mindfulness.
The app also includes a mood-rating features which allows users to rate their mood after reading an article. This encourages users to reflect on how the news affects their mood and promotes mindful consumption.
The uplifting content section provides a space for positive and uplifting news, as a counterbalance to the often negative news. The text-to-speech function allows users to list to articles, reducing screen time and providing a different way of consuming news.
Learnings & Next Steps
The project demonstrated the potential of design to influence news consumption habits and promote mental well-being. It highlighted the importance of considering user experience in the design process and the need for mindful reading in the era of endless content.
The next steps for the project include further user testing to refine the app's features and interface. There is also a plan to measure the impact of the app on users' news consumption habits and mental well-being. The learnings from this project will inform future design decisions and strategies for promoting mindful content consumption.
If you’re so inclined, here's an interactive prototype.