Affirm App
The Ask
Within ten minutes, find any problem your interviewee needs to solve. You have four days to create an app that effectively solves it.
Role
User Experience Designer
Product Designer
Researcher
Beginning with research I fully immersed myself in what it was like for Sage to navigate their daily life. I was able to discover what to design for them by asking open questions and fully listening.
the Affirm app aims to improve their mental health and decrease negative self-talk through daily affirmations.
Designed for Sage,
Discovery
During my interview with Sage, it was clear their daily struggles existed in the realm of mental health improvement. Initially, I was under the impression my mission was to provide a new way for them to improve their mental health, and help them get rid of their negative self-talk, social anxiety, and self-doubt.
But at the end of the interview, the real problem revealed itself:
I realized Sage didn’t need any new methods for solving these problems.
They knew exactly what worked; positive daily affirmations, and a mentor.
What didn’t work was how these methods operated and presented themselves.
Card Sorting
Sage’s Values
Sage’s Struggles
Choosing What to Solve
Sage told me the number of apps they had tried for daily affirmations and self-improvement, but none of them had helped. In order to develop something that would work for Sage, I needed to figure out why these previous apps did not work.
The app required Sage to put effort into the process by going into the app and working on exercises or journals
The design of the app was not intuitive, simple, or clean
The app didn’t provide structure or guidance as a mentor would
My Solution
A customizable, daily, words of affirmation app.
Sage needed a way to receive external support and daily affirmations without having to reach out to anyone. The solution is Affirm, an app that consistently sends Sage daily affirmations based on their profile. Their profile is built after a thorough yet quick screening process including information about their current struggles, significant upcoming life events, and where extra support may be needed.
UI Features
To speak to Sage’s need for consistency, clarity, and simplicity, the UI of Affirm is as minimal and intuitive as possible.
Simple and clean design
Status bar
Minimal touchpoints
App Features
Reducing Friction
Quick and easy access to each affirmation, further reducing effort from the user
Prioritizing Problems
A customized daily affirmation program prompted by a simple onboarding process
Simple, but effective topics to focus on each month
Forecasting Potential Struggles
Consideration of major upcoming events where extra support may be needed.
Dropdown menus to reduce text input
Simplicity and Clarity
Affirm’s home page clearly states Sage’s focus for the day
A simple navigation bar clearly shows their calendar, progress, and settings
In Conclusion
Affirm was designed to consider Sage’s experience through every step and make their journey in improving their mental health as easy as possible. Affirm accomplishes providing Sage with a direct and concise support program that requires little to no effort.