An app designed to support people living with Bipolar Disorder
Duality aims to assist users in tracking their moods to identify potential episodes and support them by providing a community and resources to learn more about Bipolar Disorder.
Users can track their moods, connect with others through forums, learn through the medical dictionary, and view their information in the calendar. They can also create a safety plan to look back on when they’re in an episode.
01. Goals
Created by researching the pain points of people living with Bipolar Disorder (BD), these goals helped inform the creation of the apps features.
01.
Assist users in tracking and documenting their moods to identify potential episodes
02.
Provide users with a safe space to connect with a community of others living with BD
03.
Encourage users to learn more about BD to more effectively work towards treatment
I also wanted to focus on specifically bipolar disorder in a user friendly way as well as include a forum based community.
Researching BD in medical journals helped to better understand the illness and treatment. Specified therapy resources, such as The Bipolar Workbook, also helped inform the creation Duality’s resources and features.
I often resorted to Reddit communities, reading different threads and finding information on different pain points to create personas. Ultimately I wanted to divide the personas into 3 main categories: someone in a manic episode, someone in a depressive episode, and someone who was recently diagnosed.
02. Research
An investigation of the apps currently on the market design designed for a similar purpose and audience revealed helpful data on what kinds of features were lacking, and what was essential.
Helpful Takeaways
Entries for tracking mood
Monthly report entries
Resources and safety plan
Lacking Features
Focus specifically on BD
Educate users in a friendly way
Forum for connecting with others
03. Personas
Based on the research I found in medical journals and online communities, I created 3 user personas. I wanted to focus on 3 specific pain points people with Bipolar Disorder may be dealing with:
Manic Episode
Each user would have a different user story, detailing why they would download the app, as well as a journey through the features the app provides.
Depressive Episode
These personas, stories, and journeys helped to better understand users pain points and how that might impact how they navigate through the app.
Recently Diagnosed
04. Wireframes
Wireframes of the main pages and navigation bar helped create an idea for the layout and features. A lot of this was updated and adjusted as the mockup and prototyping phases continued.
Wireframes of a landing page, adding entry, calendar, forum and medical dictionary.
05. Style Guide
The goal was to create a soft, calming, and inviting atmosphere.
The app was created in dark mode to enhance the calming effect, with accents of lapis, amethyst, and mint.
The typography was chosen to be a round and variable sans serif that would easily scale to different weights.
The logo was designed to highlight the yin yang symbol inside of the D to reinforce the meaning behind Duality.
The two mood scales were created so users could have the option of deciding which best resonates with them.
06. Mock Ups
The mockups are still being completed, as well as a full interface redesign according to the new branding package. More will be added soon.