Resolve
A mobile companion designed to personalize a learning experience to motivate young adults to develop positive cooking habits and skills.
Project Overview
Disciplines
UI/UX Design
User Research
Tools
Figma
Figjam
Notion
In this project I worked in a team of a Product Manager and UX/UI Designers. Over 9 weeks we set out to design a digital experience to support healthcare and empower users to take control of their healthcare. We aimed to support patient-self care and deliver transparency.
Achievements
PIP24C4 Product Showcase Winner of Best Creative Project.
Responsibilites
User Research
Conducted research to define the problem, gathered user insights, and tested prototype feasibility through usability studies.
UI/UX Design
Developed the UI by translating UX insights into intuitive design solutions, ensuring a user-centered approach.
Prototyping
Created an interactive prototype to streamline product testing and developer hand over.
The Process
We applied the Double Diamond approach to guide our design process, using its structured phases—Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver—to deeply understand men's mental health challenges and create a tailored, user-centred solution.
Project Goals
01
Empower Patient Self-Care – Enable users to manage their health with autonomy, habits, and easy access to care tools.
02
Improve Access to Health Information – Ensure users can easily retrieve, understand, and interact with their personal health data, fostering trust and informed decision-making.
03
Leverage Native Operating System Features – Use iOS and Android operating system features such as widgets, Live Activities, Dynamic Island, and App Clips for real-time updates and seamless health access.
The Problem
With mental health challenges on the rise, we focused on men's mental health, an often-overlooked issue Research highlights high suicide rates, societal stigma, low help-seeking behaviour, and a lack of male-focused resources, revealing the need for tailored support.
DISCOVER
Discovering the Problem Space
Desktop Research
To identify a meaningful problem space and explore new ways to enhance learning through technology, we began with a group brainstorming session to generate a broad range of ideas.
We explored how technology could support beginners in learning to cook. Our brainstorming session focused on identifying key challenges in learning new skills and mapping out different ways digital tools might help. Rather than defining a fixed solution, we used this phase to generate assumptions and themes to investigate further in our research.
71%
of men feel that gender stereotypes affected their health behaviours and experiences
Mental health practitioners are less willing to treat and refer male patients with suicidality than female patients.
1 in 5
males report experiencing loneliness with a steady rise since 2012.
Research Plan
A multifaceted approach to research consisting of Online Ethnography, Surveys and Interviews allowed us to corroborate patterns and compensate for weaknesses in each research method.
Online Ethnography
Obtaining qualitative and behavioural data from platforms like Reddit to explore how men’s mental health affects relationships and coping strategies.
Survey
Collecting quantitative and attitudinal data relating to the barriers and challenges within existing mental health support resources for young men
Interviews
Gathered qualitative and attitudinal data to explore how gender norms and societal expectations influence men's mental health, while also evaluating the effectiveness of their current coping strategies.
Synthesis
DEFINE
Defining the Core Problem
Key Insights
Emotional Suppression
Cultural norms have distorted men's view of strength, leading to emotional suppression and a loss of self-understanding.
“I think as a man, you feel like you have to be the one who keeps calm and finds a solution in situations. Even if you’re stressed or scared, you don’t really show it, because it's seen as weak or vulnerable.”
Interview
67% of men feel discomfort in sharing their emotions
Survey
Need for a Supportive Community
Men want a supportive community and being able to relate to someone. Currently there is a lack of conversation and initiative to talk about mental health.
“I think relatability is really important. When I went to a psychologist, for example, she was great, but I felt like she couldn’t fully relate to some of the issues I was having.”
Interview
Can't tell male friends because they don't help ... you almost just continue to live in your isolation because you have no one to relate or care for
Online Ethno
Existing Resources Lack Personalisation
Because existing mental health services are superficial, generalised, and hence disempowering, men desire more authentic approaches that are rooted in genuine empathy to address the complex emotions that they are experiencing.
“Maybe they should show guys actually talking about their feelings. All existing resources seem so surface-level that no one’s actually expressing their emotions.”
Interview
“I do not have the time, energy or money to try finding the right therapist or even looking for solutions when I know it won’t work”
Interview
Problem Statement
Distorted Perceptions of Strength
Many young men feel pressured to hide emotions to appear "strong."
Stigma and Lack of
Support
Superficial resources fail to address deeper mental health needs.
Emotional Isolation and Risks
Disconnection from themselves and others intensifies feelings of loneliness.
How Might We
empower young men to combat loneliness and shift their perceptions of emotional vulnerability that encourages them to prioritise their mental well-being?
IDEATION
Shaping Concepts: Ideation and Solution Building
Crazy 8s
The team used Crazy 8’s to brainstorm features and solutions. One creative idea was a village-building game where users complete mental well-being tasks to earn points and grow their village. While not feasible, it helped us explore ways to gamify the app and think outside the box.
In order to settle on the main features we made a Decision matrix for each idea and created a list of important criteria that aimed to solve key issues for the user.
We decided to prioritise personalised, empowering content, gamification, educational material, and routine building. After analysing top-scoring applications for each criterion, we shifted our focus to integrating these features into one unified application.
User Flow
VALIDATION
Prototyping Solutions: Iteration and Validation
Using the sitemap and user flows as a reference, the first stage of prototyping involved creating low-fidelity sketches. These sketches also allowed us to conduct think-aloud testing with users, gathering feedback on the overall flow and interactions of the application. Next, we developed a mid-fidelity prototype in Figma, refining our design based on user feedback. Finally, we carried out another round of testing using the System Usability Scale to assess the application's overall usability and usefulness for our target users.
Low-fidelity Prototype
Mid-fidelity Prototype
Usability Testing
Developing the wireframes posed challenges in establishing a consistent layout and clear visual hierarchy. Users ultimately felt that each page was overloaded with text and information. However, the usability tests proved invaluable in refining the high-fidelity prototype, making it more user-friendly and accessible.
SOLUTION
The Solution
Resolve is a gamified mental health tracker designed to help young men prioritise their well-being.
It features daily mood tracking, personalised tasks for accountability, and a safe space for users to share their feelings and connect with a supportive community.
By battling ‘demons,’ young men can track their progress in a tangible way while engaging with tailored resources and interactive rewards that make mental health accessible and empowering.
Demon Reveal
Defeating the Demon
Each week, users face a unique demon tailored to their previous mood tracker responses, representing their current challenges.
OS Widget Integration
The Resolve app offers three widgets— the Daily Mood Tracker for logging emotions, the Personal Quest Tracker for monitoring growth challenges, and the Battleground Preview for tracking progress against the current Demon.
These widgets provide easy access to key features and helping you stay on track with your mental health journey right from your home screen.
Battleground
Defeating the Demon
At the end of the week, users can enter the battleground to defeat the demon using attacks costing RP points.
Mood Tracker
Mood tracking and journaling reveals behaviour patterns, enabling early intervention for mental health issues. This also generates data for personalised resources in the Wiki.
Point System
Users earn RP (Resolve Points) through completing tasks which will be used to kill demons.
Wiki
Personalised resources are generated based on users' mood tracker responses and journals. Types of resources include articles, videos, and podcasts. After using a resource, users can evaluate it, helping fine tune their resources.
Demons
Users can also read about the demon they're facing that week, and learn about the common effects of the problem and how to defeat it.
Quests
Daily Discussions
Users can also earn RP through quests, such as participating in daily discussions. These community-building prompts allow users to anonymously share their thoughts, respond to others, and view shared experiences.
Personal Quests
Personal Quests motivate users to prioritise their physical well-being too. Users can add personal quests based on the recommended list, or input their own.
Profile
Achievements
Users can view all defeated demons and earned badges, motivating them to unlock more.
Activity Summary
Users can view their weekly and monthly activity to see their progress.
Mood Stats
Users can view their mood stats over the course of a month.
Resolve Plus+
Plus+ members earn points for exclusive rewards like DoorDash and UberEats vouchers, enjoy 2x points, and get an ad-free experience.
Outcomes & Retrospective
The final design was recognised as the Best Creative Product, highlighting its innovative approach to mental health support. Our goal was to make accessing mental health resources easier, create a gamified system for actionable goal-setting and foster a supportive community where men could share experiences.
Key achievements
Improved accessibility
Designed an intuitive interface that simplified the process of finding mental health resources.
Community-driven support
Created spaces for men to share experiences, promoting connection and reducing stigma.
Lessons Learned
This project pushed me to design with empathy and intention, ensuring every feature served a clear purpose in addressing our user group’s challenges.
I gained a deeper appreciation for storytelling in design, understanding that how we present and communicate our ideas is just as important as the solution itself.
The proess helped me improve my ability to articulate design decisions, making it easier to share ideas with stakeholders and justify choices based on user needs.
