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View PrototypeUI Design
UX Research
Brand Design
Interaction Design
Figma
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Photoshop
Lottie
iOS Application
6 weeks
Design an app that offers users the tools they need to adopt proven techniques that help with chronic pain, including somatic tracking, meditation, mindfulness, and good sleep hygiene.
Chronic pain sufferers who use meditation apps often struggle to maintain a consistent routine with their practice and have difficulty finding meditations that specifically focus on techniques to help manage pain.
The challenge was to design a digital product for a client’s wellness company that would promote regular user engagement.
To do this, I decided to design a mobile mindfulness app for people that live with chronic pain conditions.
Could people who struggle with chronic pain and illness find relief through a meditation practice that incorporates specific techniques to help manage their symptoms?
Somatic tracking is the primary technique used in Pain Reprocessing Therapy and is the therapeutic practice of monitoring and observing bodily sensations and pain symptoms, in order to gain a deeper understanding of one's physical and emotional state.
So the question in laying out this project became: How might we help people incorporate somatic tracking, meditation, mindfulness, and good sleep hygiene into their busy lives in order to help them with their chronic pain?
To better understand the problem set I was building for, I wanted to see if there was quantitative data available that could demonstrate how large of an audience there might be for this product to internal and external stakeholders and how big of an impact this type of therapy has on people's lives.
"More than 20% of all US adults live with chronic pain - CDC
Research published in April 2023 by the CDC estimated that more than 51 million people, or more than 20% of the US adult population, live with chronic pain and 17 million, almost 7% of adults, have high-impact chronic pain (pain associated with substantial restriction in work, social, and self-care activities for at least 6 months) - Source
"66% of chronic back pain patients who underwent Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) were pain-free or nearly pain-free post-treatment after four weeks."
A 2021 CU Boulder research study focusing on the effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy on chronic back pain patients, found that 66% of chronic back pain patients who underwent a four-week psychological treatment called Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) were pain-free or nearly pain-free post-treatment. - Source
A 2020 report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality concluded that mindfulness-based stress reduction was associated with short-term (less than 6 months) improvement in low-back pain. - Source
A 2020 NCCIH-supported analysis of five studies of adults using opioids for acute or chronic pain (with a total of 514 participants) found that meditation practices were strongly associated with pain reduction. - Source.
In 2017, The CDC reported that over 14.2% of Americans have tried meditation. - Source.
Now that I had a better understanding of the audience, I wanted to take a look at solutions that are already on the market, and perform a SWOT analysis to see what opportunities might exist for SOMA.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
After conducting a comprehensive analysis of various meditation apps, I found that none of the platforms that I looked at sufficiently cater to the needs of individuals suffering from chronic pain. Despite the abundance of meditation applications available, the majority of them lack substantial offerings and dedicated resources targeting these specific areas.
This gap in the market demonstrates an opportunity for the development of more specialized and inclusive meditation apps that prioritize addressing chronic pain management and somatic tracking for a more holistic and comprehensive user experience.
Before diving into the design work, I made sure to thoroughly pour over my research and competitive analysis to make sure I was designing the right product for the right audience. It seemed that existing meditation apps had very few/limited options for people using meditation as a form of pain relief. This opened up a lot of space for ideas around unique accessibility features, and opportunities to cater to an underserved audience.
The user flow for this project was driven by a user-centric approach. This process for figuring out the user journey needed to cater to diverse needs, ensuring a seamless meditation journey.
Once I had a clear understanding of SOMA's purpose and flow, it was time to put pen to paper. I gathered some sketchbooks and started generating ideas. I iterated through various interface layouts and brainstormed some creative ways to make the app accessible, soothing, and user-friendly.
I wanted the visual identity of this platform to inspire a playful sense of calmness and to feel comfortable to users. This was realized through the intentional use of color, type, illustration, and language.
The color palette consists of mostly dark blues, purples, and pinks that are generally associated with sleep and tranquility. Throughout the app, I wanted there to be a significant use of gradients that inspire calmness. (I also just personally love a good gradient)
I wanted the typefaces for this project to feel fairly modern, so Idecided to opt for a more minimalist sans-serif collection to portray this. (Sorry Comic-Sans)
I wanted the user to be able to see illustrations of characters meditating, exercising, and performing normal daily activities pain-free in hopes to inspire the user to see that in themselves. (The illustration set used for SOMA was made with Midjourney. Being that this is a student project, I felt comfortable enlisting the help of AI tools, but in a real world scenario I would always hire an illustrator.)
Just as important as cozy gradients and modern typefaces are, the copy and language that the application uses to communicate with the user had to envelop a calm and assuring tone to help guide the user through their experience.
With the sketches and branding guidelines as my guiding light, I set out to create a testable lo-fidelity prototype.
This allowed me to focus solely on the core functionalities and user flows at the heart of the app’s experience.
The experience of developing the low-fidelity prototype helped me to think through user flow issues and refine the overall user experience
Now that the architecture for SOMA started to take shape, I knew it was time to put the prototype to the test.
I conducted usability sessions with five individuals dealing with chronic pain that I had connected with via social media communities, doing my best to navigate these user testing sessions with empathy. This feedback was a vital source of insight, guiding us toward improvements and shaping the app to be more inclusive and attuned to users' needs..
Once I had synthesized the findings from my lofi testing sessions, I was assured that I was much closer to designing the right product for the right audience.
For the hifi designs, I relied heavily on my branding guidelines and design system to build out the screens and workflows for the user. I wanted to mimic a real world design scenario as closely as possible, so everything was built out of atomic components for flexibility, ease of use, and consistency throughout the design process.
Controlled breathing can have a major impact on one's mental and physical well-being, and is another component of PRT.
This functionality was developed in Adobe After Effects and implemented into Figma as a video overlay for this screen.
Research was conducted on the types of breathing exercises help chronic pain sufferers, competitive analysis of how other available breathing exercise apps function, and testing to make sure this functionality worked and benefited the user.
Another finding from user testing and research was that many participants liked to use meditation as an aid to help them fall asleep.
After some initial research and testing, I found that the most functional way to aid this process for the user was by offering a "Sleep Mode" functionality that darkens the screen, minimizes unnecessary controls, and enlarges the play and pause buttons to help users control the meditation content when fumbling around for your phone late at night.
For testing the high-fidelity screens, I had users work through a series of actions that would be consistent with new users opening the app for the very first time. This included processes such as sign up/sign in, beginning your first meditation session, searching for content, starting a breathing exercise, checking in using the journaling feature, and more. A full breakdown can be found here in my user testing script document.
The user test sessions for SOMA revealed some really valuable insights into users' behaviors and their overall experiences with the application.
This project taught me the importance of maintaining simplicity in design, the value of user testing for informed decision-making, and the necessity of continuous reevaluation to create a more user-centric and effective digital product. These lessons have not only enriched my understanding of UX design but have also reinforced the significance of empathy and attentiveness to user needs in creating impactful solutions.
Post-script: A huge influence on this project and a great deal of the background research was inspired by the book The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain by Alan Gordon.
Whether you have an exciting project in mind, want to collaborate, or simply have a question, I'm here to help. Let's connect and explore the possibilities together.
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Kofo is an award UI/UX designs and branding
agency based in New York, USA.
