In partnership with the mental health start-up, Blueprint, I discovered ways to make their platform a more empathetic and insightful experience for their clients. I explored storytelling through illustrations, encouraging copy, and progress graphs.
PROBLEM
Blueprint is a platform for clinicians to assign and track their client's measurement-based care. In their current experience, clients are not given access to their own progress. Progress reporting comes directly from the clinician. Moving forward, Blueprint wants to be more transparent with their clients about their progress but are unsure how to do that empathetically and appropriately. Through client feedback, I learned that along with information about their progress, clients also want to experience more storytelling on Blueprint’s platform.
INSIGHTS
I looked at self-help apps during my competitive analysis. Since these apps don't have clinicians to report client progress, they must report data that is empathetic, easy to interpret, and encouraging for users to continue their progress. These apps utilize gamification, illustrations, colors, and unique check-ins.
Another valuable insight that helped in forming the solution was during interviews with clinicians. I learned that clinicians are hesitant to give clients access to their progress because they fear clients will see an assessment score as a diagnosis. Reporting client progress during sessions lets clinicians explain what scores mean, answer any questions a client has, and offer skills to cope.
SOLUTION
Blueprint’s new experience uses illustrations during client’s daily check-ins. These illustrations create a more positive and fun environment while also helping clients better depict how they're feeling. Illustrations are also used in weekly pop-ups that report analytics in an encouraging and supportive way. Based on my conversations with clinicians, I implemented a disclaimer before clients can access their progress graphs. This disclaimer emphasizes that the client’s scores are not a diagnosis, and offers tools to better understand what scores mean and how to interpret them. Lastly, I designed a check-in streak and progress graphs. The graphs are clear and colorful, and work to they tell the stories of the client’s progress.
PROTOTYPEMEET THE STAKEHOLDERS
KEY INSIGHTS
SELF-HELP APP COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Blueprint's direct competitors require invites from clinicians to access their platform. I shifted my focus to self-help apps, which were equally as insightful in a different way– because there are no clinicians reporting to clients, these apps must report data that is easy to understand and encouraging for users to continue their progress.
KEY INSIGHTS
CLINCIAN INTERVIEWS
To learn more about how clinicians feels about clients having access to their own progress I met with Mona and Russell, who are licensed therapists and run Blueprint's clinical team.
KEY INSIGHTS
FIRST SKETCHES
Based off the insights from the competitive analysis and interviews, I sketched a new experience on Blueprint.
KEY FEATURES
CLIENT INTERVIEWS & TESTING
To test this prototype, I made a public post on Instagram asking for anyone who has experience with therapy to reach out, and I interviewed 10 people who did. I started off with an open interview, getting to know them and their experience with therapy. The blue dot signifies if they have experience with measurement-based care. Then, I conducted a cognitive walk through with my prototype.
TESTING INSIGHTS
01.) Everyone appreciates illustrations, especially when they can help users visualize their emotions.
"There is something about having the negative illustrations feel positive, kind of hyperbolic, and in a fun way, that helps the process not be as negative."
- Corrine
02.) There was no majority way people preferred to check-in.
"When I've had a bad day, I want to talk about it, so I would definitely record a voice note. I have a hard time keeping up with daily journaling because I never feel up to writing."
- Andi
03.) Steff has experience with a measurement-based care app in the past, and she really appreciated the feature where clinicians could respond to their clients check-ins.
"I'd say my biggest issue with my last app was that it was something my therapist was tracking but there wasn't a direct way for us to communicate through the app. I like this, I think it makes the therapist equally as accountable."
- Steff
CONSIDERING THE SCOPE
During a weekly standup with Blueprint's design team, we ordered my proposed solutions by priority and achievability. While this rich check-in experience with the voice note, photo, and video options is very meaningful, it's not within the scope of a 16-week project. I shifted my focus to my other proposed solutions;
01.) ILLUSTRATED CHECK-IN EXPERIENCE
02.) ENCOURAGING POP-UPS
03.) CHECK-IN STREAK
04.) PROGRESS GRAPHS & DISCLAIMERS
PROTOTYPEKEY INSIGHTS
OUTCOME
Blueprint's team was super excited about this project's finding and solutions, especially that the designs were backed by user testing insights. The engineering team is working to ship these solutions in the next quarter!
This project was a big milestone for me. I left my comfort zone by reaching out to Blueprint and asking if I could collaborate with them for this project. It was scary knowing that my choices would impact people, especially in such a tender environment like their mental health. This fear pushed me to work harder to understand the people I was designing for, to make sure that my work was beneficial to them, and wouldn't harm or hinder them. This is a skill I will take with me on all my future projects.
This project showed me how complex and meaningful UX design is in healthcare and mental wellness.
WHAT'S NEXT?