2023
Direction / Jonathan Hanahan @ Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis
UX Strategy
UI Design
Branding
Motion
a holistic digital to-do list centered around work-life balance, helping users achieve their goals while improving their overall wellbeing.
4
months of research
4
months of design
1
functional prototype
overview
The wellness and productivity app space is saturated with streak systems, generic interfaces, and one-size-fits-all approaches to improving users' lives.
I undertook the task of designing a wellness and productivity app that was none of those things. The result: 'Accord', an AI-powered to-do list that intertwines users' long-term goals with their everyday health, happiness, and well-being.
user research
Initial research consisting of user surveys and one-on-one interviews asked open-ended questions related to happiness and well-being, including:
What did users consider "happiness"?
How did they approach their goals?
What obstacles got in their way?
Upon synthesizing these conversations, research showed that the goal–oriented target user struggles in two main areas: breaking big goals down into smaller steps, and dedicating time to their happiness and wellbeing.
The first design pass, consisting of low fidelity prototyping (sketching, Figma wireframing), resulted in designs that tried to tackle too broad of a scope. Attempting to create a tool that could do it all - to identify users' goals, provide a space of self-reflection, set habits, build community, and still more - stretched the design too thin, and design feedback indicated that users were unclear on the core purpose of the tool. After gathering further feedback through testing and review, I clarified the problem space, asking:
how can I create a digital tool for goal-oriented people to improve their happiness and well-being?
pivot & design goals
Based on these conclusions, I identified an opportunity to design an app that encourages balance in day-to-day life.
Key design goals included:
helping users break goals down into manageable steps
emphasizing mindfulness and celebrating small accomplishments while on track towards future goals
developing a 'to-do' system that balances work and life
approach
In contrast to other wellness and productivity tools, Accord's design considers users' lives holistically. It suggests personalized activities for a happier life — such as reaching out to an old friend — alongside reflecting on goals or scheduled work time. Accord's streak-less systems allows users to focus less on artificial measurements of productivity, and more on how completing these recommendations makes them feel over time.
Accord's UI reflects this holistic view, using a planetary visual theme to symbolize the revolving elements of each person's life. I developed a color-coded system to distinguish between these elements, each one tied to a different aspect of wellness or productivity.
Users compare their progress towards their goals across their work, social relationships, and habits for health and mindfulness. As they complete more tasks in each category, their 'planets' grow in size to reflect their progress.
Project development lasted 8 months, from initial concept and research through final prototype. The final design was presented in front of a panel of UX specialists spanning healthcare strategy, ethical design consultants, and more.