1. Design Challenge Context
This is a college-enterprise joint project organized by Design@Columbia and Google UX Design in New York City. Shortlisted teams that completed the challenge gave presentations at Google's office.
The UX design challenge project is committed to using and promoting Google’s technologies or products to improve aspects of Columbia University students’ lives on campus.
Our prompt is…….
“How might we create a more efficient digital experience to improve Columbia University students’ mental health using Google Map and Google Calendar?”
My Role
Product Designer
UX Researcher
Duration
6 Weeks, 180 hours
Feb 2023 - Mar 2023
Tools
Figma, Adobe Photoshop,
Google Forms, Canva
Team
Mentors from Google UX Design New York
Mona Wang, Mia Liu, Joey Lee
2. Design Thinking Process
3. Problems & Design Goals
4. Design Solutions
1. Efficient Appointment Booking
Compared to the old version on the Columbia University Mental Health portal website, the design of this App simplifies many lengthy and repetitive forms that users need to fill out, making appointments more efficient and understandable.
Say goodbye to long wait times, difficult processes, and endless phone calls.
Easily schedule and manage your appointments with Columbia Mental Health professionals.
Users can choose their symptoms through simple buttons and voice input to digitally submit mental health issues they want to seek help with.
2. Effective In-Network Health Insurance Provider Searching
Finding the right health insurance provider can be daunting. Our app simplifies this process by helping you discover in-network health insurance providers with ease.
Save time by browsing through a curated list of trusted insurance companies accepted by Columbia Mental Health.
Discover your preferred doctors or therapists on Google Map and use filters to select your unique preference.
3. Accurate Schedule Appointment Completion
Efficiency and accuracy are paramount when scheduling appointments.
Our app ensures you complete your appointment scheduling process flawlessly, connecting with Google Calendar and Google Map features
Stay on top of your appointments and maintain a well-organized schedule with ease.
4. Daily Mental Health Support
Get daily support and stay up to date with the latest happenings in the mental health field through our app's informative feature on upcoming learning events.
Access a wealth of resources, including articles, tips, and exercises, specifically curated to help you navigate life's challenges.
Discover upcoming workshops, seminars, and conferences organized by Columbia Mental Health.
Empathize & Define
In the “Empathize” phase, we understand the needs, expectations, and challenges of Columbia University students, who will ultimately use the mobile application we are designing. In the “Define” stage, we identified the pain points of users and our design goals. We conducted user interviews, surveys, user journey maps, competitor analysis, and data analysis to understand the user's situation. Our goal is to gain a deeper understanding of students' experiences, emotions, and motivations in using old electronic health portals, as well as their expectations for new products.
User Research - User Interviews + Google Form Surveys
User Persona
User Journey Mapping
Competitor Analysis
Storyboard
Ideation
After defining the user and product pain points, we use many methodologies in the ideation phase to figure out possible design solutions. Since this project is collaborating with Google and we hope to connect our App with Google technologies to empower our student community, we conducted product research and decided to use Google Maps and Google Calendar. In this phase, our team went through the card-sorting, brainstorming sketches of the interface, user-flow exploration, and information architecture of the App.
Card Sorting
Sketch Brainstorming
Information Architecture
User Flow Chart
Prototypes
In the prototyping phase, we evolved the initial low-fidelity wireframes into high-fidelity interactive prototypes using Figma, employing a systematic step-by-step approach. Our guiding visual principle was the iconic Columbia Blue, seamlessly weaving it into the entire user experience to establish a unified and captivating college identity. Every visual element meticulously adhered to the design system, ensuring cohesiveness and precision throughout the process.
Wireframes
Style Guide & Design Components
High-fidelity Prototypes
5. Next Steps and Reflections
Emotional Design
After crafting this digital experience centered around mental health, I consistently contemplated the emotional impact on our users. My aspiration is that our digital product, along with innovative technologies, not only facilitates practical tasks, such as scheduling appointments or participating in mental health education events, but also engenders positive emotions. Will the college students engaging with our mental health app find it effortlessly simple to navigate and utilize its features? How will they feel when sharing their symptoms with healthcare professionals through our platform? As designers, it's crucial for us to continuously delve into the emotional realm of our users, aiming to evoke feelings of delight, relaxation, trust, and a profound sense of security.
Inclusive Design
During the UX design challenge, our mentors from the Google UX design team recommended us to focus more on the concept of inclusive design, which encouraged me to rethink whether our design outcomes are friendly for the whole community. For example, we have already designed voice input for people who may have difficulty typing on the interface. We also use the “filter” feature for users to find doctors with their personal needs. In the next steps, I can probably also consider improving our design elements, such as adjustable fonts, multilingual modes, and digital assistance for the disability group. Our digital learning content should be inclusive, reflecting the diverse identities and experiences of the university community. If we have more time in the next round of design iteration, we may enhance those aspects.