UX/UI Design
Web
Prototyping
Sep. 2023 - Nov. 2023
Heal You Web Redesign
A tailored mental counseling service search experience for remote mental therapist seekers.
Duration
3 months
My role
UX/UI Designer
Leader
Responsibility
End to end UX/UI Design
Icon Design
Final Present
Client
HealYou
Introduction
HealYou, founded in November of 2021, is a platform offering remote mental therapist appointment services.
In this project, we revamped the existing user experience to reduce the overall bounce rate and increase the appointment conversion rate.
My Role
I led a team of 3 UI/UX designers, utilizing my project management experience.. I was in charge of the end-to-end UX and UI design, from defining the problem to delivering the final design, and presenting to the client.
Problem
Users fail to make an appointment on the platform.
From the data, we observed a high bounce rate on the home page and therapist page, only a few of users will complete the booking process. Here are the key problems with the core experience that we found through the research :
PROBLEM #1
Platform Confidence Concerns
Users feel uncertain if anyone has successfully made an appointment on this platform due to the absence of relevant experience sharing.
PROBLEM #2
Therapist Choice Uncertainty
Users face uncertainty in choosing suitable counseling approaches and struggle due to insufficient therapist information, making it challenging to find an ideal therapist. Thus, users might seek human assistance on other platforms.
Solution
Enhance user trust and offer diverse incentives to assist users in selecting a therapist.
SOLUTION #1
Social Proof Nudge
Present statistics such as the count of therapists, appointment records, and user satisfaction.
Provide users feedback with their background (gender, occupation), and allow users to check up on the corresponding therapist.
SOLUTION #2
Psychological Assessment
Assist users in searching for a suitable therapist.
Facilitate the appointment process with engaging assessment.
SOLUTION #3
Therapist Distinctions
Highlight variations among therapists by showcasing the quickest available appointment times, ratings, and experiences.
Incorporate the therapist’s official social communities and audio files to offer users a deeper understanding of a therapist.
Implement tooltip as an annotation next to specific proper nouns
Our Approach
Discover
Competitive Analysis (4)
Survey (48)
User Interviews (5)
Since we weren’t very familiar with the mental health field, we began with some secondary research to gain a better understanding of HealYou’s positioning in the market.
We then went through the primary research phase by conducting surveys and user interviews to learn more about the different experiences people have had with counseling. Through our research, we like to:
Identify HealYou’s target market
Identify HealYou’s competitors and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
Understand the experiences people have with counseling
Uncover user priorities in seeking counseling services and therapist selection
Competitive Analysis
Through competitive analysis, we identified several direct and indirect competitors within the industry: Farhugs, Betterhelp, Seeing Counseling Center and Teacher Chang. We thoroughly examined their websites, appointment processes, and other aspects to evaluate their backgrounds and strengths, thus determining the competitive edge of HealYou.
Survey
To gain insights into how people perceive mental health and the criteria they prioritize when seeking counseling, we conducted a survey. We collected 48 surveys, here are some generalizable facts we found through survey:
Most people are hesitant to try online counseling as they perceive physical counseling to be warmer
Most users need to make appointments by filling out a form or adding as a LINE friend
The top 3 considerations when selecting a therapy service platform: Therapist matching services, Flexible cancellation service, Users’ experience sharing
The top 3 considerations when selecting a therapist: Reviews, Self-introduction, Counseling fees
User Interviews
In order to learn about the real experiences people have had while seeking mental health service, we recruited 5 users for interviews based on their counseling experience (none to 10 years of experience) and other conditions.
In the interviews, we asked open-ended questions to better understand about their counseling experience and habits, we then observed how they browse a mental health website and what criteria do they look for when selecting a therapist by asking these interviewees to share their screen.
Affinity Map
We synthesized the collected data from the interviews into an affinity map to help form insights who HealYou’s users are and what they truly need.
Persona
Based on our insights and observations from the research methods, we created a vivid character - Naomi, to capture the essence of our users and their characteristics :
User Journey Map
After crafting a persona, we walked through the entire appointment process from Naomi's perspective to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
Ideate
Taking the insights and needs from the User Journey Map, we then condensed Naomi’s problems by creating point-of-view (POV) statements and How Might We (HMW) questions that would help drive our brainstorming process.
POV Statement
How Might We
HMW Question 1
HMW enhance the credibility of HealYou to instill confidence in users when making an appointments?
HMW Question 2
How might we add some nudges to assist users in discovering their ideal therapist?
HMW Question 3
How might we enhance information clarity to facilitate the user's appointment process?
Crazy 8 Sketches
Based on the HMW questions, we initiated a brainstorming process to generate solutions for each problem through Crazy 8 exercise so that we could quickly generate as many ideas as we could.
Prioritization
After exploring numerous ideas in the brainstorming process, it's time to select the optimal one. Recognizing that there's no perfect solution, we've opted for a User Value/Effort matrix to measure the pros and cons of each solution. The "must-have" area is our priority, while the "nice-to-have" area allows for improvements if additional resources are available.
Information Architecture
Before diving into design, our team decided to optimize the information structure of the website first. This approach ensures the logical organization of pages and facilitates easy navigation for users.
User Flow
We also created user flows to get a better understanding of the overall journey Naomi would be taking throughout the app, note that we added different nudges to help Naomi find her ideal therapist.
Design
Wireframe
This is how the early wireframes looked like. We particularly focused on addressing the modules that should be featured on the homepage and their order. This is to instill trust in newcomers and guide them on the actions they can take upon entering the website.
High Fidelity Designs
We experimented with different modules, layouts and orders. After several iterations, we aimed to settle on a design robust enough to initiate user testing. This will help us understand how easily users can navigate the page.
Usability Testing
To evaluate the revamped design, we conducted a remote un-moderated task-based usability testing through Maze with 5 participants from the user interview. Also followed by a qualitative survey that asked participants to describe their thought process while performing the tasks. Here are some findings we learned from users:
Findings
Finding 1
Users face difficulty finding specific therapy options, e.g hypnotherapy, even though these therapies are among the prominent services offered by HealYou.
Finding 2
Finding 3
First-time online counseling users experience confusion regarding the usage of video tools after making an appointment.
Solutions
Solution 1
Elevate the hierarchy of therapy options, allowing users to switch between counseling topics and therapy options through tabs on the homepage.
Solution 2
Enhance UX writing and clearly articulate the benefits of psychological assessments to align with users' interests.
Solution 3
Include a brief reminder on the appointment completion page about the counseling tools used, with a link to a detailed setup manual for users.
Final Design
Icons for Home Page
Many users appreciate HealYou’s serene brand colors, so we decided not to change the overall design. For the counseling topics module, I crafted a set of new icons with simple lines and geometric patterns to evoke a welcoming and friendly feel, helping users make appointments with a calm mindset.
Home Page
Therapist List
Therapist Detail Page
Psychological Assessment
Evaluation
Remember that we conducted usability testing in the above section? Not only did we receive suggestions for iterations, but we also gathered many positive responses to the prototype (Hooray!) Here are a few highlights from the results:
🙋🏻 Feedback from the Participants:
The overall information is clearer and richer, which enhances trust significantly.
The psychological assessments are quite engaging; I enjoy taking such tests!
The test results are user-friendly, making the serious counseling approach more approachable.
The tooltips are helpful; even after years of counseling, there are still specialized terms that I don't fully understand.
Time-based therapist nudges are attractive to me!
👩🏻💼 Feedback from the Client:
The user pain point analysis is spot on, and I particularly appreciate the design of tooltips and audio files. I would like to incorporate these elements in the future.
Next Step
If we have more time, we would love to conduct additional usability tests and invite individuals with diverse counseling experiences to validate whether the incentives truly help them in finding an ideal therapist. If needed, we can explore alternative nudges.
Additionally, we are exploring ways to increase retention rate, such as introducing features like a 'Counseling Diary' for users to record reflections after each session.
Key Takeaways
Make a big impact with limited resources
Given constraints on time and resources, addressing every problem simultaneously isn't always feasible. Throughout the project, I often found myself in an iteration loop searching for better solutions. I've learned to prioritize critical pain points and thoroughly validate our solutions.Maintain an open and positive mindset
Incorporate diverse feedback from meetings, stakeholders, and mentors to enrich the project. Embrace valuable suggestions openly and avoid confining design processes to limited spaces.Embrace diverse perspectives
In the counseling community, diverse perspectives are shaped by individual experiences and knowledge. Remember, one person's opinion doesn't represent everyone's views. While valuing diverse viewpoints, critical thinking is equally vital in problem-solving.
Thank you for reading through! ☺️
