Ana
Product Concept | Role: Product Designer
Problem: News apps don’t take users’ mental health into account when sending notifications. Users should have more control over filtering and timing of news updates to stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.
Research
Ana (which stands for Anxious News Admin) explores a different approach to a news app: what if your mental health informed how you received news updates? How might a news app consider your emotions?
In my research, I was drawn to warm pastel colors, paper cut shapes, and bold fonts. I imagined trying to bridge the editorial tone of a news app with the softness of mental health app.
For this product concept, I designed a mobile onboarding flow that explains the app features and considerations in detail.
Branding / Design system
I designed the logo with a bold serif font, playing on the visual motif of a speech bubble to emphasize dialogue and conversation, which carries through the design language. In contrast, the soft colors and shapes add an element of humanity to the interface design.
I wanted to play with these elements in a way that felt warm and approachable. Visually I wanted to guide users through onboarding in a clear and concise way that makes the app’s intentions clear.
Competitive analysis / IA
I looked at the onboarding experiences of Headspace and ABC News as two strong examples of leaders in their respective spaces. While I wasn’t going quite as in depth in this onboarding flow, it was helpful to see how each app guides users through their app features.
User flow
For this onboarding user flow, I focused on which order of screens would naturally flow and guide the user through the purpose of the app. While the user’s choices don’t change or branch the flow, the app would take their choices into account and cater the app to their preferences.
High fidelity designs
I then iterated on the final designs for the onboarding flow - focusing on creating variety and visual interest with the design elements. The language needed to be straightforward while still conveying all the essential information.
Prototyping
Lastly, I finessed the interactions and flow between each step of the onboarding flow. I imagined how users might disrupt the flow, skip or go back steps, and ensured that users understood their progress no matter what decisions they made.