After winning Datacom's annual hackathon in 2018, I collaborated with Datacom, ASB, and Starship to create an app that addresses youth suicide in New Zealand by overcoming barriers to seeking support and the shortage of school counselors and therapists. The result was an empowering app that gained nationwide recognition.
Client:
Starship + Datacom
Industry:
Health & Youth
Involvement:
Product Design // UX Design // UI Design // Brand
Addressing the Challenge of Timely Mental Health Support
Village is an app designed to provide support during difficult times by connecting you with trusted friends and family. We worked together with experts, young people, and their families to co-design a solution.
Our primary focus was to address the underlying issue of why youth hesitate to seek help until it's too late. We realized that although young individuals reach out to school counselors and therapists, there is typically a five-day waiting period, which is crucial time lost. Through customer focus groups and user experience mapping, we discovered that many young people silently suffer, unable to express their emotions to friends and family, who, in turn, struggle to provide the right support.
To address these challenges, we developed an app that offers real-time mental health guidance when school counselors are unavailable. With Village, you can add five of your closest friends and family members, and both parties receive guidance and personalized tips to support each other during tough times. Through guided messages, users can check in with each other, and the app provides personalized messages and guidance to assist them during these moments.
The Brand: Embracing Inclusivity
and connection for youth.
Village is an inclusive app that caters to everyone, with a special focus on young individuals facing difficult circumstances. We recognised this challenge and implemented a unique color system, utilizing blue to represent the lows and peach to symbolize the highs, while ensuring a gender-neutral user interface.
The choice of the brand name "Village" stems from the popular saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." We consciously avoided employing an overly childish user interface, recognizing that many teenagers prefer not to be treated as children. Instead, we emphasize that Village serves as their support link during challenging times. The app's iconography, wordmark, and typography are all inspired by the concept of connection, fostering a sense of community and support.
Designing a stress-free user experience
In order to ensure a seamless user experience and alleviate stress, the design decisions behind the Village app were focused on removing obstacles and complexities.
Thus, we optimized the onboarding process to be efficient and uncomplicated, enabling users to swiftly access the app's features.
We also recognized the significance of involving trusted family and friends in the support network. To facilitate this, we implemented a fast and convenient referral and onboarding system. Users can easily invite their loved ones to join Village, ensuring a supportive community is readily available.In terms of messaging and adding friends, we drew inspiration from best practices used by popular social media platforms like Facebook. This made the functionality feel familiar and reduced the barrier of learning.
Website: Overcoming the stigma of mental health.
During the design process of the Village app's website, we meticulously considered several factors, one of which was the decision to implement a long-form approach. Our primary objective was to educate users about the app's value and its potential to enhance their overall well-being.
By presenting detailed information, showcasing features, benefits, and success stories, we aimed to deliver a compelling message that resonates with users and showcases the app's transformative potential. Moreover, the long-form design allowed us to address any potential mental barriers that could hinder users from downloading the app.
We addressed the existing stigma surrounding mental health by providing comprehensive information and inspiring users to take the next step with confidence. As a testament to the success of our approach, we were thrilled to witness Village app rank among the top 10 most downloaded apps in New Zealand on the Apple App Store within just one week of its launch.
Hey , I'm Evandah, a self-proclaimed unicorn who's crazy about marketing, design, and development. If you need urgent designs or have future projects in mind, I would love to connect.
Feel free to drop me an email at evandah@gmail.com or reach out via whatsapp at 021 244 2234
[ FOCUSES ]
Branding, Art Direction, Identity, eCommerce, Content/Brand Strategy, Typography, Iconography,Interactive Design, Lead generation, Website Development, Webflow, , User Experience, Product Design
[ VERTICLES ]
Sustainability driven tech, Emerging Tech, Non-for profit, Consultants, Small Businesses
Or if you have a question, a suggestion, or just want to say hello, please don't hesitate to get in touch.