Anxiety & Depression Association of America
Duration
4 Day Hackaton
My Role
Lead UI Designer
UX Researcher
UX Designer
Prototyper
Team
Elizabeth H.
Emma K.
Robert H.
Zaneta G.
Research Method
Figma/Figjam
Zoom
Google Suite
Slack
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) is a nonprofit organization committed to preventing, treating, and finding cures for anxiety, depression, and related disorders.
Their mission involves:
Offering evidence-based educational resources
Promoting professional practices
Facilitating scientific research
Who is the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA)?
Why Does it Matter?
In the United States, 1 out of every 3 individuals is affected by an anxiety disorder, while 1 out of every 4 individuals is affected by a depressive disorder. Among our 41 survey participants, over 90% reported having close friends or family members who had encountered challenges with their mental health.
Both Anxiety and Depression are highly treatable but only 37% receive treatment.
We aimed to understand why there's a gap in treatment and how we could assist people in accessing the help they deserve. To do that, we conducted research. We started with screening surveys and then interviewed 6 participants selected from those surveys.
Our Goal
Our survey and user interviews highlighted that close family and friends are typically the ones reaching out for support on behalf of their loved ones facing mental health challenges. Using this insight, we developed our user persona, Andrea, to better understand and address these dynamics in our design approach.
Andrea, 31, resides in Chicago, IL, and is happily married with two children. Her family holds significant importance in her life. Recently, her sister has been struggling with worsening depression and anxiety, leaving Andrea feeling lost about how to initiate support despite her strong desire to help.
User Persona
To understand how Andrea feels while supporting her severely depressed sister, we crafted a journey map based on the existing website to see where improvements can help Andrea and other users navigate the process more effectively.
Retrospective Journey Map
In our efforts to enhance mental health support, we analyzed the features offered by 3 competitors, identifying 3 key opportunities:
Urgent Call to Action Button: Enables swift user response during emergencies.
Highlighting Health and Help Options: Directs users to immediate assistance resources.
Resources for Friends/Family: Provides valuable support guidance for loved ones dealing with mental health issues.
Additionally, we conducted a comparative analysis on 2 emergency-focused platforms, revealing 2 more opportunities for potential UX design improvements:
Get Help Now Button: Enables quick user assistance requests.
Location-Based Support and Classes/Webinars: Offers proximity-based aid and educational opportunities.
Competitor & Comparator Analysis
Due to time constraints, we focused on high-impact features with minimal design effort using a feature prioritization matrix in our UX design approach. We decided to include the following in our design:
Get Help Now CTA Button: Enables quick user engagement during urgent situations, providing immediate access to support.
Connect with a Hotline: Offers a direct link to a hotline for immediate assistance, catering to users in critical need.
Location-Based Support: Provides tailored assistance based on user location, ensuring relevant and localized support for enhanced user experience.
Feature Prioritization
In our design process, we initiated by conceptualizing a site map for the homepage and global navigation. Additionally, we crafted 2 user flows, meticulously considering the various decision points a user might encounter while seeking a local community that understands depression. Each step was methodically listed before integration into the user flow.
Design Process
Upon completing our user flows, the team collectively engaged in sketching screens, followed by a voting process to select optimal redesign candidates. Collaborative sketching facilitated diverse design exploration, leveraging collective creativity and expertise. The voting process ensured a selection of user-friendly and visually appealing screens for the redesign.
For my design part, I felt a personal connection to Andrea's story, which influenced how I approached the screens. I focused on making it quicker for Andrea to find help for her sister's urgent situation. One key feature I prioritized was enabling fast connections to emergency hotlines, and understanding the urgency of immediate support in such cases.
Sketches
Wireframes
On the ADAA's webpage, we strategically redesigned the website, placing emphasis on urgent mental health crisis needs that resonated with Andrea's frustrations. While retaining the Donate button, we repositioned it within a different area, aligning with ADAA's mission to prioritize immediate access to help for individuals in crisis. This reorganization aimed to elevate the prominence of urgent support resources on the website.
The Before and After Call Outs
Prototype
