Sindano Health
Role
UI/UX Designer
Duration
3.5 Weeks
Team
Elizabeth H.
Emma K.
Jasmine H.
Maria M.
Tools
Figma/Figjam
Zoom
Google Suite
Slack
Overview
Who is Sindano Health?
Sindano Health is a data analytics and SaaS technology company developing community-informed AI solutions to address disparities in mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ communities through a racial equity lens.
Users needs a safe space to share their experiences and find a relevant therapist so that they can quickly find competent mental health support and feel less alone.
Problem
Research conducted by both the Trevor Project and Mental Health America has revealed that over 50% of LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced instances where healthcare providers denied them care, used derogatory language or attributed their mental health issues to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Why is it important?
Solution 1: Update the Review Flow to Allow Therapist Reviews
This updated system aims to provide valuable feedback, fostering transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement among therapists. It ensures that individuals can make informed decisions when selecting a therapist who aligns with their needs and preferences.
Solution 2: Create a Community Forum
This platform will serve as a safe space for community members to connect, share experiences, access mental health resources, and engage in open discussions. By facilitating this forum, Sindano Health aims to foster a supportive environment that encourages mutual support, education, and empowerment within the LGBTQ+ community.
Solutions
We focused on usability testing through 2 thorough rounds targeting 3 primary goals:
Finding a therapist.
Making a community post.
Submitting a review.
Our data highlighted a significant decrease in average task completion time between the 1st and 2nd rounds. Furthermore, all users successfully completed tasks in both rounds, signifying a marked improvement from our initial tests, which had a lower success rate.
Throughout these testing phases, we made over 31 changes, resulting in the development of our current prototype
Outcomes
Discovery
We dove deep into understanding the LGBTQ+ community, mental health, and community forums by using various research methods. We conducted primary research like surveys and interviews, and also looked into existing information through secondary research like market analysis and data review.
We conducted a survey and user interviews. Out of 27 participants, we interviewed 11 members from the LGBTQ+community.
From the user interviews, we learned that:
Primary Research
We carefully studied almost 300 pieces of feedback, organizing it into patterns using an affinity map. From this analysis, we identified 3 key themes, shedding light on the distinct experiences and views of LGBTQ+ individuals seeking mental health support.
Key Takeaways
We performed a Competitive and Comparative Analysis, reviewing competitors like Facebook Groups, Reddit, Discord, Zeroquode, and Mental Health Forum. This helped us pinpoint key features, both essential and additional, that were standard in competitor apps for our Community forum.
Secondary Research
The "Must Have" Features:
Discussion Board
Comments/Replies
Ability to share posts
The "Nice to Have" Features:
Search by Keyword
Up-voting/Down-voting
Anonymous Username/Browsing
Predetermined Categories by Sindano
Ideate
We utilized Jakob Nielson’s 10 General Principles for Interaction Design and conducted 3 rounds of Usability Testing on the Sindano Health mobile web application. This revealed 10 heuristic violations and unsuccessful task completions. Through this process, we pinpointed various pain points in the current user flows.
Heuristic Evaluation
Design
To improve the user experience, we initiated the development of updated user flows. These new flows prioritize user needs and adhere to established UX design best practices, aiming to address the identified issues effectively.
Our team collectively designed screens for 2 distinct user flows:
Find a Therapist:
Screens are focused on locating a therapist.
Assists in the process of writing a review for a previous therapist.
Engage in a Non-Binary Community Group:
Screens facilitate finding a non-binary community group.
Enables users to view posts, react, and respond to comments or posts within the group.
User Flows
My sketches for Task 1: Find a Therapist.
My sketches for Task 2. Engage in a Non-Binary Community Group
Following our screen sketches, we conducted a design review to assess which designs aligned best with our user and client requirements.
Emphasizing intuitive and recognizable designs, I integrated a Hashtag feature into the second user flow to elevate search functionality, drawing inspiration from its common use across various social media platforms.
Wireframes
Visual Design Update: Accessibility
As a designer, I value how colors influence user experience. In our team's design discussions, we emphasized the importance of prioritizing accessibility. To ensure this, we ran an accessibility test on the original Sindano Health, discovering it didn't meet our standards. However, we aimed to maintain brand consistency while improving accessibility.
Hence, we decided to incorporate 2 primary colors from Sindano's palette - Green and Yellow. These colors were chosen not just for their visual appeal but also for their alignment with Sindano's core values and mission.
The chosen colors embody the brand's values of empathy, healing, and acceptance.
They were specifically selected to:
Promote Accessibility
Strengthen Brand Development
Align with and Support Sindano’s Core Values and Mission
Once we set the overall vision for our mobile web app, we started crafting mid-fidelity wireframes. To ensure our designs meet user needs and provide intuitive navigation, we conducted a usability test before moving to high-fidelity wireframes.
Usability Testing
We placed a strong emphasis on usability testing, conducting 2 thorough rounds that focused on the 3 primary goals:
Finding a therapist.
Make a post in your community.
Submit a review.
The data showed a notable decrease in the average task completion time from the 1st to the 2nd round of testing. Moreover, all users successfully completed all tasks in both rounds, marking a substantial improvement from our initial tests, which had a lower success rate.
Throughout these testing phases, we made over 31 changes, resulting in the development of our current prototype.
Solutions
Solution 1
Update the Review Flow to Allow Therapist Reviews
We improved Sindano's mobile web app for better efficiency and user-friendliness, specifically refining the review process and overall user experience.
Updates included:
clearer error messages
navigation guideline.
Provider profiles now feature crucial details like:
gender identity
sexuality
and specialties.
These changes resulted in a more seamless, personalized, and efficient experience for individuals seeking mental health care.
Create a Community Forum
Solution 2
We developed a community forum with core features:
discussion boards
comments
and the ability to like and share posts.
Additionally, we incorporated advanced features such as:
like keyword search
upvoting or downvoting
and anonymous posting to make the platform even more engaging.
Our objective was to establish a secure and inclusive platform for minorities and the LGBTQ+ community to openly share their stories and experiences.
Prototype
Join us in an exciting experience and interact with our prototype!
Scenario: As a non-binary person, you're looking for a new mental health provider who understands your gender identity + sexuality. You found a new website that helps connect LGBTQ+ people to relevant therapists and reviews from other people in the LGBTQ+ community.
Task:
Enter the Invite Code and Join.
Complete the Onboarding process.
Log in to the app and navigate to the homepage.
Find a new therapist and send them an email.
Find a community of Non-Binary or other Non-Gender-conforming people and write a new thread.
Submit a review for your past therapist, Tony Nelson.
