The Feelings Zone
The Feelings Zone
Teaching emotions and empathy to kids is not straightforward and there are not many consistent resources for multiple age ranges to learn. Many platforms do not consider children with different learning styles, disabilities, or ages.
Goal:
Design a platform that will provide different ways for kids of all abilities to learn about emotions and empathy
My Role: UX Designer
Responsibilities: Interviews, ideation, sketching, wireframing, prototyping, accessibility, usability, iterating on designs, determining information architecture, evaluation, responsive design
User Research Summary:
Interview questions were developed considering parents and providers and how they would theoretically teach their children emotions and empathy. Most interview participants reported that they did not have a "go-to" platform to provide them with tools to teach their children. The feedback received through this research indicated that there is a need for this platform for children, parents, teachers, and healthcare providers.
Competitive Audit:
To better understand how information is currently presented on teaching emotions online, I conducted a competitive audit which revealed gaps and opportunities in the current platforms available. None of them had both a customizable app and responsive web platform or an option for kids, parents, and providers to access information.
View full competitive audit here
What makes The Feelings Zone stand out?
Ideation:
A quick ideation using crazy eights was used to come up with ideas on how to address gaps identified in the competitive audit. The main focus from ideation was based on creating different ways for users to access and learn information.
Digital Wireframes & Low-fi Prototypes:
Ideas from paper wireframes were transferred to digital wireframes. Initial designs focused on presenting information in an organized and intuitive way for users to access content. From there, the low-fidelty prototype was created to demonstrate how users browse through categories.
Usability Studies Findings:
Mockups:
Navigation:
Based on the findings from the usability study, I implemented the search bar on the home page for quick and efficient navigation
Customization and Targeted Audience:
A login screen was created following the usability study to allow for customization within the app for each child
Responsive Web Design:
Sitemap
The responsive web design was created after the web design. I used this sitemap to structure the design so that it conveys consistent information and delivers a similar experience across devices.
Impact:
Usability studies revealed the need for a platform to help teach kids about emotions and empathy. One participant shared, "This platform will be extremely helpful as a therapist for me to use in sessions and let my client explore outside of sessions for independent exploration."
What I Learned:
This project emphasized the importance of the design process, specifically, with usability studies and competitive audits to further understand user needs and gaps with the current platforms.
Next Steps:
