we;mood

1. Prototype link (Please submit a link to a playable prototype, not a link to your design file) Prototype Link

2. Describe your project (max 150 words)

Expressing emotions can be challenging, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. We;mood is an AI-powered tool that helps users through emotional self-reflection using the Junto Emotion Wheel approach. Users start by identifying core emotions like joy or sadness, then refine these into more specific feelings like zealous or resentful. The AI assists in processing emotions, uncovering new feelings, and facilitating self-reflection through journaling prompts. We;mood aims to empower users to better understand and communicate their emotions, strengthening emotional intelligence and interpersonal connections.

1. Describe your research process and findings. If you conducted any surveys or interviews, please include the survey form and/or interview questions here. If you conducted secondary research by pulling from online sources, please include a link to your sources. (Max 500 words)

We began with the assumption that Gen Z struggles to articulate their feelings and emotions. To test this, we conducted desk research to understand our users, explore online forums for shared experiences, and assess the state of Gen Z’s mental health. According to a study by Murmuration, mental health issues are the highest for Gen Z compared to older generations. However, stigma surrounding mental health has decreased, and Gen Z is more open to discuss their emotions than previous other generations APA.

To validate our findings, we conducted a survey with 19 Gen Z participants to assess how easily they believes they can articulate their emotions. No respondents felt entirely unable to articulate their emotions at all, most falling between “somewhat” and “sometimes true.” Of the 25% who said they could easily articulate their emotions, many still felt blocked by a fear of burdening others, difficulty putting emotions into words or discomfort with their own feelings.

Additional survey questions explored how Gen Z manages mental health and their attitudes toward AI in this space. We found that 85% of participants seek out friends or family for emotional support, and most view mental health strategies as a way of distracting them from their troubles. The reactions to AI were mixed, most were open to trying it but skeptical of its reliability, while others held personal reservations against AI in mental health.

Given these insights, we refined our problem statement. Gen Z does not struggle to articulate their emotions, but they do struggle to communicate them. The challenge lies in feeling unable to share emotion with others when they value that support and they don’t process it. This led us to ask: How might we encourage people to better reflect on and share their emotions with loved ones? When asked whether a tool to help express emotions could benefit their mental health, respondents were generally positive, though cautious about AI’s role.

1. Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words)

Jessy Lin’s article, Rethinking Human AI interactions, greatly influence our solution by reinforcing the design prompt to a topic that we were passionate about. The article emphasizes that effective human AI collaboration comes from a continuous loop where humans are involved and work togther with AI. Understanding the value of the mixed initiative approach, we designed our system to facilitate interactive and conversational exchanges using both question and answer choices with 6 options and a chat bot. This way would allow for users to co-create ideas and while addressing the concern for AI reliability in our user surveys.

Another big influence was the Junton emotional wheel which we were inspired to use as our method of uncovering emotions, from vague to nuanced. This also had impacted the direction of our visual design through its use of a gradient, multicolor palette and geometric shapes.

Lastly, noting that 85% of survey participants found talking to friends or family most helpful for mental health and 55% said they would reach out to friends first, we added a navigation feature that allows users to connect with friends and share their feelings. This social component is intended to increase comfort and reduce anxiety around emotional sharing.

Built With

• figma