SeekDeep

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  breathing exercise

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  mood jar

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  the space

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  AI analytics

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  landing page

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  user name

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  journal

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

2. Describe your project (max 150 words)

Our project, which is an app called SeekDeep, is an AI-powered digital journal. It is inarguable that emotions are a key aspect of humanity, and our team wanted to create an app that used technology to enhance this human experience rather than hinder it. The proposed use of SeekDeep is as a tool for the self-reflection of one’s emotions and thoughts through journaling and calming gamification. The AI aspect would hold up a mirror to the user by recognizing patterns in journal entries. It would also help to inspire the user by providing journaling prompts that are chosen specifically for the user based on past interactions with the app.

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)

Journaling is known to be beneficial for mental health, with the majority of therapists recommending it to their patients. However, many people do not take advantage of this tool. Based on our survey of student participants to gather both qualitative and quantitative data link, 45.5% rarely journal, and 27.3% do not journal at all. Furthermore, our survey shows that the most common things that prevent participants from journaling are that it is an inconsistent habit (45.5%) and for lack of time (27.3%). We took this information into account by aiming to create a welcoming and guiding environment to promote journaling through the customized prompts instead of taking the time to think about what they should write. Studies show the majority of people prefer to journal traditionally, with paper and pen link. Similarly, our survey showed that 54.5% of our journaling participants use a physical notebook. Another study suggests that journalers should be aware of repeating the same feelings over and over again link. It can be difficult to recognize this oneself, so incorporating an AI tool that is a master at pattern recognition could be tremendously helpful. Another key feature of SeekDeep is to encourage self reflection. Based on our survey, 45.5% of participants only intentionally reflect on their emotions monthly, while 27.3% reflect on their emotions rarely. SeekDeep aims to increase the frequency of reflecting on emotions to promote emotional growth. The last question of our survey asked participants what would help them to increase their journaling habit. The most common answers were a tie between mood and emotion tracking (27.3%) and gamification (27.3%). We took these answers into account and made them a priority to feature in our app.

1. Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words) Write your answer here. Our team wanted SeekDeep to be a very calming and welcoming environment. Therefore, we chose to use hand-illustrated features to create a cozy atmosphere, rather than a sleek and cold-feeling design. Another key aspect of our design is the navigation. We want the user to explore the app environment leisurely, taking them at their own specific pace and promoting fun. We included a breathing exercise, mood tracker, journal, and an analytics page, all tied together in a cozy illustrated style. These key features were decided upon by being mindful and deliberate with the surveys that showed our participants would increase their journaling habit for the attractive features of gamification and mood tracking. These were all important elements to us because we wanted to create a tool that can ground the user, and help to get them in touch with their emotions. We looked into competitor apps on the market including Clearful-Journal and Diary, Stoic. Journal and Mental Health, and Reflection Journal & Prompts. These apps' most common features are journal prompts, capturing photos, and looking back on past entries. We wanted to make SeekDeep stand apart by including more gamification and focus on self reflection rather than AI just being an extra feature. SeekDeep records journal entries and emotions, then uses the data to find patterns in the user's emotions and personalising journal prompts. We also wanted to include a drawing feature as a tool for emotional grounding rather than a photo capture. We believe that this brings the user to be more in touch with their physical surroundings, and can even help to relax them. Ultimately, these designs were heavily and consciously influenced by the prompt of remaining human in the age of AI. We wanted to use AI as a tool to become more in touch with oneself, and purposely hold up a mirror, so users can feel more comfortable and confident in themselves.

Built With

• figjam
• figma
• procreate