Wellness Quest

Inspiration

Stress is a common experience in daily life, yet many individuals struggle to recognize the early physiological signals that indicate rising stress levels. This project was inspired by the concept of interoception, the body’s ability to perceive internal signals such as heart rate and breathing. Our goal was to design a tool that helps users become more aware of these signals and respond with simple wellness practices in real time.

What it does

Wellness Quest is an interactive wellness application that promotes stress awareness and regulation through physiological sensing and guided activities. The system monitors heart rate as an indicator of potential stress and provides immediate interventions such as breathing exercises and short mindfulness prompts.

Users interact with a customizable in-app character whose energy level reflects the user's stress state. When stress increases, the character's energy decreases:

Completing wellness exercises restores the character’s energy:

The application also includes social features that allow users to engage in wellness challenges and cooperative activities with friends.

How we built it

The system integrates physiological sensing, interactive design, and wellness interventions. Heart rate data is used to detect elevated states that may indicate stress. When detected, the application delivers guided breathing and mindfulness activities.

A character-based interface translates physiological signals into visual feedback, while a social component enables collaborative wellness activities among users.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was responsibly interpreting physiological signals. Because heart rate alone cannot fully determine stress, the system was designed to provide supportive suggestions rather than definitive conclusions.

Another challenge involved balancing engagement with seriousness. The design needed to remain interactive and motivating while still respecting the importance of mental wellness.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We developed a system that connects physiological awareness with accessible wellness practices. By combining interoceptive sensing, a character-based interface, and social interaction, the project demonstrates how wellness tools can encourage engagement while supporting healthy habits.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned how complex physiological signals can be translated into intuitive user experiences. We also gained insight into designing technology that encourages positive behavioral change while maintaining user trust and privacy.

What's next for Wellness Quest

Future development will focus on improving stress detection by incorporating additional signals such as breathing patterns or activity levels. We also plan to expand the social and gamified features to support long-term engagement and community-driven wellness practices.

Built With

• american
• association
• figma
• figmamake
• psychological