UX/UI
NOVA
DATE: Spring 2022
SOFTWARE: Figma
COLLABORATORS: Madeline Rabe
The Thought Record is a method used in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to help people overcome anxiety. It traditionally has 7 columns for assessing a troubling event: Situation, Emotion, Negative Automatic Thoughts, Evidence For/Against the Thought, Alternative Thought, and Alternative Emotions. I identified a number of pain points with the traditional thought record, including inconvenience, poor recall, and lack of incentives or measurable results. Instead of reinventing the thought record as one digital interface, I decided to approach it as a system, recognizing that this would be more likely to improve a user's experience. During our iterations, my partner and I considered the affordances and weaknesses of different platforms. We decided early in the process that we didn't want to design for a phone, because we didn't want NOVA to compete with the distractions (and mental health burdens) of other apps. A smartwatch offered convenience, immediacy, and valuable biodata technology. A desktop offered space, and laptops are commonly used in places where a user could focus. We designed a system for a user to log a thought or emotion in-the-moment using a minimal interface on their watch. This data input would be assigned an abstract visual, and would sync to a desktop interface. On the desktop interface, users would be able to add more context and details to the thought they recorded. This process followed the 7 column method, but with a unique visual metaphor. To characterize each thought in a user's thought record, we created a visual system of planets. The appearance of each planet was determined by the user's initial watch interaction, plus the details of their thought record. A planet would not appear as "complete" until the user had filled in details for all 7 columns. Then the planet was added to a comprehensive galaxy. The scale of each planet was determined by how recent the experience was, and the placement was determined by whether an emotion was positive or negative. This provided an incentive for the user to continue adding entries, and recognize trends during the process.
NOVA is a reinterpretation of the Thought Record as a digital interface. The platform uses a creative approach to encourage users to reflect on negative thoughts and experiences in order to improve mental health. The user can take note of a particular thought or emotion using a smartwatch app, then later add context to the event using a desktop app. The platform uses planets and galaxies as a metaphor for building a record of experiences.
By syncing with a smartwatch, NOVA encourages users to take note of their thoughts and emotions in-the-moment, with minimal interruption to their day. Users can record an experience by briefly interacting with their watch, and reflect on those moments at a later time through the desktop app. Each time the user records and reflects on an event, a planet is added to their galaxy, creating an incentive for users to keep building their Thought Record.
