Illustration on smartphone screen featuring a person sitting cross-legged, meditating, with foliage in the background. Surrounding are cards with a blue and purple abstract design and a logo featuring the letter 'S'. Text on screen: "Shawnie, I know its a lot. But breathe."
a blank white background

PERSONALIZED MOTIVATION

Abstract brown watercolor texture on a white background
Smartphone display showing Sollievo brand logo on a purple and blue watercolor background.

ROLE

UX | UI DESIGNER | RESEARCHER |

GRAPHIC DESIGNER | BRAND DESIGNER

TIMELINE

100 HOURS

ESTIMATED READ

8 MINUTES

Getting Started

The Problem

People (ages 27-37) on their motivational journeys, who actively use apps for encouragement, are experiencing an incomplete and unbalanced motivational experience because

  1. Existing apps are missing personalization

  2. Users don’t see the value in motivation apps; especially those at cost

“Catered steps & things to try for a better life”-Fancy

“Apps that are intuitive are great. An all in one solution so that we don’t have to use so many”-J

“Daily reminder to continue to live in the present moment”-Vee

What motivation app users want

Based on User Interviews

Minimalist one-line drawing of a human face with abstract shapes in the background, featuring neutral tones.
Single line art portrait of a woman's face on a beige background.
Abstract one-line drawing of a woman's face in profile with neutral beige background.

Goal

Create a highly personalized motivational app that delivers inspiring messages and actionable steps tailored to each user’s goals.

“How Might We’s”

How might we make users feel more confident about their efforts when prioritizing self care?

How might we create a personalized experience?

User Research

Understanding our users

User Research Findings

Key Findings

  1. All users are going through very specific issues; divorce, anxiety, depression, weight etc..

    “Working out more to make myself more confident physically and mentally”

  2. Most users who use motivational apps are either using multiple apps or are experiencing an incomplete experience from a single app

    “Apps that are intuitive are great. An all in one solution so that we don’t have to use so many. Wellness and self-care have so many components. You won’t feel your best if your finances aren’t right, or your diet is off or you are doing the work mentally. Many things need to be balanced”

On approaching this problem, it was important to gain a better grasp of what users want from motivational apps and what current apps are lacking. I conducted five 1:1 interviews with individuals who are on their motivational journeys .

Our goals were to:

• Uncover pain points

• Discover the best ways to motivate users

Abstract art with black line drawing and colored shapes
Abstract illustration of a dark blue monstera leaf overlaying beige rounded shapes.

Personas

Empathizing with the Target Users

To gain a deep understanding of our target users, I developed personas based on initial user interviews. This process helped distill user needs into clear insights while allowing me to empathize with their goals, motivations, and priorities. 

Illustrated profile with text about a "Stressed Young Professional," named Mya J., based in Washington, D.C., age 29. The image includes motivations, core needs, pain points, and self-care app motivators. Motivations include positive quotes and support from friends. Core needs are personalized information and encouragement. Pain points revolve around finding the best motivational app. A motivational quote about maintaining a positive outlook is included.
Image of a persona profile titled "The Working Single Mom." Includes minimalistic line art of a woman's face, age 35, located in Columbus, Ohio. Lists her core needs, motivations, and pain points regarding self-care app usage. Highlights motivational quotes, actionable steps, price, daily notifications, and personalization as key motivators. Quotation about needing bursts of motivation is included.

What thier users are saying

Competitor Benchmarking

Smiling face emoji on a green background

Daylio

“It delivers on daily quotes but they're all really lame and unmeaningful.

They all just feel kinda shallow. You'd get the same level of meaningfulness from a motivational cat poster. But since there's no cat it's way lamer.”

I am

Text "I am" on a light pink background.

“Good affirmations but they make you pay if you want to be sent daily affirmation notifications. screw that.”

MOTIVATION

black background with white quotation marks

“Can basically do nothing, like yeah it works and it does give you affirmations. But i downloaded this app to help me with specific stuff”

Missing personalization and premium features are costly

Not customizable & some users complain the motivational qoutes are insensitive and repetitive

Exploring other apps

What other apps are doing?

Mood tracker app showing date July 7, time 11:17 AM, with mood options: rad, good, meh, bad, awful.

Daylio offers daily emotion input

App screen with a prompt asking "What areas of your life would you like to improve?" with options: Stress and Anxiety, Loving my body, Love, Positive thinking, Happiness, Personal Growth, Being thankful, Loving myself. A depiction of hands holding a leaf is at the top.

“I am” offers customization during onboarding but the categories are limited and general

App interface showing topic exploration options like 'General', 'My own quotes', 'Motivation', 'Women's Empowerment', 'Bible verses', and 'Self-love'. Some topics are locked.

Motivation offers catergorized qoutes in app settings

Smartphone screen with a motivational quote about having faith in the Universe's plans. Interface icons are displayed at the top and bottom.

While apps like I Am, Motivation and Daylio offer some level of personalization, the options are often broad and generic.

Motivation offers well thought out qoutes

Text on a light background: "I accept myself as I am."

“I am” offers affirmations that include the words

“I am”

Most existing motivation apps prioritize delivering qoutes and affirmations rather than tailoring the overall motivational experience to individual users.

User Flow Diagram

Information Architecture

Learning about how other apps delivered qoutes and thier personalization process helped me create the user flow below. Taking the personalization a step further to get to know our users.

Handwritten flowchart with steps: Home, email, password, sign in, what's in a name, who are you really, tell us how you feel, improvement, what do you need, how much do you need, quote based on input.
Flowchart depicting a process from home screen to generating a quote based on input. Includes steps for entering email, password, and various options such as name, identity, feeling, improvement, needs, frequency, and display. Includes decision points and validation checks.

Once the information architecture was set, I focused on defining the brand identity before wireframing. This foundation helped guide the design and ensured consistency for the mid-fidelity screens.

Our Vibe

Brand Identity

Color palette with six colors in circular swatches, labeled with hexadecimal codes: #FFFFFF (white), #EEDDD2 (cream), #CEA086 (peach), #83562B (brown), #051C4B (dark blue), #8DE2FB (light blue), on a watercolor background.
White image blank space

Sollievo: Italian noun- Ease
Ease coincides with the primary function of this app

Color-Users associate self care and ease with neutral tones and blues

White silhouette of a man holding a gun on an orange background with words "All the President's Men" by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.

Logo Incorporates the app's main function of providing quotes which includes an abstract letter 'S'  shape with a fusion of  quotation symbols.

Another Step Closer

Initial Screens

After brainstorming and research, I knew personalization during the onboarding process was key.

I designed a personalized motivation app that promotes self-care by delivering tailored quotes, reminders, and actionable steps. The app features an intuitive onboarding process, allowing users to set their preferences upfront, ensuring they receive relevant and meaningful motivation. Personalization includes name, pronouns, feelings, areas of improvement, needs, frequency, and display preferences.

Series of nine mobile wireframe designs with placeholder logos, text, and buttons. Each design varies in layout, showing different arrangements of elements like logos, text blocks, buttons labeled "click me," grid layouts, and image placeholders. One design includes a large "QUOTE" placeholder.

Intro Screens

Mid-Fidelity Mockups

Three smartphone screens displaying the Sollievo app interface. The first screen shows an email and password login with a sign-in button. The second screen displays a welcome message from Sollievo about enhancing daily motivation and happiness. The third screen offers personalization options, asking for a preferred name and potential nickname.
Four smartphone screens displaying an app interface for personal development. The screens feature identity selection (Woman, Man, Non-Binary), emotional check-in options (Happy, Sad, etc.), life improvement areas (Financial, Love), and support needs (Tough Love, Encouragement). A profanity level slider is also present.

Login

What the app does

Name

Identify

Three smartphone screens display a wellness app interface. The first screen shows notification frequency options, including daily and weekly choices. The second screen offers display style selections like line, watercolor, abstract, and gradient. The third screen features a stylized illustration of a person meditating with the text "Shawnie, breathe." Icons for feedback and sharing are below the image.

Feelings

Improvements

Needs

Frequency

Display

Personalized qoute

Visual Design

Feedback & Iterations

Through user testing I continued to iterate on the designs, shifting to high fidelity.

Two smartphones displaying a motivational app interface with a watercolor background. Text on the left screen reads: "Hey you! I’m Sollievo! I’m here to pop a little extra motivation into your day because you absolutely deserve it. Let’s team up to boost your happiness levels. Let’s dive in & get to know each other better!" The right screen features similar text but with an added call-to-action button saying "Lets Go!".

Before

After

designs by mu lofi, midfi and hifi qoute screens

Intro Screen iteration

  1. Lo-fi screens didnt have an intro screen but once I got started I realized it was necessary

  2. Added a brief intro page to help users prepare for onboarding

  3. Changed the verbiage on the intro page based on user feedback

    “The name ‘Sollievo’ is fitting. However, I recommend in the introduction page to immediately convey what ‘Sollievo’ is and how it can positively impact the user’s life to hook the user right away.” -Shawn

  4. Added a Let’s go button

    “On intro page please add “let’s get started” button no indication to move forward” -Ken


“How are you feeling ” iterations

  1. Initially I wanted to incorporate emojis but realized that it didn’t go with the aesthetic of Sollievo’s calm relaxed brand identity.

  2. Changed the scroll option for easier navigation

Mid-Fi

Lo-Fi

Hi-Fi

'“Qoute ” Iterations

  1. Increased Menu icon

  2. Changed menu & logo color for visibility

  3. Flipped image

  4. Added qoutation marks

    “Maybe add quotation marks on last page”-Ken

  5. Changed placement of icons & size

designs by mu

Lo-Fi

Mid-Fi

Hi-Fi

The Onboarding Process

When users open the app for the first time, they’re able to select their personalized motivational preferences

Feedback

 ”Aesthetically appealing interface that is stunning”

“What do you need from us babe” made me feel more connected to the app ”

“Easy to understand, quick, lots of options, feels like a friend”

“Enjoyed the profanity option never seen that option before”

Design Impact

User testing revealed several opportunities for future feature development

The ability for users to input physical characteristics, allowing for more personalized imagery

Incorporating specialty groups, including but not limited to 'Black Girl Magic', LGBTQIA2S+ and 'Men’s Mental Health', to better serve specific and diverse communities

Lastly, I propose adding an option for data input beyond the current button-based interface, offering users greater flexibility

Smartphone displaying Sollievo logo on a colorful abstract background

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