Solace
Uncluttered migraine management
UX Research
UX Design
Health
Timeline
14 Weeks
Role
Product Designer
Tools
Figma
Problem
Migraine patients find it challenging to track and understand their headache patterns. Traditional journaling is cumbersome and fails to provide comprehensive insights for healthcare providers. Existing apps lack user-friendly interfaces for documenting symptoms and triggers, leading to ineffective migraine management and poor health outcomes.
Solution
Solace is a mobile app designed to transform migraine tracking and management. With an intuitive interface that minimizes typing, it allows users to easily log migraine attacks, triggers, intensity, medication, and after-effects using visual cues. Solace provides detailed reports and insights, enhancing communication between patients and healthcare providers for more effective migraine management and improved quality of life.
Prototype
Ideation
The brainstorming process overwhelmed me with ideas, but most were already popular in the market. After exploring and reviewing self-help and habit-tracking apps, I noticed a lack of apps specializing in migraines. Researching existing migraine apps, I found that patients prioritized tracking their migraine attacks. Many apps were cluttered and complicated, increasing cognitive load. This led me to delve deeper and gather more information on the issue.
Research
The research aims to understand current migraine tracking methods and challenges, identify common triggers and effects, and explore patients' preferences for tracking apps. It will evaluate existing apps' effectiveness and limitations, the role of visual cues and minimal typing in enhancing user experience, and patient-provider communication. Additionally, it will assess the potential impact of Solace on improving migraine management and patient outcomes. These insights will guide Solace's design and development to effectively meet migraine patients' needs.
User Interview Insights
User interviews revealed key areas for improvement in migraine tracking apps. Users face challenges with consistent tracking and identifying triggers, highlighting the need for a streamlined, user-friendly system with enhanced pattern recognition and data analysis. Preferences include intuitive navigation and personalized recommendations. These insights emphasize the need for a migraine tracking app that prioritizes ease of use, effective data analysis, and tailored support to better manage migraines.
Inconsistency in Tracking Methods
Preference for User-Friendly Interface
Complexity of Identifying Triggers
Desire for Personalized Recommendations
User Survey Insights
User survey revealed key findings about migraine patients' experiences and preferences. Many users experience frequent migraines with symptoms like throbbing headaches, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and visual disturbances, lasting 4 to 24 hours. Dissatisfaction with traditional tracking methods like pen and paper or basic apps is common due to their cumbersome nature and lack of features. Users strongly prefer a specialized mobile app with an intuitive interface, symptom and trigger tracking, calendar views, medication reminders, and integration with wearable devices. They seek personalized recommendations and improved communication with healthcare providers for better migraine management.
Digging Deeper
I tested the proposed features with seven participants to assess engagement with gamification and response to environmental updates, conducting tests in person and remotely while meticulously documenting feedback for insights.
User Frustration
Challenges in Tracking Migraine Patterns: Users struggle to monitor and understand headache patterns using traditional journaling, which is cumbersome and lacks comprehensive insights for treatment planning.
Lack of Versatile Migraine Tracking Apps: Current apps lack versatility and user-friendly interfaces for documenting symptoms and triggers, making it hard for users to find suitable options.
User Needs
Simplified Tracking Methods: Users need an easy-to-use method for tracking migraines and symptoms without extensive typing.
Identification of Triggers: Users need help identifying and tracking migraine triggers, especially when they are not obvious.
Personalized Recommendations: Users want actionable insights and personalized recommendations based on their input data to manage migraines effectively.
User Motivations
Improved Migraine Management: Users seek effective tools to better manage migraines and enhance their quality of life.
Empowerment Through Understanding: Users aim to understand migraine patterns, triggers, and symptoms to take control of their health.
Enhanced Communication with Healthcare Providers: Users want to provide comprehensive tracking data to healthcare providers and receive personalized migraine management recommendations.
User Flows
Home
Recording an Attack
After Attack Entry
Mid-fidelity Wireframes
In the initial stages of building Solace, I aimed to offer more than just journaling. Research indicated that users struggled with basic migraine management, particularly journaling. However, I explored additional features to help alleviate migraine issues. This phase involved determining key features to retain or discard, ensuring the app provided comprehensive support for migraine patients.
Design Iterations
V1
I scraped this version quite early on as I saw it start taking shape into more of a mental health app and not really focusing on fixing the problems I was trying to solves. It wasn't really doing much to help migraine patients understand their attacks and learn their patterns.
V2
I had finally found my footing with this version. I was understanding the structure and they way I could use the space. Here I was still. pretty determined to provide my users with mote than just a migraine journaling app. I wanted them to have support of community, of exercises, articles and what not. However, I was still doubtful and conducted a short round monitored user testing with this version. Through testing I realized, because of all this clutter I was losing the main purpose of Solace. As much as I wanted to provide my users with a lot more features, I wanted to focus on the target problem and ended up scraping it.
V3
From the previous iterations I was able to decide to spend my time focusing on the problem statement and working on making sure the journaling process was as smooth as possible. This way I was able to also generate some very clear data for the users who could use those reports to find a pattern and track their migraine attacks. These reports would also be really helpful to healthcare providers to find the best relief solution for their patients. This was the last iteration before a final MVP was made. Not a significant difference between the two except some minor changes in the colors and digital elements used.
Final Solution
High-fidelity Wireframes
Conclusion
Through extensive research, testing, and iteration, I've developed Solace, a project aimed at revolutionizing migraine management. This endeavor was driven by a desire to address the frustrations and unmet needs of migraine patients, providing them with a comprehensive tool to track, understand, and manage their condition effectively.
Throughout this journey, I've learned the importance of collaboration and the limitations of working solo on such a project. With the support of professors, mentors, and friends, I navigated challenges while remaining positively motivated. Looking ahead, I aim to better plan my tasks, setting realistic expectations and allowing room for setbacks.
Despite the challenges, this project has been incredibly rewarding, offering invaluable learning experiences and sharpening my skills as a designer. I'm proud to have created something that not only meets the needs of users but also promotes sustainable behaviors in migraine management. Overall, this journey has been fulfilling, and I'm excited to see the impact Solace will have in empowering individuals to take control of their migraines.