Illinois App: Student Wellness
Beginning to bridge the gap between University of Illinois at Champaign students and available mental health resources through the Illinois university app.
Team
5 Designers
Role
UX Design Lead
Duration
8 months
Background
During my time as a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, I interned and led my own project at the Smart Healthy Communities Initiative at Rokwire on the Wellness team. I was later promoted to the role of UX Design Specialist in Wellness working on this project alongside my colleagues post-graduation. I designed a comprehensive directory of mental health providers for students to alleviate the gap between student resource requirements and coherent, accessible information. Throughout this project, I co-lead interviews, maintained regular communication with designers, and presented to key stakeholders. As an outcome, I drove the feature's potential success in the Illinois app, enriching the wellness experience for students.
Seamless access to integral mental health resources for college students
Navigating mental health resources has proven to be a significant challenge for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students. My objective was to create a feature within the university's app that simplifies and streamlines the journey of locating not just any provider, but the most suitable one for students in need of assistance.
I began looking to solve a problem I noticed in college culture and accessibility of the university resources.
As a UIUC student at the time, I noticed a recurring pattern in my peers - a need to access mental health resources, yet a reluctance to use them. I wanted to dig deeper and find out the “why” behind this trend. I set off to explore what mental wellness truly meant for students and what obstacles prevented themselves from prioritizing self-care.
And then I observed something strange…
As I began to synthesize my research, I noticed a clear trend: students often felt a disconnect with campus mental health resources. This stemmed from various factors such as not being well-informed about these resources, hearing about negative encounters from peers, and facing hurdles in accessing care.
That was when I realized what the disconnect was
One negative experience with university resources can be a trust-breaking moment for students, whether it be their own experience or one they heard about second-hand.
UIUC’s mental health resources are not advertised enough, thus students find other ways to cut through the noise. They often place trust in the assessments of available resources based on peer recommendations and experiences. This peer-driven information can significantly influence their decisions regarding seeking support and utilizing university services.
Goal
Simplify how students discover resources by enabling them to search with their preferred criteria and delivering user-friendly and readily available information for seamless utilization.
The goal of this project was to create a feature within the existing university app (the Illinois App) that would bridge the gap between the lack of mental health resource information from the university and the reliance on peer networks to form opinions on these resources before even utilizing them. We sought to design a solution that was more engaging and personalized than what is provided through the university currently and learn about what students value in mental health providers and finding/receiving care.
Create more opportunities for students to connect with support systems on campus?
Improve the accessibility and effectiveness of structured institutional services (e.g. counseling, social work) for students in need?
Lower the barrier to entry for students seeking care?
How might we....
Research
What digital mental health resources exist currently?
In the initial phases of this project, I conducted a thorough analysis of the top three digital mental health resources: Headspace, Calm, and BetterHelp. The goal was to understand the current market dynamics, identify successful elements, and pinpoint customer concerns. This step was crucial in aligning myself with industry standards before moving forward with the project.
Competitive Analysis
Pain Points
Headspace
Paywall
Dark patterns cancelling subscription
“Nothing is free”
BetterHelp
Privacy scandal
No response gurantee from therapists
“Doesn’t seem much help for my impulses”
Calm
Limited free resources
Dark patterns
“You can’t even use it unless you pay $70”
Company
Positioning
Key Features
Strengths
Guided meditation
Sleep sounds
Progress tracking
SOS Moments
Guided meditation
Music collection
Progress tracking
Apple integration
Online therapy
Licensed professionals
Direct messaging
Video/telephone call
Mindfulness App
Meditation App
Therapy App
Calm
Explanation videos
Personalized goals
Check-ins
Free resources
Customizable settings
Check-ins
Personalized quiz
Convenience of privacy and location
Headspace
BetterHelp
Research
Research
What are the inconsistencies in the university’s available mental health resources?
I also did research into the university’s counseling center website to view how they were reflecting their resources to students. Below are the findings:
Advantages
The counseling center put in effort to humanize their service providers
Including pictures of themselves
Short biographies
Some included approach to therapy and specialties
Disadvantages
Took multiple clicks to find a directory of service providers
Hard to navigate the website
Inconsistency in biographies
Interviews & Insights
What do current UIUC students have to say about mental wellness on campus?
Insights
Before embarking on a project that places heavy emphasis on something as fragile as mental health, I wanted to gain a more first-hand and comprehensive understanding of the problem at hand from students directly. I conducted interviews with a diverse range of students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Through these discussions, I uncovered consistent patterns and behaviors which included obstacles in accessing resources and a common tendency among students to depend on their peers for information about available resources.
“I haven’t seen any resources like that on campus”
“Honestly no, I don’t think I would have found [the resource]. I only know because of my roommate”
“It’s just not as advertised so I forget to go… I’m just not aware”
“I heard from a friend that they were provided with this clinical counselor or therapist that honestly did not work for them”
“I had friends who were paired with someone who they couldn’t connect with”
“I’ve just heard negative things… I haven’t heard anything good”
“With my first time, I was paired with someone who made comments about where I was from and comments about my intelligence and I was going there to get help and feel better”
“My first one’s [therapist] advice was kind of out of date…”
“...it just wasn’t culturally competent”
Information on Resources
Negative Encounters via Word of Mouth
Facing Hurdles When Trying Resources
Brainstorming
& Ideation
Developing a feature in the Illinois App that considers the student-voiced concerns we discovered.
After identifying the main reasonings behind the gap between students and accessing mental health care, we focused on brain-storming different feature ideas that would address multiple concerns.
3 solution spaces
168 feature ideas
10 voted concepts
Initial Idea
Service Provider Matching Quiz
We initially sought out to create a service-provider matching quiz that would ask a student questions about the nature of their inquiry on resources to be able to connect them with the correct provider. Upon discussion with stakeholders, we realized our initial design did not quite address all students; many students seeking help may not be aware of what they want unless it is presented to them, thus asking questions in the form of a matching quiz might confuse them further.
Cultural Competency
Filter by Specialty
LGBTQ+
Immigrant Students
Grief & Loss
First Generation
Etc.
Intimidation Reaching Out
Templates for Students
What to say to make an appointment
Email templates
Knowing Where to Go
Contact
Front and center on provider biography page
Location information
Humanizing Service Providers
Providing other qualities
Pictures
Hobbies
Interests
Approach to therapy
Final Product
Comprehensive Service Provider Directory
With the feedback received, we approached the feature with a new perspective: a directory of the service providers that includes relevant filters the students can choose to utilize or leave alone.
Additionally, I developed a standardized form for mental health providers, enabling them to efficiently input essential and student-relevant information about themselves. This initiative aimed to enhance the ease of creating filters and tailoring the experience to each student's needs.
The filters encompassed the concerns voiced by students in our interviews and gaps from our initial research on existing resource information.
Development
Lo-Fi/Mid-Fi Sketches
Directory
Filters
Filters Collapsed
Provider Details
Final Design
Introducing a personalized, comprehensive directory of mental health providers in UIUC’s central student app.
Location & Filters
Placed within the “Wellness” section of the existing Illinois App
List of providers with picture, short description and CTA
Filter Specifications
Based on what is important to the student
Address cultural competency, approach to therapy, location and services offered all at a glance
Personalized Results and Calls to Action
Shows which filters the student chose that match up with a provider.
About section - humanizes the provider
“Where You Can Find Me”
Contact button to lead the student to the correct place in confidence
Brand Identity
Keeping up the spirit of the Illini “I” and brand standards of the Illinois App
Illini Blue
#13294B
Illini Orange
#FF5F05
Primary White
#FFFFFF
Primary Black
#000000
80%
80%
60%
60%
40%
40%
Header Extra Large
Font Family: Proxima Nova
Font Weight: Bold
Font Size: 25.5
Header Large
Font Family: Proxima Nova
Font Weight: Bold
Font Size: 16
Subheader Large
Font Family: Proxima Nova
Font Weight: Regular
Font Size: 16
Subheader Medium
Font Family: Proxima Nova
Font Weight: Regular
Font Size: 14
Body Regular
Font Family: Proxima Nova
Font Weight: Bold
Font Size: 20
Header Medium
Font Family: Proxima Nova
Font Weight: Bold
Font Size: 18
Typography
Retrospective
What I learned & the future of this feature
Throughout this UX design endeavor, I had the unique opportunity to drive a project from inception to realization, gaining hands-on insights into the entire design lifecycle. Simultaneously, my involvement in pivotal research activities for the Illinois app's wellness section broadened my perspective and allowed me to address the crucial topic of mental wellness.
End-to-End Ownership: Lessons in Versatility
Steering this project through its various stages taught me the value of adaptability and iterative refinement. Embracing challenges and incorporating feedback led to more refined solutions, while managing the project end-to-end honed my time management and collaboration skills. Navigating diverse stakeholder perspectives underscored the significance of communication and balanced decision-making.
Shaping Wellness Research: A Catalyst for Change
Contributing to research shaping the Illinois app's wellness section was a humbling experience. Realizing the potential of technology to positively impact mental health underscored the responsibility of design. Notably, sparking conversations about mental wellness among students was a proud achievement. I witnessed firsthand how technology can drive awareness and prompt meaningful discussions about prevalent issues.
Empowered Conversations and Lasting Impact
As a student advocate for mental wellness, I'm proud to have used my design work to initiate crucial conversations and promote awareness. Encouraging individuals to recognize the significance of mental health was a powerful step toward change. This project solidified my belief in the potential of user-centered design to address real-world problems and highlighted the role of technology in fostering positive societal shifts.
In essence, this UX design journey epitomized growth, underscoring the importance of adaptable approaches, collaborative efforts, and responsible design for meaningful impact.
