Proposal

Semester B Project Proposal Form

Name: Kayleigh Umfreville

Working title: Harmonize

Blog URL: https://dmresearch.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/

 

What is the intended idea / concept behind the proposed project?

My intended idea is to explore either a technology or a software, which is based around the concept of Cognitive behavior therapy. CBT is a therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way that you think and behave. I would like to apply this concept to the theme of health, and more specifically mental health. It will look at ways that people who are dealing with mental health to help themselves, which will help change their thinking patterns.

 

Justify the idea / concept in terms of the needs for its existence (if purely for entertainment, state this and how the output will be innovative/original and creative):

I feel that this idea will be important as, in today’s society 1 in 4 people suffer for mental health, some people will experience these problems at some points throughout their life, also there is still a massive stigma around the idea of people having mental health issues, as people do not want to talk about it, or do not know how to act. Helping people to manage this is very important as, the way that we think affect our who lives and the people around us, as the better we can manage our thoughts the better. The support that is already out there is not helping enough, as the amount of people who have these problems is increasing but the funding for the NHS, within this sector, is decreasing. The resources available to them are not helping the way they should. Lastly raising awareness for this is very important, as people are suffering from mental health issues, and they do not know they have it or how to deal with. This means that the problem may not be addressed till it’s too late.

This means from researching the best ways to offer some sort of help or support to everyone is crucial, our quality of life should be increasing not decreasing. There should be more products out there to offer this kind of service to this type of audience. This is what I am aiming to do this semester, to be able to aim towards thinking/creating a product to help this area.

This product will be innovative, original and creative, as I would like to aim to using modern technology, such as virtual reality or augmented reality to enhance the experience of the user. It will explore different more creative ways to use CBT to overcome problems, to make it more engaging.

 

Describe the intended audience:

From doing some basic research around the issue of mental health, and what are the most concerning problems was the fact that more teenagers between the ages of 14-24 were getting some sort of mental health issues. It is said “Around 20% of the world’s children and adolescents have mental disorders or problems. About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14.”

I thought this was very concerning and really caught my attention, as during this period of a person’s life should be fun and exciting, but some are going through this, because of extra stress and pressure put on the from school and their surroundings. My target audience, will aim to be around 12-18. This is because, this age is the time from secondary school to sixth form/college, where more and more pressure is put on the student, affecting their mental health. Also, at this age you are still learning how to figure things out, which means that thinking patterns are very important, so by helping them to change the way that they think from an early age means that, they will be able to use this technique later on in their life, and hopefully reduce the amount of people suffering from mental health problems.

 

How will this project extend your or your team’s creative and technical skills?

 

This project will extend my creative skills, as I will be creating a product for a young audience, which means that what I decide to choose to make will need to be exciting and vibrant, but creates the challenge of fitting into an aesthetic of a calming environment without being patronizing, as this will detract the user from using the product. From creating a product for a young audience will enable more room for creativity as, it can be fun and engaging. This will also extend my technical skills, as ii have the possibility to explore virtual reality and augmented reality. Looking into these technical attributes means that I will need to learn new skills, of how to code and create animation that is 3D. This will be a challenge as, I have not done anything like this before. The other possibilities of creative an app is very likely, which means that I will need to gain technical skills, with how to create a working prototype, and gain more experience with the type of software, such as Adobe Illustrator.

 

Outline how the practical work will be carried out by you and the time-scales involved for each task:

 

Research and Development:

In weeks 1 to 4

I will start to research into mental health, and the issues around it is. Them applying it to my target audience. Researching my target audience of 12-18, to come up with an appropriate art direction of logos, colour schemes, and type face. After identifying which technology or platform should be used for maximum accessibility and will be appropriate.

Production:

In weeks 5-9

I will aim to create a potential branding and interfaces that correspond to the outcome of the research from weeks 1 – 4.

Testing/Feedback

In weeks 10-12

The prototype to be tested by users, preferably by the target audience, then collect any feedback, which should be analysed. This will then be reflected on and improvements will be made. This will be a cycle till the project has reached a good potential.

This is a very basic plan, and can be swapped and changed at any point to adapt to the work flow, for instance I may want feedback from the target audience straight after I have researched and created the colour scheme. By doing this I can avoid the problem of the audience not liking the product till the end.

 

What other work (by animators, designers, film-makers, writers, digital media producers, etc.) is relevant to your project? (This work may either be relevant for its conceptual or technical similarity):

 

A work that Is interesting to look at is an app called Sribblenauts. This app is an animation game that put the user into different situations, and they need to follow the instructions to them get to the next level. The way that they do this is very interesting as, the users has to think of anything to the apply to the scene. This means that the software has a massive bank of animation to then apply. This is aimed at the same target audience, and will be interesting to analyses in more detail, as it is a very visual and engaging way to get the user to be creative. I would like to explore looking at this app and developing it further to fit into my concept.

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List any critical texts that are relevant to your conceptual intentions:

 

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/mental-health-statistics-facts

http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/fundamental-facts-15.pdf

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/mental_health_facts/en/

https://www.scribblenauts.com/scribblenauts/unmasked

Proposal

Looking at other Apps

To help differentiate my product from others, I had a look at other examples to see how they function, and use CBT, this will then help develop my ideas further to know how to make my idea stand out, and useful for my target audience. This will hopefully inspire me with positive ways of designing, as the interface is very important.

Catch it

 

The first app that I looked at was Catch it. This company helps to track a person’s mood, and helps/ gives feedback to them. This is a good concept as it makes the suggestions specific to the user. However, this isn’t the most interactive design, I feel there could be more added to make it more friendly. For example, instead of having drop down boxes for answers, the user should be able to type it in themselves as, it helps to express their feelings more, and help them to feel that they are being understood how they feel. This is crucial for my functionality as, my research has shown that a reason to why a person may have a problem with mental health is because, they find it hard to express how they feel. The teal colour used is very calming and the font is bubbly, which I think helps to create the overall calming effect, which results in the look of the brand. From looking at this app, it has helped me to see that I need to make my app more interactive, with different features and depth to it, as each person will have a different experience and I need to accommodate to this for my target audience.

Artboard 1

The next app I looked at was the NHS Well Mind. This is what they would recommend to go on when the user is not in consoling. The interface of this design is very simple and looks very out of date. The main home page does not look appealing to the user. Having an attractive layout is very important as it is what attracts the user to keep using the app. I think it is good that their main focus to help the user to find out who they should seek help from, but the way that they have to express their feelings is not very specific. It is just Good/Bad/OK, a human being feels more than these emotions. This means when developing my interface, I want to create a way that enables the user to express themselves more and be personal. Also, the colours that they use for the logo, are not calming. They are quite dark and not very attractive, doesn’t make me want to use the app. Applying this problem to my concept, I need to make use that my logo is interesting to the user, as this is what is going to help to make mine stand out from the crowd.

 

Artboard 1

 

Don’t Panic is another app designed for the NHS. This one mainly focuses on how to deal with mental health problems. This would be fine, if the user wanted to find out an answer quickly, plus it has all the details and information that they need. However, the interface for this is very basic, and not pleasing to look at. As a result, the user will be put off by the design. This is an aspect that I would like to avoid, as making it appealing to the target audience is very important, with all the information they need. To help develop my idea I need to break down the information, to make is easy to read and easily understandable, with an appealing design. A good feature about this app is that instead of reading the information, it is someone reading it out to you. This would be helpful for the user as, it will be like they are talking to someone without the pressure of actually talking, which will help them to be a little more relaxed. This is a feature I would like to develop on mine, as it could help relax them, as if the user is suffering with anxiety then reading is the last thing they want, so by having someone talking you through something it can relax you more.

 

Artboard 1

 

What’s Up has been recommended by a few physiological sites

https://www.mindcharity.co.uk/advice-information/how-to-look-after-your-mental-health/apps-for-wellbeing-and-mental-health/

The interface for the app has been layout nicely, clearly, and easy to read. This would be helpful when trying to organise your thoughts in your head, as their feelings at tough times can be hard to separate. However, it is also very boring, the illustrations are just in black and white, this doesn’t make it very welcoming for the user. The illustrations are simple and easily recognised. Moreover, to apply this to my project I would want to make the illustrations applying but also interesting to look at, which could be used as a distraction when trying to calm themselves down. I really like the logo as it is so simple, and suggests this app wants to help the user, like the hand is reaching out to them. This is an aspect I would like to incorporate this into my design for the logo as, it is the most effective way to communicate what I am aiming to do to the user, but I would like to use more calming and welcoming colours, as I feel red represents anger and warnings.

 

Artboard 1

 

 

Calm is one of the most recent apps to come out about mental health, which makes it the most interesting and helpful to look at. This has the most modern design out of all the app I have looked at. I really like the interface, as they use a picture instead of a block background, and this is more effective with trying to reach the calming aesthetic. I feel it gives the user something else to look at, and can be used as a distraction to what they are going to. The connotation for this would be, that the app is the users “happy place”. I would like to aim, to convey this through my designs, because I want it to be seen in a positive light. The overall colours are blue and green gradient, which has a real calmness to it, as they blend easily together. The homepage buttons are nice as they are simple and easy to look at. They seem to cover most of the aspects that the user wants to know. However, again the functionality could be a little more interactive, instead of ticking boxes of how you feel, or swiping your finger to how stressed you are. When thinking about how my design is going to function differently from the others, interactive needs to be a key thought. Getting the user to feel more involved is very important, as CBT does not feel like a chore when they want to do it. It could become something they enjoy and will want to use, and positive thinking with hopefully come from this. The typeface used is appealing as, it is not in the users face like in What’s Up, but also make the person feel calm, as they look like little bubbles. This then contrasts with the font for the logo, as this is more handwritten style, again this does give off a calming ambiance. However, I feel that the logo looks completely different to the interfaces. To apply this to my project I would want to make sure that my logo fits in with the overall aesthetic.

 

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/student-psychological-services/index_home/mha

http://appstore.liv.ac.uk/catch-it/

http://www.dwmh.nhs.uk/wellmind/

http://new.covwarkpt.nhs.uk/dont_panic/Pages/default.aspx

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whats-up-a-mental-health-app/id968251160?mt=8

https://www.calm.com/

Looking at other Apps

Potential to have Augmented Reality

Augmented reality and mental health:

To help differentiate my idea to other products out there, I thought I could incorporate a modern concept and work it into a useful service for my target audience. I was inspired last semester by augmented reality, as I thought it was really interesting and cool, it was very engaging. I thought this could be really interesting to incorporate into mental health as, it would become more interactive. Augmented Reality is a live/direct view of a physical world environment whose elements are supplemented by the computer generated sensory input.

I started off my research looking to see if there are any other products that use AR, this is when I came across a company called App Saagara. They have created a range of apps that help to make the user healthier mentally and physically. They have an app called Relax: For Stress and Anxiety. This focuses on different types of breathing in a more visual way.  However, it just focuses on breathing which does limit this product. Their main app that uses AR bring yoga to life. The phone scans a picture/poster and a 3D animation appears in 360⁰ and talks you through different steps. This could be a really interesting feature to add to my product, as it will become more captivating and more of a distraction, which is what the user will need when using this app.

maxresdefaultapp-page-banner unnamed

AG is a way to help gamify mental health as the user will be interacting with the real world, which could be useful for them as the techniques they will learn can easily be applied to real life, helping them to feel more comfortable. From other research, I found out that Virtual Reality would be better if I was focusing more on PTSD, as it can recall treatment of memories, and use vivo exposure. Vivo exposure is used to help reduce the fear associated with the triggers.

Applying AG to my product it could be useful QR (quick response) codes, as this is just uploading an image then associating it with a 3D mode. The code acts as a hyperlink to the data and other responses. The image is shown directly on the code. There are two types of tracking; marker-less tracking, this is when you point your phone at each picture and it will have some kind of recognition to try and identify it. Marker based tracking, is normally used with two dimension barcodes.

If I was to carry this on and apply it within my project, then I will need to develop skills in 3D modelling and desktop programming. C2K is a code developer that will help me code. The AG that I would use is marker based applications that will overlay an image with content.

 

2/2/17:

From researching and applying this to my target market, I think this may not be useful for them, as this could take some time for them to get the information and help they want. They wanted help as soon as they can get it, as it is in the state of panic is when they are looking for some help. This means that I will mainly focus on interface design and thinking of ways they can organise themselves quickly to get what they want. Also, I want to make this app widely available as I can, which means by having AG then it might not be accessible on all devices.

 

Bibliography:

http://www.saagara.com/apps/breathing/relax

https://www.div12.org/psychological-treatments/

http://www.livescience.com/34843-augmented-reality.html

 

 

Potential to have Augmented Reality

Important papers with Mental Health

From my research it has lead me to look at papers by The Society of Clinical Psychology. The links below look at the different mental health’s and how to overcome it with CBT. This is very useful to my project as, I can use this information to then apply by thinking of ways I can organize  my app to help deal  with their problems in a more positive way.

 

http://www.div12.org/psychological-treatments/disorders/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/cognitive-processing-therapy/

http://www.div12.org/psychological-treatments/treatments/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cbt-for-schizophrenia/

http://www.div12.org/psychological-treatments/disorders/panic-disorder/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-panic-disorder/

http://www.div12.org/psychological-treatments/disorders/depression/problem-solving-therapy-for-depression/

Important papers with Mental Health

Target Audience

Target Audience:

When first thinking of my target audience I think it would have to be quite broad as, anyone from any age can be affected by mental health. This means that my project needs to be universal as more people than I intended could use it. As a result, the interface should be easy to navigate. However, audience that is over 60 may not use this app, as they would not want to use technology in this way, they would want to have people to talk to. For that reason, aiming for below that will be likely. From my last research about mental health, I found a really interesting paper by the Mental Health Organisation that was published in 2015. This explained that from their research they discovered, that more and more people from the age of 12 are being effected by a type of mental health.

“2013, 6,233 suicides were recorded in the UK for people aged 15 and older. Of these, 78% were male and 22% were female”

“In the 2013 UK Wellbeing Survey, nearly 1 in 5 people in the UK aged 16 and older showed symptoms of anxiety or depression. This percentage was higher for females (21.5%) than for males (14.8%)”

“In a 2005 US study, consisting of 9282 participants, it was found that 75% of mental health problems are established by age 24, and 50% by age 14”

I felt sympathy for this age group as, they go through a lot for their age, and during this period of time, they should not be feeling like this. In consequence, I would like to focus on the age of 12 and up. They are more likely to use technology/digital media to help them overcome any obstacles, as they are more aware of it and have access to it. Also, as I am focusing on CBT and helping the way that they think, by focusing on this age group will help them to carry this thinking technique later on in life, which could help to reduce the amount of people that are effected by mental health when they are older. This will have greater influence on my product as, it will need to entice the audience into using this product, but also affected them in a positive way, for example the colour scheme needs to appeal to them but also have calming abilities.

From doing some basic research around the issue of mental health, and what are the most concerning problems was the fact that more teenagers between the ages of 14-24 were getting some sort of mental health issues. It is said “Around 20% of the world’s children and adolescents have mental disorders or problems. About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14.”

I thought this was very concerning and really caught my attention, as during this period of a person’s life should be fun and exciting, but some are going through this, because of extra stress and pressure put on the from school and their surroundings. My target audience, will aim to be around 12-18. This is because, this age is the time from secondary school to sixth form/college, where more and more pressure is put on the student, affecting their mental health. Also, at this age you are still learning how to figure things out, which means that thinking patterns are very important, so by helping them to change the way that they think from an early age means that, they will be able to use this technique later on in their life, and hopefully reduce the amount of people suffering from mental health problems.

I have asked some members of my target audience about how they feel about mental health and whether or not they have been effected by it, and what are the main issues about it. This should help me get an idea about what my project can do for them and what direction I should head in.

 

Person 1-

I found it very hard talking to my buds, so I would tend to unload on strangers/ on weird websites People I told about my brain being broken also found it very hard to understand, so they had to actually research things and then they got sad too and it was a weird cycle of helping each other But yeah, having a safe place to vent and help others understand was very important to me.

Person 2 –

Right okay – when I first started to have panic attacks I found it basically impossible to find anything online that made me feel like I wasn’t alone. At the time, I wasn’t necessarily sure they were panic attacks I just thought I was gonna die.

In terms of my mental health I found social media (tumblr, Instagram) really dangerous in terms of reigning negative thought patterns and behaviours. It was so easy to loose myself in someone else’s (perfect life) or to follow blogs on tumblr that promoted behaviours such a self harm and starvation.
I found it hard to reach out to people and became very isolated when my depression was at its worst, so maybe something that prompted you to reach out, even just an alert to message a friend or something.
I also found audio books and things really helpful as they allowed me to escape from reality and just listen to ‘someone’

Person 3-

Sometimes I get sad for no reason, and you lose all will to do things or go outside, but you push through and carry on.

Person 4-

I feel that it is not being address enough, mental health on the NHS is not working, it takes too long for any serious to happen. Also, people are unaware, they could find out they have it until it’s too late.

Bibliography

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/fundamental-facts-15.pdf

 

Target Audience