current mood

current mood

current mood is a mental health tracking app built specifically for people with ADHD in mind. The program features a robust journaling component and health tracking to assist the user in correlating their mood to emotional and mental difficulties they might be experiencing.

My main focus for success was to create a program that users wanted to engage with on a daily basis; it was also important that the app be fun to use, aesthetically pleasing, and above all else, intuitive to navigate. Most of the health apps I researched during this case study left a lot to be desired—they were overwhelming, boring, and didn’t have any character! I wanted to create something whimsical that would inspire users to come back and be delighted by what they were seeing.

Timeline

Over the course of this project, I was the sole designer doing the research, branding, and documentation from start to finish.

There was a considerable amount of time focused on research before moving into any design work. Research and discovery, done through observation, interviews, and reading scientific journals was accomplished over 2 to 3 months.

Research, at a glance

  • Interviews

    Five interviews were conducted over the phone with participants from my community. Interviewees were between the ages of 25 and 40, identified as women, and have been diagnosed with ADHD.

  • Observations

    Using my own experience with ADHD (and those around me who have also been diagnosed), I noticed that people need a consistent way to document and record their daily lives. Measurable connections can be made through data correlation to give users a framework for building tools to help their mental resilience.

  • Competitor Analysis

    Through competition research, I downloaded and used 5-8 different apps that feature a similar model to the one I wanted to create. Overall, I discovered that most were too overwhelming and didn’t excite me enough to return to them.

Insights from research-

I updated my hypothesis to include ANYone who needs mental health support and also focused on creating a program that could be used daily, without the user becoming overwhelmed.

Meredith M. - interviewee

“I frequently become overwhelmed and irritated when technology is too complicated or doesn’t work correctly.”

Deliverables

  • My interviews revealed several key insights about women with ADHD--emotional regulation being the primary concern to emerge from the data. Common patterns included worsening symptoms during their period and during times of stress and anxiety--all leading to the desire to isolate when their ADHD felt unmanageable. While health-tracking apps were not widely used among my user base, those mentioned were primarily for sleep and menstrual cycle tracking, suggesting potential features to explore. While the research supports the potential of an ADHD-specific app for tracking mood, stress, sleep, and menstrual data, the interviews highlighted an important caveat: technology itself can be overwhelming and frustrating for those with ADHD, a crucial consideration for future product development.

  • At first I thought a user map was a superfluous task, but I ended up discovering value in slowing down and thoughtfully working through how a user might navigate through this app. This particular flow was the basis for the “create account” prototype shown below.

Design

Conclusion

Throughout this project, I conducted two key tests with participants: a card sort for site mapping and user testing with my finalized prototypes. The initial user interviews provided clear direction for my design and feature development, ensuring the end product could succeed.

The user testing yielded unanimously positive feedback, with participants finding the app both fun and easy to use. They particularly appreciated the playful and whimsical design style I implemented. Despite this being my first case study, I'm confident that future projects will become progressively easier to manage and structure as I gain experience.

Moving forward, I expect my future case studies to be more organized and uniform as I continue developing my design systems and frameworks to ensure consistency. This process has revealed how my previous hospitality experience has translated remarkably well to UX design—benefiting my research, development, interviewing, iteration, and visual design skills.

I've emerged from this project with significantly greater confidence and motivation as a budding designer. I'm excited to continue practicing and honing my skills in this field, knowing that each new project will further strengthen my abilities and design perspective.

Thanks for reading!