Mobile App

Joy

Context

Inspired by Marie Kondo, I designed an app that allows users to invite cleaning consultants to their homes. Marie is a renowned tidying expert helping people around the world to transform their cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration. Thanks to the popular Netflix series "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo", it was easier to ask very personal and sensitive questions about people's cleaning habits and goals.

Launch Project

Experience

Cleanliness is a form of self-respect

There are so many people in my life who have potential to fill their time with activities and interactions that bring them joy, but they often struggle to find the time or the headspace. I designed "Joy" for those in need of a consultant who can understand the user's needs, home culture, priorities and aspirations and provide personalized guidance and support.

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Defining the users

I relied on qualitative and observational research of two types of groups that I've turned into user personas. There were books such as "Atomic Habits", "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and "Unf*ck Your Habitat" that helped me reach this conclusion. Below is an outline of my potential users' problems.

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Therapy that helps

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While therapy sounds like a reasonable solution to above problems, during my research process, it became clear that most people find therapy intimidating.

In 2018, roughly 5.3 million people in Canada mentioned they needed some help for their mental health in the previous year.
Almost half of these Canadians either had their needs partially met with some help (1.2 million) or had needs that were fully unmet (1.1 million people)

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Here are a few of the reasons that prevent or delay people from taking the steps to give therapy a try:

"I don't even know where to start. Can I even pay for it?"

78.2% of Canadians

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"Receiving therapy is a sign of weakness. I can handle my own problems."

22.6% of Canadians

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"People who go to therapy are crazy. I’m not crazy!"
"I wouldn’t even know what to talk about. What if they don't understand my problems?"
"I can always talk to a friend. I don't understand how talking to a stranger can be helpful."
"I don't believe just talking can do any good. I feel uncomfortable sharing."
"If I talk about my problems, I'll just make them worse, or I'll completely fall apart.”

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Depending on their culture and beliefs, therapy may not even be an option for certain individuals. Many people struggle to admit many of their ongoing issues, especially for the topic of cleaning, which is directly related to the ability to take care of oneself. The idea of cleaning sounds so obvious and trivial that admitting to their incapacity to take care of themselves as an adult can be challenging.

‍If licensed consultants were to visit and provide a “therapy session” in their home, consultants have visual representation of the users’ state of mind as well as a better insight to what their real needs are. Users, by bringing in a fresh set of eyes to a space that they are became too comfortable with their old habits, can understand how and why their problems materialized. Users can receive professional advices about their habits and together, they can design specific, actionable solutions.

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User personas

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Here I have two different user stories with very different struggles and needs. They are based on real people I've observed and interacted in life and believe would benefit from the app.

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AMY, 41

KEVIN, 41

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Wireframes

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INTERFACE

Clean UI, calm colours

It’s easy to think “white” and “sterile” as clean. However, the app’s big purpose is to invite people into their home. I wanted to avoid using any harsh black and white, which can often feel impersonal and sterile. I chose a deep and calm, natural shade of green as a base since green has a strong emotional correspondence with safety. I paired it with light beige tones to pick up the mood from being too heavy or dark and added a dark yellow as an accent colour for some brightness and positivity.

Prototype

Simple and slow interactions

I intentionally avoided overcrowded and distracting layouts in order to make sure user can focus on one thing at a time. Motions are very slow to allow user to think through each step and not feel overwhelmed or pressured. Animations are slower than normal, similar to the app Headspace to allow the the users to feel serene and more contemplative rather than busy and pressured, which they already feel in their everyday lives.

Some of the existing services that I looked for inspiration and references were Headspace, Airbnb, and Bumble.

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Moving forward

I am still researching the likelihood of users' comfort level regarding the registration process. Security poses an issue since consultants are invited to users' homes and their safety could be at risk. I will continue explore different ways to bring a consultant and user together where both parties feel safe and communication between the two can feel natural but also structured and professional.

DURATION

SCOPE

TOOLS