UI/UX CASE STUDY

Psyde

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THE PROBLEM

Finding psychiatric medications that work effectively can be a tedious process due to extended trial and error periods. Patients must keep a close eye on their symptoms to track side effects and effectiveness. The process is filled with uncertainty and often requires patients to try multiple medications before finding one that works.

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THE GOAL

Create an app that will allow patients to track their mood and side effects while trying new medications. Provide reliable access to key information about their medications such as drug interactions, common side effects, and dangerous symptoms to look out for.

Medication tracker and information database app mockup.

Understanding the User

USER RESEARCH

In interviews held with mental health patients, many reported having a lot of anxiety while searching for the right medication, and were uncertain if their symptoms were common or dangerous. Participants also noted that it was hard to remember all of their side effects and mood shifts to report to their psychiatrist throughout the process.

Persona profile of Mike who has managed a mental illness for a long time but needs to change his medications.
Persona profile of Kiara who is nervous about trying a new medication due to social pressures and lack of awareness.
Mike's User Journey Map.
Kiara's User Journey Map.

Creating the Design

IDEATION

Based on the user research, the patients’ primary concerns were about tracking their side effects and understanding the severity of their side effects. Having a built in database to easily reference this information in one place would help streamline the process and filter out potential misinformation or conflicting results on Google.

Low fidelity prototype

REVISIONS

The first round of wireframes were tested in a 15-30 minute moderated usability study with 5 users who had experienced taking psychiatric medications. The key findings were:

Edited low fidelity designs.
Iconography Confusion

Navigational icons were not universally understood by all users, particularly the book icon intended to lead to past entries.

Warnings

Placement of the severe side effect warnings made it seem like all listed side effects were severe.

Side Effect Entry

Search bar with derselected options was too confusing.

Too Many Summaries

Mood and symptom summaries were in too many places across the app.

The Final Result

Hi-Fidelity Prototype
Final app design.