ReMi (Restful Mind)
Android Application
TIMELINE
Nov. 3 2020 – Dec. 18 2020
A little over a month
MY ROLE
UX/UI Designer, Creative Director, Meditation Flow Developer, Software Engineer
THE TEAM
Federico Rubino & Bobby Davis
TOOLS
Java, Android Studio, Figma, Cloud Firestore Database, Jam Boards
OVERVIEW
Brief & Problem Statement
Our goal was to design a useful digital experience which demonstrated the culmination of skills we had collectively learned throughout Software Design and Software Development. The only restriction was that the digital experience had to be either a full stack website or an android application.
About ReMi
ReMi was something that had been ruminating in my mind for awhile. I had been searching for an application to provide both community and relaxation exercises, but had been dissatisfied with the current products on the market. With the skills I had learned and the prompt to create a helpful application I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to design a first iteration of the application with my teammates.
PROCESS
Research
I would have liked to do more research before beginning this project. However, I did know the need was there based on a survey I created in my job at the student newspaper. From a group of 79 students at California State University Monterey Bay 73.4% said online learning has significantly affected their mental health. Many students also reported trying to start new mindfulness and relaxation practices to counteract this.
Brainstorming/Ideation
We used Google Jamboards to assist with the brainstorming process and to narrow the scope of features. We decided to initially offer 2 guided meditations and a photo/post feed where like minded users could connect. We wanted ReMi to be a joyful and relaxing experience.
The Problem
Creating a free non-competitive space for people with heightened anxiety to practice quick relaxation sessions throughout the day.
Understanding Users
Our application is geared toward a busy user. Meditations are short and are meant to be quick breaks to reset throughout a busy work or school day. Our audience would be primarily a younger one, which affected some of the design decisions.
THE SOLUTION
We created ReMi short for Restful Mind and also a play on ReST APIs, which contributed to the application. ReMi is an android application featuring two guided meditations: a visualization meditation and a breathing meditation. It also features a feed where users can post photos with captions and “like” other user’s posts by clicking a lotus icon. Users can also delete or update posts.
Lo-Fidelity Wireframing
Using Figma I created a low-fidelity wireframe for our applications initial proposal.
Competitive Analysis
I researched UI and UX trends to seek inspiration and asses the market. I then created a moodboard from that research.
User Flow
In order to streamline the development process I created a user flow diagram to share with my teammates. From previous projects I knew this would be helpful because sometimes when developers are working on separate aspects they lose site of the overall flow of the app.
User Stories
Based on our app design we created user stories using the GitHub project board.
Low-Fidelity Prototyping
Based on the information gathered I refined some of the details of my earlier wireframe with pen and paper and digital sketches.
Navigation and feed ideas
High-Fidelity Prototyping
Next we moved onto development. I primarily worked on the meditation flows development and UI and UX design, but I helped out with the feed when my teammates got stuck.
Here are some of the screens from our working application.
Landing screen
Login screen
Homepage
Here is part of the visualization meditation flow.
DELIVERABLES
GitHub Repository
Project Walkthrough
RESULTS & REFLECTION
This project was extremely fun. I spent a lot of extra time on it because I just truly loved working on it. Throughout the process I learned a lot of new skills as well. I learned how to add moving gradients to android apps, add music, build a custom navigation, add custom fonts and colors, and what working on an effective team is like. Our team worked extremely well together, which is why we were able to implement all the user stories for the application. I ended up writing over 4,000 lines of code. I do believe the app could benefit from more research. I want to spend more time adding features and user testing the application to get user insights and iterate upon the app. I eventually want to put it on the Google Play store as well.