HealthTech

Samsung Health: Empowering Mindfulness through Gratitude

Samsung Health: Empowering Mindfulness through Gratitude

Partnering with Samsung Mobile’s UX team, I worked on enhancing user engagement within the Samsung Health app. The goal was to deepen users’ connection to the Samsung ecosystem by encouraging daily interaction with health and wellness features. By driving adoption of habit tracking and personalized goal-setting tools, the project aimed to increase daily active users (DAU) and promote the use of Samsung wearables like the Galaxy Watch. My role focused on redesigning key touchpoints such as the Emotion Journal to make healthy habits more intuitive, motivating, and rewarding.

View the full prototype here.

Project type

Project type

UX Redesign

UX Redesign

Company

Company

RightBrain

RightBrain

Location

Location

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea

Involvement

Involvement

Mobile and Smartwatch Interface Design, Scenarios

Mobile and Smartwatch Interface Design, Scenarios

Role

Role

UX Consultant Intern

UX Consultant Intern

Timeline

Timeline

3 months -
Currently in evaluation phase

3 months -
Currently in evaluation phase

Problem

Problem

Mental health features within Samsung Health are not engaging

Mental health features within Samsung Health are not engaging

Samsung Health's mindfulness feature, under fitness, offered content like meditation, sleep stories, and music through its partnership with Calm.

However, the mental health features lacked engagement, offering only basic content with advanced options hidden behind paywalls. These activities, requiring more time and quiet space, were not suited for busy users, lacking personalization and seamless integration into daily life.

Samsung Health's mindfulness feature, under fitness, offered content like meditation, sleep stories, and music through its partnership with Calm.

However, the mental health features lacked engagement, offering only basic content with advanced options hidden behind paywalls. These activities, requiring more time and quiet space, were not suited for busy users, lacking personalization and seamless integration into daily life.

Solution

Solution

Integrating mindfulness to daily routines that cultivate healthy stress-regulating habits

Integrating mindfulness to daily routines that cultivate healthy stress-regulating habits

I took a Human-Centered approach to create a new in-app mindfulness feature. My goal was to create a solution that helped users in 4 key ways:

I took a Human-Centered approach to create a new in-app mindfulness feature. My goal was to create a solution that helped users in 4 key ways:

Research

Research

Although the mental health app space is crowded, Samsung can leverage its mobile health data and integrate mobile and smartwatch usage

Although the mental health app space is crowded, Samsung can leverage its mobile health data and integrate mobile and smartwatch usage

Current mental health apps provide tailored content based on users’ consumption history, and guidance and support through community-sharing features.

In a crowded mental health app space, Samsung stands out with its ability to leverage vast mobile health data, seamlessly integrating mindfulness into users' daily routines through mobile and smartwatch technologies. Samsung has its advantage of large number of mobile users and the extensive health data gathered from its health app.

Current mental health apps provide tailored content based on users’ consumption history, and guidance and support through community-sharing features.

In a crowded mental health app space, Samsung stands out with its ability to leverage vast mobile health data, seamlessly integrating mindfulness into users' daily routines through mobile and smartwatch technologies. Samsung has its advantage of large number of mobile users and the extensive health data gathered from its health app.

Sketching

Sketching

I explored 3 journaling feature concepts:
writing a diary entry, an AI chatbot, and a gratitude journal

I explored 3 journaling feature concepts:
writing a diary entry, an AI chatbot, and a gratitude journal

To be competitive against other fully featured Health apps, Samsung would need to develop creative in-app support practices and implement more personable and empathetic methods. In order to leverage Samsung’s ecosystem on-device health stats, I explored the journaling feature where users could freely talk about their feelings and events that happened during their day.

To be competitive against other fully featured Health apps, Samsung would need to develop creative in-app support practices and implement more personable and empathetic methods. In order to leverage Samsung’s ecosystem on-device health stats, I explored the journaling feature where users could freely talk about their feelings and events that happened during their day.

A few concepts I tried out…

A few concepts I tried out…

Concept A: Journaling with a companion gives a sense of emotional support.
- Tradeoffs: Form of free writing lacks reinforcement for consistent entries.

Concept B: Journaling through conversing with an AI chatbot enables personalized prompts
and feedback.
- Tradeoffs: Hard to keep track of conversations and technical issues regarding existing technology.

Concept C: Journaling through gratitude prompts helps users reflect on a specific part of their day, reducing journaling paralysis.
- Tradeoffs: Potential for superficiality or insincerity in expressing gratitude.


Concept A: Journaling with a companion gives a sense of emotional support.
- Tradeoffs: Form of free writing lacks reinforcement for consistent entries.

Concept B: Journaling through conversing with an AI chatbot enables personalized prompts
and feedback.
- Tradeoffs: Hard to keep track of conversations and technical issues regarding existing technology.

Concept C: Journaling through gratitude prompts helps users reflect on a specific part of their day, reducing journaling paralysis.
- Tradeoffs: Potential for superficiality or insincerity in expressing gratitude.


I honed in on Concept C.
With specific gratitude prompts, users can focus on their positive experiences throughout their days, fostering a mindset of appreciation and thankfulness. Studies show that practicing gratitude long-term increases resiliency, making us better at coping with changes, improving sleep, increasing feelings of happiness, and decreasing anxiety. 

I honed in on Concept C.
With specific gratitude prompts, users can focus on their positive experiences throughout their days, fostering a mindset of appreciation and thankfulness. Studies show that practicing gratitude long-term increases resiliency, making us better at coping with changes, improving sleep, increasing feelings of happiness, and decreasing anxiety. 

Scenarios

Scenarios

A journaling system for recording daily emotions and reflecting on user’s day

A journaling system for recording daily emotions and reflecting on user’s day

The idea was to create an Emotion Journal for personal reflection and use gratitude prompts for successful daily completion. The feature could also be integrated as one of the recommended activities when users experience a change in stress levels to improve mental well-being.

The idea was to create an Emotion Journal for personal reflection and use gratitude prompts for successful daily completion. The feature could also be integrated as one of the recommended activities when users experience a change in stress levels to improve mental well-being.

The Solution

The Solution

Emotion Log for easy entry

Emotion Log for easy entry

I added an emotion log for quick reflection of users’ feelings for those that might not have the time to fill in a full gratitude journal entry. This could also provide deeper insights into the user’s complicated emotions by enabling them to select several emotions and adjust its intensity.

I added an emotion log for quick reflection of users’ feelings for those that might not have the time to fill in a full gratitude journal entry. This could also provide deeper insights into the user’s complicated emotions by enabling them to select several emotions and adjust its intensity.

Calendar to visually show daily completion

Calendar to visually show daily completion

I built out the journaling feature, but realized there needed to be a trend component for easy scanning of users’ completion patterns. This would help users keep tabs on daily entry and motivate users to complete an entry for a consistent streak.


I built out the journaling feature, but realized there needed to be a trend component for easy scanning of users’ completion patterns. This would help users keep tabs on daily entry and motivate users to complete an entry for a consistent streak.


Notifications through mobile and smartwatch for routine check and seamless flow

Notifications through mobile and smartwatch for routine check and seamless flow

In order to prompt users to write their emotional journal everyday and improve its accessibility, I integrated the use of the smartwatch for sending reminder notifications to complete the task. A notification could also be sent when there is a sudden increase in the user’s stress levels or changes in breathing or sleeping patterns, as collected in the health app, to help users cope with anxiety real time. 

For the notification messages on the smartwatch, I included task prompts, but had to leave out less accessible functions for the mobile such as writing a journal entry. 

In order to prompt users to write their emotional journal everyday and improve its accessibility, I integrated the use of the smartwatch for sending reminder notifications to complete the task. A notification could also be sent when there is a sudden increase in the user’s stress levels or changes in breathing or sleeping patterns, as collected in the health app, to help users cope with anxiety real time. 

For the notification messages on the smartwatch, I included task prompts, but had to leave out less accessible functions for the mobile such as writing a journal entry. 

Integrating Systems

Integrating Systems

Enhancing user engagement and community interaction through Routines

Enhancing user engagement and community interaction through Routines

To integrate the Emotional Journal into the broader system and foster community interaction among Samsung mobile users, I incorporated completing the journal into the app's 'Routine' feature. Users earn points for each task, contributing to their daily 'Mindfulness Score' and ranking, which boosts engagement with other users.

To integrate the Emotional Journal into the broader system and foster community interaction among Samsung mobile users, I incorporated completing the journal into the app's 'Routine' feature. Users earn points for each task, contributing to their daily 'Mindfulness Score' and ranking, which boosts engagement with other users.

Final Designs

Final Designs

Below is a collection of screens from the final design.

Below is a collection of screens from the final design.

View the full prototype here!

View the full prototype here!

View the full prototype here!

View the full prototype here!

Next Steps

Evaluate desirability and engagement

The next steps for this project involves testing the designs. Research teams will need to test the desirability and engagement of the features, content, and interactions by conducting user testing sessions and interviews from target users. Engineering teams at Samsung will also need to test the performance and mergeability of the new features, ensuring that the app functions smoothly within the app and effectively derive data cross-functionally.

Further developments will need to be made with the use of AI on the microinteractions of the smartwatch, so that personalized messages accurately correspond to the user's health data and history.

The next steps for this project involves testing the designs. Research teams will need to test the desirability and engagement of the features, content, and interactions by conducting user testing sessions and interviews from target users. Engineering teams at Samsung will also need to test the performance and mergeability of the new features, ensuring that the app functions smoothly within the app and effectively derive data cross-functionally.

Further developments will need to be made with the use of AI on the microinteractions of the smartwatch, so that personalized messages accurately correspond to the user's health data and history.

Evaluate desirability and engagement

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Copyright © 2024

Copyright © 2024

Copyright © 2024