Komi, a mobile solution that…
Helps young professionals recognize their stress and build a consistent breathing practice
Team
2 Engineers
1 Biofeedback Specialist
2 Designers
Company
Panyon Co
Role
Senior Product Designer
Category
B2C Mobile App
Overview
I designed the entire end-to-end user journey and drove the overall UX from scratch to production, resulting in launching beta in less than 4 months.
Sign up for beta here
Disclaimer
This project is under an NDA so I can not talk about all the design details here but I would love to talk about this in length during a portfolio review. Feel free to reach out to me at taraisabel.singson@gmail.com
OUTCOMES
$30,000
funding raised from grants and accelerator programs
“Hii! So I saw an ad about your app and after looking into it I decided to give it a shot!! (tbh the cute little character is what drew me in initially lol) so far I really enjoy! It’s very informative which was unexpected and I love how it explains why and how the information it collects helps with your body’s regulation. It definitely shows how much thought and care was put into this app for the benefit of its users. so far i’m loving it and am looking forward to my breathing exercises with the cute little mascot.”
“So cute!! love the idea of combining a cute companion with hrv Biofeedback and breathing education”
CONTEXT
When I joined the start-up, they had a physical prototype, but no concept testing set in place. Below you can see how the initial prototype worked.
Your existing wearable is connected to Komi, the pet robot. Komi alerts you when your stress biomarkers spike.
Once you pick up Komi, it uses a combination of audio and haptics to walk you through a breathing practice.
SO WHAT DID I DO?
I devised a research plan to explore pain points in user’s stress reduction methods and evaluated Panyon’s current prototype.
recruited 15 participants from a screener survey.
solidified personas to understand user needs and motivations
did a round of concept and prototype testing
built journey maps to identify problems in the current prototype
PROBLEM
Young professionals struggled with practicing consistently due to doubts about stress management technique efficacy.
PIVOT
Evaluative testing revealed users need an accessible solution that allows them to destress consistently anywhere.
While the robot was a viable solution, its size needed to be reduced, so we prioritized developing the mobile application first to give users a consistent solution that they can use wherever they are,
APPROACH
Incentivize users by showing them how breathing practice can change their stress over time.
We designed a biofeedback-based mobile app to help users manage stress by increasing awareness of their body’s reactions and patterns. It measures biomarkers like heart rate variability, the gold standard for assessing stress, enabling users to track the effectiveness of their stress management techniques over time. Ultimately, promoting consistency in the breathing practices they’re doing.
Bite-sized diaphragmatic breathing training
From our discovery research, we found that most users were unaware of proper breathing techniques, which can significantly aid in relaxation during stressful situations. These bite-sized cards provide a visually engaging way for users to learn these essential skills.
Promotes better body awareness
Stress often arises when users are not in sync with their bodies and fail to recognize that they are already experiencing symptoms of stress. Komi offers several points of reflection to help users learn to listen to and trust their body's signals.
Get visibility on how stress changes over time
During our discovery phase, we found that one of the barriers to consistent breathing was users' uncertainty about whether their stress management techniques were effective. Komi acts as a mirror, allowing users to observe their patterns and see for themselves if their stress levels are improving over time.
Personalized paced breathing
Our bodies naturally follow a specific rhythm, and aligning our breathing with this rhythm is the most efficient way to manage stress. Komi helps users identify their personalized breathing pace and provides practice sessions to master it.
REFLECTIONS
What did I learn?
Communication is key
Improving communication between the engineering team and the business greatly enhanced our process. It helped me understand technical constraints for designing user tests and prototypes, as well as recommending changes for the next iterations. This alignment was crucial, especially since we're working on such a tight timeline.Learning to be scrappy
Working with a start-up that has very little resources has forced me to wear multiple hats and work quickly without sacrificing the quality of our work. I’ve had to rethink research study plans to ensure every single question would reap good data or ensure that every product iteration is essential to the development of the product.Defending design decisions when speaking to investors
Through this project, I actively engaged in an investor roadshow, manning a booth and engaging with over 100 investors. This experience was both thrilling and challenging, as the senior designer on the team. I had to articulate confidently the design aspects of our product, showcasing a profound understanding of business dynamics and how our design decisions aligned with overarching business objectives.