Doorway

Our project began with the aim of developing a digital space to support mental wellness among friends and family, particularly over long distances. As we progressed, insights from research and interviews showed that potential users preferred a platform centered on fostering social connection as a way to support mental wellness.

That feedback was pivotal. We refined our focus from directly addressing mental wellness to supporting it indirectly, by encouraging conversation and creating a social environment where people feel secure sharing their mental health journeys.

As a team, we each conducted two interviews, totaling 10 participants. Our problem statement originally aimed at bridging connections over long distances, but as we talked with friends, family, and peers, the conversations naturally shifted from long-distance connection to more immediate concerns around personal well-being.

To better understand the problem, we used an affinity diagram to collate and analyze insights from each interview. Visually organizing the data helped us identify common themes across participants’ feedback.

Reflecting on the interviews, it became clear the project needed a shift in direction. Bridging long-distance connections didn’t address the broader issue of mental wellness. Enhancing mental well-being through improved social interaction became a clearer, more impactful goal.

Creating user personas helped us visualize our target users’ needs and behaviors, guiding storyboards that illustrated how people might interact with the app.

Our design phase was iterative and anchored in user feedback. We moved from low-fidelity paper sketches that laid out structure and flow, to mid-fidelity prototypes that introduced interaction design, to a high-fidelity prototype that polished the interface.

At this stage, our design was heavily inspired by social apps like Locket, which we covered in our competitive analysis.

Kaila Long and I spent hours brainstorming at school, exchanging and refining ideas until we landed on a concept that truly sparked our interest. The metaphor of “doors” became the focal point, and we built the project around it.

Kaila Long played a pivotal role in developing our initial high-fidelity prototype. Her expertise in Figma helped translate the team’s ideas into a workable prototype.

To refine the experience, I ran a mini usability evaluation with my roommate, using tasks like sending a knock, viewing your door, updating your status, and responding to a knock.

This evaluation was instrumental in identifying both strengths and areas for improvement, and gave clear direction for making future iterations more intuitive and engaging.

Our final design evolved significantly from peer feedback and usability evaluations. A key addition was a screen for adding neighbors, addressing a gap in the prior version. We also turned the “knock” function into a tangible button on the door itself, represented by a hand emoji, which let us place statuses directly beneath each door.

We developed an alternative grid view for doors instead of a sliding carousel, and introduced popup menus for interactions.

To resolve the ambiguity between closed and open doors from testing, we added a popup that tells you when a door is closed and suggests knocking later or getting notified when it opens. It keeps connection engaging while respecting people’s boundaries.

The door page lets you open or close your door and update your status, keeping friends informed about your activities or mood. You can change the door’s color, choose emojis, or upload photos, and the interface suggests status messages as you open or close your door.