Supporting easier everyday mental health maintenance by providing easier access to Art Therapy for people across the country through Telehealth.
14 weeks, May - Aug 2023
Newcomers and Experienced in art therapy
Newcomers and Experienced in Telehealth platforms
People looking for mental health maintenance (not emergency case)
Located in North America
School Individual Project
This individual project was spread across 14 weeks. The first 8-weeks consisted of research including competitor analysis, interviews with users and subject matter experts (SMEs), user journey mapping, and SKU matrix. The remaining 6-weeks were logo development, visual system design, information architecture, wire-framing, prototype testing and UI design development.
There has been a massive growth in mental health awareness in recent years. Increasing number of people are seeking out therapy and mental health wellness programs in a post-pandemic world. The stigma surrounding mental health is rapidly changing, and therapy is becoming more widely accepted as a normal part of personal wellness and maintenance.
Art Therapy is a relatively new field within the mental health treatment world, having slowly gained popularity in recent decades. Different from traditional talk therapy, it is a method that incorporates creative expression through visual art media in order to trigger conversation about self-esteem, self-awareness, and promote insight and resolve distress or conflict.
Art Therapy is a great way to lower the barrier of talk therapy, a way to inspire introspection in a safe space, and increase confidence in expressing yourself. For some, traditional forms of counseling or therapy may not have worked as well as they had hoped. An alternative is a welcome option for them in their mental health journey. For others, Art Therapy was previously inaccessible for them due to geographic restrictions. Providing Art Therapy online would increase accessibility to anyone with an internet connection.
Despite this however, Art Therapy is still not the easiest form of therapy to come across and it has yet to reach the same popularity as talk therapy among the general public. Many cite creating art as an intimidating prospect, and its limited geographic reach and limited number of therapists remain barriers for more popular adoption.
With the rise focus on mental health in a post-pandemic world, people have gained increased access to mental health support and resources from the comfort of their own homes through Telehealth. Telehealth platforms such as betterhelp and headspace have grown significantly the past 5 years as part of the phenomenon, and in response many traditional institutions have also adopted online platforms with video chat as a part of their eco-system.
This project therefore combines Art Therapy with online Telehealth in an app platform to help bring art therapy to people with geographic barriers.
art2art is an online Art Therapy app for everyone. It utilizes the power of Telehealth in a post-pandemic world to increase access to Art Therapy for more people across the country.
To better identify the landscape of Telehealth apps, I performed secondary research through a Competitive Analysis to understand the strength and weaknesses of each platform.
I also created a positioning matrix to analyze where the project opportunity was in comparison to the rest of the industry.
X-Axis: Therapy Format
Talk therapy has been the traditional form of therapy since the early 20th Century. Alternative therapy refers to newer forms of counseling that may or may not involve trained professional counselors, and could employ new ways of trauma-treatment, such as audio and visual media.
Y-Axis: Platform Channel Diversity
The platform of the therapy provider could vary in scale and technology. The channels could include mobile, desktop, 24/7 chat, video calls, audio calls, in-person options, etc.
The process in 4 steps:
Interviews > User Journey Map > Information Architecture > User Testing Wireframes
Once the competitive landscape was established, I began primary research to kickstart and inform my design process.
Interviews
I interviewed two potential users and two subject matter experts to understand the needs, nuances, and pain points in art therapy in a Telehealth context.
Interview Findings:
Art Therapy should only be a means of inspiring conversation and introspection, not a way to clinically diagnose mental illness.
Art Therapy is open to all people of all artistic skillsets, backgrounds, and mental healthcare experiences.
Online therapy offers comfortability for the client because often times they can join in the comfort and privacy of their own home.
Creating affordable access to art supplies is a common aspiration for many Art Therapists. Access to telecommunications nowadays is very affordable, but art supplies for various mediums can be very costly. A service that provides shipping of cheap or used art supplies to aid online art therapy sessions would be most helpful, or even using recycled items around the house.
Art Therapy could prove challenging online because for someone that facilitates an Art Therapy session, you need to see their face as well as what they are doing on the canvas for an effective session.
During online video sessions, you might not see the choices that they’re making as clearly because you are not in the same space and cannot observe from multiple angles. You only have one picture plane which is your zoom camera to see what’s going on, which typically you’re only watching the face.
User Journey Map
I created a user journey map from my research findings and interviews to locate user behaviors, emotions, and pain points.
Pain Point 1
Skeptical about Art Therapy and don’t know much about it.
Pain Point 2
Stressed about matching with the best therapist.
Pain Point 3
Art supplies are expensive, no idea how to set up.
Pain Point 4
Not sure if following an art demo correctly.
Information Architecture
Based on the identified pain points, I created several SKU matrices to identify key functions needed in the app. With these key functions listed, I created the information architecture of the app to begin the wireframing process.
Key Functions Needed:
On-boarding with screener questionnaire to match with a therapist, as well as a tutorial of the Art Therapy experience and how to set up/materials.
Subscription system: Multi-use supplies are mailed out based on the assigned therapist and planned duration with the therapist. Replenishment deliveries will occur at fixed intervals per the discretion of the therapist, all working with a similar budget.
Utilize second camera with another device to show working artwork so the patient can see the progress in real time and follow along.
Photo of artwork is digitally captured on the platform after the session. Therapists can write notes tethered to that session’s artwork. In-app goal-based activities for the client to do in between sessions that are assigned by their therapist.
User Testing Wireframes
Once the first low-fidelity wireframe was complete, I performed user testing with my user interviewees to find preliminary friction points and places to improve before proceeding with visual refinement.
art2art leverages the power of Telehealth to increase access to Art Therapy for everyone. We aim to make both Art and Therapy less intimidating for newcomers and experienced users alike in a safe and controlled environment. Our goal is to use art as a gateway to processing feelings, and cultivate the inner artist that exists within everyone.
Personas
The primary target user is young adults looking for art therapy and are familiar with Telehealth and its benefits. The secondary target user is apprehensive older folks who are curious about art therapy but are low in tech-literacy. I also created the persona for the art therapist utilizing this platform to provide art therapy services on.
Art Supply Box Subscription Component
As part of art2art’s subscription system, patients will be able to pick and choose their art supplies subscription box based on their budget. Each box will be delivered on a quarterly-basis with art supplies enough to last 12 weeks of art therapy sessions. The specificity of the supplies will be mailed out based on the assigned therapist and planned duration with the therapist.
The first box will also come with a phone mount so that patients can use their phone camera in conjunction with their laptop camera on the desk for the art therapy sessions.
As of 2023, the landscape of Telehealth platforms was very saturated, with many clinics and practices also employing their own online services. This highlighted the importance of the field research work I performed with competitive analysis, SME and user interviews, and user journey mapping to carve out my own niche with this project.
This project allowed me to dive deeper into user journey mapping by basing the content on sourced primary and secondary research, employing SKU matrices to ideate functions based on pain points, and gain a holistic view into the user’s interactions with my system.
