weme.org
Online virtual museum for people to express their experiences of depression
problem definition
BACKGROUND & LITERATURE RESEARCH
Depression is a serious mental disorder, which is prevalent in Korean society, as the illness of often rephrased as the common cold of the modern-day (현대인의 감기). Korea also has the highest record of suicide - a major result of depression - since 2003 according to the OECD statistics.
Despite this strikingly major issue, however, only 5% of South Koreans visit the hospital to treat depression and have the lowest antidepressant usage with 1 out of 5 people getting proper depression treatment and medication. As such, there is a lack of awareness and willingness to share about depression, resulting in low mental literacy and high rates of depression in Korean society.
suicide
South Korea has the highest suicide rate since 2003 according to OCED
5%
Only 5% of Koreans visit hospitals to receive proper depression treatment
1 of 5
Only 1 out of 5 Koreans are getting proper depression dosage
user research
SURVEY
For a general understanding of users and gathering a huge pool of data regarding diverse topics, 30 survey questions were categorized under the following categories:
Basic demographic questions
General questions are depression
Assessment on mental health literacy (15 points)
Platform related questions
It was conducted in both Korean and English, and 101 responses were collected. Below are the key insights:
65% believe that Korea has a low level of awareness, mostly due to the lack of mental health education, information, and campaigns
Majority of the comments emphasized the need for warm-hearted attention, proper treatment, and the importance of not feeling embarrassed because of depression
20.8% believe depression is embarrassing to have and is difficult to talk about - incorrect
Average mental health literacy scored 10.77 out of 15
101 survey responses
needs warm attention
INTERVIEW
Semi-structured user interviews were conducted to bring out specific insights about depression and mental literacy. Key insights are as the following:
All interviewees responded that depression is common in Korea
“You know how they call it the modern-day flu, so I think it’s pretty common. Korea’s ratio would be pretty high compared to other countries.” (P5)
Lack of education at school
“Sex education in Korea isn’t that effective and properly structured. So I doubt depression education even exists or happens” (P5)
Reluctant to open up about depression
“If she hypothetically had depression, she would think that she is a burden to her friends, or letting them down” (P3)
Platforms to reach out
“Even if there is government guideline about depression, I wouldn’t trust it because of poor guidelines about sex education and stranger danger… I would trust appropriate and reliable institutions” (P2)
“Depression addressed by sensitive social attitude. We need more objective point of view” (P3)
Coping with depression
“Playing sports, doing what I like the best was the best way to get out of my depression. I didn’t talk that much [about depression]” (P4)
UX GOALS & PERSONA
Based on user research, personas were created to target young adults in their 20s as undergraduate students and UX goals were defined to guide the overall project development.
Does the user feel a sense of community, connection, and belonging?
Is the user able to in/directly share their experiences?
Does the user obtain a more positive understanding of depression?
primary persona
secondary persona
development
EXPLORATION
Many ideas were mentioned including gamification and entertainment platform referencing to mobile games including "Dumb Ways to Die" and those related to mental health. Storytelling services and campaign ideas were also discussed and explored.
IDEATION & DEVELOPMENT
Our final idea was to create an virtual exhibition space for users to share their experience of and related to depression as this platform best matches our UX goals. According to more literature research, “art exhibitions can have social and personal benefits for participating artists", and there are therapeutic potential of art in mental health including improved self-esteem, self-confidence, communication skills, personal relationships, and fostering greater social inclusion.
Primary colors were chosen for bubbly and cheerful atmosphere and were toned down for soothing effect. Sans serif is used for its simplicity and how it is comfortable to look at. Development visualizations such as wireframe sketches, use case scenarios, and flowcharts were created.
virtual art exhibition
#welcoming #heart-warming #soothing #group-hug #bubbly #commuinity #connection
prototyping & testing
INITIAL PROTOTYPE
‘We’ is made of ‘me’s, ‘We’ is a place for ‘me’s. The service’s sole purpose is to give a message to depression patients that they are not alone and that there are people who will understand them. To fulfil our purpose, weme, a community based website provides various functions.
USABILITY TEST & FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS
8 participants conducted the UT and follow-up semi-structured interviews to collect direct and crucial feedback on the initial prototype. A variety of the participants was recruited to represent the target users, which range from those who have depression to those who are interested in the topic.
The usability tests involved the Wizard of Oz method and Think Aloud methods while participants were asked to conduct the following benchmark tasks of the prototype:
Locate your ‘Hug me’
Create a new exhibition
Share your exhibition
See the ‘Hug more’ page.
Commenting on someone else’s exhibition
Follow-up interviews were conducted right after the usability tests with the same participants. Several important interview questions are as the following:
What did you feel about the character, hugging design, and the general visual elements of the website?
What did you feel as you saw your files and comments being uploaded onto the website?
What did you feel as you saw the other user’s content?
What did you feel editing and curating your own works?
What did you feel about the specific format of the “museum” for sharing?
Would you utilize a service like this in real life?
What did you think about the pros and cons of this prototype?
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
The qualitative data from UT and interviews were analyzed and categorized to organize key insights and changes needed for developing the prototype.
safe space
Many participants felt a sense of community and described the website as a "safe space"
needs organization
Some participants were confused with website architecture, especially the terms used for the navigation bar
final website
DEVELOPED WIREFRAME
Reflecting the insights about confusion and distraction of the website, the original wireframe was adjusted.
weme.org
