Mindmates

Overview

Mindmates is a mobile app designed to support university students in managing their mental health. The goal was to create an experience that is accessible, interactive, and emotionally supportive. The app provides tools for mood tracking, journaling, self-care, guided mental health activities, and private support in one place.

Mindmates goes beyond traditional wellness apps by offering AI-assisted counseling and immersive VR-based support. This was in response to the growing need for more human, relatable, and private mental health tools. Many students avoid seeking help due to privacy concerns or a lack of meaningful connection in text-based solutions. Mindmates was built to address these exact gaps.

Understanding the Users 

University students experience frequent mental health challenges including stress, burnout, anxiety, and isolation. Many struggle to find help due to stigma, fear of being judged, or simply not knowing where to go. Some prefer complete privacy, while others feel disconnected from existing digital tools. These issues are even more amplified during high-stress academic periods.

The target audience includes students aged 18 to 25 managing studies, internships, part-time work, and personal issues. They regularly use smartphones and turn to digital platforms during times of emotional need.

For the next step, three participants representing our target audience were selected to gather valuable insights and feedback by walking them through existing solutions. A set of open-ended questions were designed that aimed to explore participants’ experiences, motivations, challenges, and suggestions for improvement in mental health tools.

Here’s a summary of the key findings from the interviews:

Shaping the Foundation  

To make sense of the data collected from user interviews and earlier research, I used affinity mapping to group common patterns, emotional triggers, pain points, and recurring themes. This process helped transform raw insights into a focused and empathetic design direction.

From these insights, I created user personas that reflected different student mindsets and emotional needs. Each persona was based on real behaviors and challenges observed during research. For every persona, a clear problem statement was crafted to define the specific barriers they might face when using the app. These personas and statements helped keep the design grounded in actual user expectations.

With the audience and core functionalities defined, I structured the app’s content using a sitemap. This outlined how each section connects—AI Assist, Mood Check-In, Journaling, VR Counseling, Resources, and Community. Pages were organized across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels to ensure the experience remained smooth and intuitive. This structure laid the groundwork for a product that feels simple, purposeful, and emotionally accessible. 

To visualize the app flow and refine the structure, I created low fidelity wireframes. These early sketches focused on layout, content placement, and the positioning of key elements. Hierarchy, spacing, and alignment were carefully considered to build a clear foundation for the visual direction. The wireframes helped define how the app would behave before moving into high-fidelity design and interaction. 

High Fidelity Design & Testing   

After validating the structure through low fidelity wireframes, I moved into high fidelity design to bring the experience to life. Visual elements were refined using soft, calming colors, friendly typography, and smooth spacing to support an emotionally safe environment. The design remained minimal but intentional, with an emphasis on readability, comfort, and reducing any feelings of overwhelm. Interactive elements like the AI Assist, mood check-ins, community posts, and VR interface were designed to feel human and responsive, while maintaining a consistent and student-friendly aesthetic. 

With the visual system in place, I began testing the experience with real users. Two rounds of usability testing were conducted using an interactive prototype to observe how students interacted with the app and where friction or confusion appeared.

In the first round, participants highlighted that the AI Assist chat screen felt too tight and constrained due to a fixed header and footer. To improve readability and flow, both elements were removed, allowing the chat to expand across the full screen. Another issue surfaced around mood check-ins. Initially, users were required to select a mood before accessing the home screen, which felt forced. This flow was adjusted so mood selection became optional and could be done from the home screen at any time.

The second round surfaced more emotional insights. Users expressed concerns about sharing openly in community spaces. To address this, an anonymous posting toggle was introduced, giving them control over their privacy and emotional safety. Feedback also pointed out limitations inside the VR experience. Initially, users were locked into one AI Assist character. The experience was improved by allowing character switching within the VR session, giving users more freedom and personalization.

These rounds of testing helped fine-tune both the usability and emotional tone of the product. Each improvement brought the app closer to the calm, safe, and supportive space students needed it to be.

Conclusion   

Mindmates brings together the key elements of emotional support, personalization, and ease of use into one thoughtfully designed platform. The final product includes mood check-ins, voice-enabled AI counseling, immersive VR sessions with customizable assistants, guided journaling, educational resources, and community spaces with privacy options.

This project taught me the value of designing with empathy. It showed how thoughtful UX can create not just functional tools, but safe, supportive spaces that truly connect with users.

Final Prototype

Interact live with the playful Mindmates prototype here.