top of page
PolarUs App
Redefining mental health support for people who live with bipolar disorder.
Role
Founding Product Designer
Scope
Prototyping, Interaction Design, UX Research,
Data Visualization, UI Systems, Illustration
Tools
Figma, Adobe Photoshop
Overview
PolarUs is a research-based mobile app created to improve the quality of life for people living with bipolar disorder (BD). It was used as the foundation of a clinical study testing the efficacy of app-based mental health interventions.
As the founding product designer for the PolarUs app, I led end-to-end design, including user research, building component systems, creating prototypes, and everything in between. Using a human-centered design approach, I advocated for a well-rounded data collection experience that added value and meaning for users in addition to meeting research requirements for the study.
Approach
01 Empathize
Listening to insights and stories shared by individuals with lived experience was crucial to understanding the impact of stigma against bipolar disorder.
02 Simplify
Designing to simplify research data and streamline quantitative surveys made daily mood monitoring less intimidating and more intuitive.
03 Reframe
With a research-focused team, I reframed the development process with user experience front and center while still balancing logistics for the study.
PolarUs Full Project
↑ 26% quality of life
↑ 34% self-compassion
↓ depression & mania
The PolarUs app supports better mental health outcomes for people living with bipolar disorder. On average, users reported improvements in quality of life, higher levels of self-compassion, and reduced symptoms of depression and mania throughout a 12-week clinical evaluation.
Qualitative insights from focus group interviews
Throughout the design process, I led semi-structured interviews with a focus group of 8 people living with BD. I explored their shared mental health experiences and types of support that would be most valuable for them.
Overall, the focus group shared similar struggles with staying motivated and often had doubts about whether or not they were moving in the right direction with self-managing symptoms. Individuals also suggested that lots of encouragement and positive visual cues would be most valuable for mental health support in an app.
Visualizing quality of life in the PolarUs app
The PolarUs app is centered around the Quality of Life (QoL) scale, a questionnaire that measures wellness among several life areas. I adapted this measurement scale into the PolarUs Orb: a design that visualizes quality of life data numerically and serves as a key focal point throughout the app.
.png)
Previous questionnaire for measuring quality of life
PolarUs Orb design — a dynamic visual with custom life area icons
Translating wellness data through survey flows and interactive charts
Fine-tuning features to match user needs
Focus group feedback highlighted the importance of gaining insight by comparing sleep, mood, and overall wellbeing. Designing hand-in-hand with people who have lived experience with bipolar disorder is essential to creating intentional, meaningful experiences.
Users valued the ability to scroll graphs independently and track patterns in sleep, mood, and wellbeing over time
Alternative
Preferred ☆
Users recognized trends more clearly in separate graphs rather than combined
Making research content accessible and digestible
With so much text-heavy research content in the app, it’s essential to optimize the way users see information. I designed a sectioned layout with summary cards to organize lengthy pages of text and improve clarity.
More Projects —
bottom of page