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7 Cups

7 Cups is a free online community to find and give peer emotional support as well as paid licensed therapy subscriptions with clinicians. I joined as the only designer to redesign and improve the whole mobile app experience as well as develop a UX practice within the company. 7 Cups has been in market for 5+ years and has a large active user base.

7 Cups has a large mobile and desktop web user base but has struggled to create a usable mobile app experience. I began by analyzing the entire product experience across platforms.

7 Cups has a large mobile and desktop web user base but has struggled to create a usable mobile app experience. I began by analyzing the entire product experience across platforms.

Using the existing mobile app and web experience I quickly took screenshots and notes on areas I felt needed to be improved. This analysis continued by diagramming all UX flows in the product.

Using the existing mobile app and web experience I quickly took screenshots and notes on areas I felt needed to be improved. This analysis continued by diagramming all UX flows in the product.

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There were many issues uncovered across the product's user experience. Most notably was a lack of focus, giving users too many options, which led to unnecessarily complex and redundant user flows.

There were many issues uncovered across the product's user experience. Most notably was a lack of focus, giving users too many options, which led to unnecessarily complex and redundant user flows.

7 Cups personas are struggling with various emotional and mental health issues. This created unique challenges when it came to designing an effective user experience. For example: trust, hand-holding, and focus became paramount principles as I interviewed users.

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Employing various methodologies I studied different user groups and feature usability to understand how to best improve aspects of the overall product experience and features.

Employing various methodologies I studied different user groups and feature usability to understand how to best improve aspects of the overall product experience and features.

I frequently leveraged the existing 7 Cups community to run surveys. This proved to be an invaluable resource for quickly getting user feedback on existing and prototype experiences.

After analyzing a wealth of user and stakeholder feedback I began the journey of wireframing, prototyping, periodic usability studies, and hi-fi designs throughout all features of the mobile app.

After analyzing a wealth of user and stakeholder feedback I began the journey of wireframing, prototyping, periodic usability studies, and hi-fi designs throughout all features of the mobile app.

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For the various features being redesigned, I frequently leveraged wireframes and prototypes to test with the 7 Cups community and gather user feedback to iterate on the design details.

For the various features being redesigned, I frequently leveraged wireframes and prototypes to test with the 7 Cups community and gather user feedback to iterate on the design details.

Study insight: Across the screen comparisons, the majority of respondents felt the new designs were "more professional," "calmer," and "modern."

Study insight: Across the screen comparisons, the majority of respondents felt the new designs were "more professional," "calmer," and "modern."

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As engineers implemented the designs - and the team's focus was prioritized - some features were cut. In instances where it was a major feature I designed a stand-in experience in its place.

As engineers implemented the designs - and the team's focus was prioritized - some features were cut. In instances where it was a major feature I designed a stand-in experience in its place.

In preparation for a public release, I developed a feature highlighting strategy and created the assets for publishing the app to Google Play and the App Store.

In preparation for a public release, I developed a feature highlighting strategy and created the assets for publishing the app to Google Play and the App Store.

An MVP version of the app was launched and went through continuous iteration towards the design vision. From start to finish, app store ratings increased from 3.6 to 4.5.

An MVP version of the app was launched and went through continuous iteration towards the design vision. From start to finish, app store ratings increased from 3.6 to 4.5.