Understanding Journaling

Meanwhile, I did desktop research to study the concept behind Journaling which including:

• Traditional Journaling methods
• What are the goals of journaling?
• Other ways to achieve those Goals
• Journaling Apps & Positive/ Negative Reviews

01/ The varieties of writing guides and templates which mean for an “easy start” are actually make it harder for some new journal writers to start. 
‍
02/ With the fast pace of modern life, the time for journaling is understandingly the last thing on the list.
‍
03/ For only 9.9% of my survey participants who write their journals every day(most of them are using traditional journaling books), the app retention rate is very low.
‍
04/ For many beautiful apps that track users’ moods, the question of “what to do after tracking my mood?” has been brought up.
‍
05/ For users who do journaling every day, it is hard to find the specific ones they are looking for.

The Variety of Approaches‍

I further investigated the market based on my hypothesis, combined with previous research. I conducted a competitive analysis to see how other competitors solved the problems and if their users liked their approaches.

• Industrial standard
  
• What users are Expecting/ Wishing for a journaling app. (summary of common frustrations and common likes from users)

With researches in mind, I narrowed the opportunities down to four core features for the app.

Usability first, gamification second‍

After supplemented with click-ability using Figma,  I tested five users to see if they could efficiently complete some tasks.

After they completed the asked tasks, I asked the following questions:

• Do you know what this app is about?
• Do you see any part of the app that confuses you?
• Do you think emotional pets will encourage you to do consistent writing?
• Do you think the AR approach will help you relieve some stress?
• Do you have any suggestions for the app?

selected changes

I made some adjustments according to the users' tests.