top of page

Culture
Compass

A mobile application for cultural adjustment and discovery. Prepare for your travels, adapt to life in a new country, and connect with locals.

View the prototype in Figma.

The User Interface Design

During the on-boarding process, users create an account and answer questions that help personalize and tailor their experience. 

sing in.png
Welcome.png
hi fi 3.png

Once set-up, users can record what nootropic botanicals they had today. The diagram shows what part of the brain is responsible for certain cognitive functions.

brain new 1.png
brain new 2.png

Users can search for nootropic botanicals and sort them by popularity or scientific study grade (assigned by researchers). Users can also filter by cognitive functions.

coffee 1.png
popularity.gif
coffee 2.png

Users can record and view a history of their experiences in the app. 

experiences new new.png
feel.gif
confetti-no-frame.gif

"I think coffee helps me focus at work, but it's hard to tell"

"Sometimes coffee makes me anxious and jittery"

"I wish there was a way to keep track of my experiences"

"I wish I knew what would actually help me focus at work"

Context

More and more people are seeking out to boost their cognitive function and brain health. As a result, there has been a surging growth in the nootropic botanical and supplement market.

brain graphic.png

The Problem

There are very few unbiased resources out there that provide information on nootropic botanicals without trying to sell a product. There are currently no platforms that help users keep track of their experiences in a similar way that exercise aplications do. 

Role

This was an individual project that involved

User Research, Competitor Analysis, Design, Prototyping & User Evaluation.

The Solution

Tropic Topic is a mobile-based platform that can help educate users about nootropic botanicals. Users will be able to track their intake and record experiences.The application will help users with safety assessment.

Constraints

9 week timeline

IOS platform

Mobile-first design

qualtrics.png
survey 1.png

User Research

  • A survey was created using Qualtrics 

 

  • Participants that have experience with nootropic botanicals were recruited
     

  • Participants were asked questions about their interest in brain health, any current supplements or botanicals that they are using, and if they would find it helpful to track their experiences
     

  • Some participants were interviewed to gain further insights

100%

Participants want to improve their cognitive ability related to focus & attention

65%

Participants currently gather their information from social media platforms & podcasts

80%

Participants reported that they would find it helpful to track their experiences

0%

Participants currently keep track of their experiences with nootropic botanicals & supplements

Personas

Personas were developed based on user interviews & user research

amanda persona.png
persona 2.png

Competitor Analysis

There are were very few precedents and competitors to analyze. 

examine.png

www.examine.com

a web-based platform with a great database of scientific papers, but no ability to interact with the platform to record experiences, and lacking in graphics

natural remedies.png

Natural Remedies

a mobile application with lots of information that had organization and lacks links to scientific papers, with no ability to record experiences

Task Flows

that are representative of the main features of the application.

flow 1.png

Sign-up Flow

Finding A Nootropic Botanical Flow

flow 2.png
flow 3.png

Recording An Experience Flow

Low Fidelity Prototype Sketches

sketched on paper & tested in the Marvel App.

On-boarding sequence

Browsing Nootropic Botanicals

Tracking Experiences

Design, Font & Color Scheme

font.png
colors 2.png

A serif font was selected for the large titles, and a sans serif font for the small titles and body text, for legibility. A rounded font was selected to accentuate the playful pallet. 

The analogous pastel colors make for a fun interface, and provide opportunities for gradients.

Medium Fidelity Prototype in Figma

tested with users using cognitive walkthroughs.

Next Steps

  • As the next step, I plan on conducting usability evaluations using moderated in-person interviews with at least 6 participants.
     

  • I plan on creating a discussion guide, defining the tasks and metrics.
     

  • To analyze my results, I will create an affinity diagram, and use tenets & traps to identify problems. Then, I will use heuristics to come up with solutions.

Learnings

  • Even when designing playful interfaces, it is important for the overall interface system to match real world conventions. 
     

  • It's important to organize elements in a familiar and intuitive way.
     

  • The color logic should permeate throughout the entire design for consistency & standards.

Liza Karimova. 2023.

bottom of page