Reviving personal well-being : Solution for young professionals who have moved into a new city.

I will be making 2 parts for this case-study since it’s lengthy. If you are short on time you can skip to Part 2 to see the final designs and solutions.

Link for part 2 : Reviving personal well-being : Solution for young professionals who have moved into a new city #2.

Part 1 content :

1. Intro
2. Research
3. Ideation

Part 2 content :

1. Overview
2. Execution
3. Final Design
4. Conclusion

1. Intro

New-nest, An app that provides solutions for young professionals who have just moved into a new city and are facing new challenges such as homesickness, loneliness and having trouble getting along in a new city.

New-nest makes it a little bit easier to settle in.

This design was made as a part my capstone assignment from my design cohort 10k Designers. We were given 11 Briefs from 10 different companies to find solutions for the briefs. I chose brief 2 from the company Fountane because I could relate to the problem statement and realized at a point in my life I was once the persona. The deadline was 5 days.

The Problem statement :

Ashish is a young employee, working for an MNC after moving to a new city recently (user and context). Due to fatigue from working long hours, lack of quality time away from work, and being away from his family and friends in the new city, he is mentally overwhelmed and extremely homesick (problem). Provide a solution that provides resources and support for the mental health and well-being of Ashish as he takes on this new journey in life (need).

Conditions : He does not have the option to quit this job or leave the new city at this point.

After reading the brief, I could empathize with the persona since I had been in a similar situation, I knew what personally what would have helped me when I was in that situation.

For the first part of my research I started conducting interviews by talking to my friends and family who have been in similar positions before. For the second part based on what I heard from the interviews I created a questionnaire on google-forms to conduct my research before I could ideate on a solution. Since the deadline was 5 days, I spent 2 days waiting for the responses and spent the remaining 3 days to work on the solution. Over the 2 days I got 19 valuable responses to help me get an understanding on the persona. keep in mind there’s a very tight deadline and this is a small scale research for an assignment which is why I divided 2 days for research and 3 days to work on the solution. Let’s take a look at the research.

2. Research

What would people who are in this situation need?

I Started talking to my friends and family who have also been in this situation where they have moved into a new city all by themselves for work, I listed out things I was hearing from them and the things that I would’ve needed when I was in that situation.

Let’s look at a few things that I found out that would help people in this position make their situation better based on the answers I got from these people.

• Mental & Emotional Support : Seeking emotional support from Friends, Family or Professionals helped them, But a lot of them said it was not enough.
• Social Support : They needed a social life, Life being just work and home was taking a toll on their mental health, They felt monotonous going to work and coming home everyday and not doing anything else.
• Community Platforms : Platforms where they can connect with like minded individuals who share similar interests. Which can make it easier to form friendships in a new city as an adult. While asking these people, I was told they find it very hard to make friends at this age in a city where they don’t know anyone. A lot of them struggled to form friendships at their work place as well.
• Healthy Work Environment : They required an understanding and a healthy workspace. Having an understanding company is something that can go a long way in how a person feels everyday mentally, But this is something out of the person’s control, Every company has different work environment, some are good some are bad.
• Professional Guidance : Seeking professional guidance, Most people tend to avoid seeking professional help, I found out they would if it was more easily accessible.
• Well-ness Resources : If they have time, they would spend the time utilizing well-ness resources such a self-help e-books, Online audio and video libraries if it were available to them.
• Stress Management Techniques : Some practiced mindfulness, meditating or working out which helped them manage stress and improve mental well-being.
• Physical Well-being : Working out regularly and maintaining a good physical health have improved their stress levels, and over all more energized and relaxed through out the day, which helped them perform better at work since they had high energy levels throughout the day.
• Hobbies and Interests : Taking time in investing on yourself through hobbies also helped them a lot on feeling better mentally.

Based on the answers they gave me, I created 10 curated questions based off of the 5 human factors.

Physical, Cognitive, Social, Cultural and Emotional. Okay, Why are these 5 particular factors crucial while designing a product? I’ll explain this at the end of the section, I don’t wanna keep you waiting! Let’s look at the questions.

Question 1 : How would you rate your current level of fatigue and energy throughout the day?

Why I asked this question?

I asked this to understand the user’s physical well-being and how fatigue may be affecting their ability to cope with stress, loneliness or homesickness.

Analyzing the responses

Majority of the responses (52.6%) Indicate that their over all fatigue levels throughout the day is moderate. 15.8% say their energy levels are high, 26.3% say It’s low and 5.3% experience very low energy levels.

Majority of them could be open to things such as socializing, Going to a gathering and If they can’t physically due to fatigue then perhaps socializing over the internet. If you’re fatigue levels are low, You are most likely to spend your time indoors and unwind after work. New-nest is built around taking such factors into consideration.

Question 2 : How often do you engage in social activities or connect with friends and family in your new city?

Why I asked this question?

Getting an insight on the persona’s social stance will help with understanding what preference they would have when it comes to socializing, Either they would prefer socializing offline and meet people in real life or they would much rather prefer to talk to people online if that is their comfort zone. New-nest has a solution for both.

Lot of individuals who move into a new city face this problem, Not knowing anyone in a new place is one of the huge factor that creates loneliness which leads to missing the experiences they used to have involving people at their hometown and at a new office space they may find it hard to build connections. And some people who have already been experiencing loneliness even before they moved would want to meet new people but might not know how to or have had to the chance to, New-nest makes it a little easier for them to meet new people.

Most people find it difficult to form new friendships after entering adult hood mostly because of the differences they have with each other, It makes it a little easier for the person to connect with another person if they have something in common. New-nest help connect people who have similar Interests.

Analyzing the responses

Majority (31%) of people socialize and connect with their family and friends Sometimes and 15.8% occasionally and sometimes. 10.5% do it regularly and 26.3% Say they rarely do any socializing or connect with their family.

Humans a social beings, Everyone relies on another human one way or the other to get by everyday which is why maintaining good relationships and forming connections are important for your personal well-being. When you don’t have such people in your life it will start affecting your day to day life and can be demotivating, especially if you have moved into a new city. New-nest helps people who have been struggling to form such connections and want to form connections.

Question 3 : How comfortable do you feel with the cultural norms and customs of your new city?

Why I asked this question?

I took the cultural factor into consideration while asking this question, Pretty straight forward, It was to evaluate the persona’s cultural adaptation since people come from different background which can impact their sense of belonging.

Analyzing the responses

Majority of the people (63.2%) feel neutral towards the cultural norms, By this I can presume that they could be welcoming new cultural norms or maybe not bothered by it. 36.8% are comfortable with cultural norms which is good news, By this I can presume that they are open to new experiences and opportunities.

Question 4 : How often do you experience feelings of homesickness or longing for your family and friends?

Why I asked this question?

Taking the emotional factor into consideration I asked this question to understand the intensity of the persona’s feelings of homesickness, which can significantly impact their emotional well-being.

Analyzing the responses

36.8% of people occasionally, 26.3% Sometimes, 15.8% rarely feel homesick, Which means they are most likely to be getting along in a new city.

15.8% often and 5.3% always feel homesick, Naturally if you are engaging with social activities or if your time is generally occupied, your brain tends to keep you distracted from feeling homesick. But when it is not occupied and spend most of your time be yourself, you are bound to feel loneliness, boredom or homesick if you are in new place and all by yourself.

Social activities doesn’t always need to be gatherings or activities that involves a crowd, it can be as simple as catching a movie with a friend.

Question 5 : Have you sought out any resources or support for managing stress or homesickness since moving to the new city?

Why I asked this question?

To understand if the persona has sought out any supportive resources to help them with their struggles. Lot of people tend to not do anything about this, Maybe because they are working long hours and are unable to get make time to get support through therapy and such by going to the doctor’s office physically. New-nest makes such support easily accessible.

Analyzing the responses

47.4% find support through friends and family, 47.4% do not seek out any help and 5.2% get help through their work place and 0% seek out help through community organizations.

47.4% chose not to get any help, This can be for various reasons, Financial, Physical, Emotional. 5.2% seek help through their work place, Good companies come with such perks but not a lot of people have access to support at work place. New-nest provides a solution so everyone who are using the product will have support in an easily accessible way.

Question 6 : Which of the following strategies do you use to cope with stress and homesickness? (Select all that apply)

Why I asked this question?

To figure out what approach to take while designing the main features of the product.

• Exercise or physical activity (63.2%)
• Meditation and mindfulness (21.2%)
• Talking to friends or family (78.9%)
• Engaging in hobbies or leisure activities (52.6%)
• seeking professional counseling (5.3%)
• others please specify (10.5%) : Sadly the responses did not specify the reason but only selected the option, no data could be collected from this option.

Question 7 : How involved are you in community activities or organizations in your new city?

Why I asked this question?

To get insights on how people feel about engaging in community activities or group activities and by organizations I mean small scale event organizers. Examples : Open mics, Social gatherings on a particular topic such as a book reading club etc.

Analyzing the responses

36.8% of people are not very involved, 31.6% are neutral (May or may not get involved), 21.1% not get involved at all. The minority of people (5.25%) are somewhat and very involved.

It seems that majority of people do not get involved in community activities, This can be due to various factors, They may choose not to get involved, They might not find the right opportunities to get involved, They may not be feeling comfortable or safe to be involved in a community, Or they might just not be finding communities that they have something in common with. New-nest helps them find the right community as per their interests.

Question 8 : Have you experienced any difficulties communicating due to language differences in your new city?

Why I asked this question?

Language barriers can cause problems with communication and can play a huge role on how easy it would be to settle down in a new city.

Analyzing the responses

Majority of people 47.4% do not face an Issue with communication and 42.1% occasionally have trouble with the language, 10.5% (Minority) do face a challenge when it comes to communication due to the language.

Question 9 : How safe do you feel in your new city compared to your previous location?

Why I asked this question?

How people feel about their safety in any place will determine how open they are to new experiences or meeting new people and forming new relationships.

Analyzing the responses

Majority (68.4%) of the people experience the same amount of safety that they experience at their hometown which like mentioned above wont be an obstacle for people who want to explore the city, meet new people and gain new experiences, 15.8% feel less safe, which is understandable considering you are in an unfamiliar place. Interestingly the rest 15.8% Feel Safer or Much Safer compared to their own home town which are good signs.

Question 10 : How concerned are you about your financial situation since relocating to the new city?

Why I asked this question?

Financial situation will play an Important role when it comes to people finding the right support they need, People might not be very keen on spending money towards therapy or seek support due to the financial reasons. This will help me design what the product offers to be more financial friendly.

Analyzing the responses

36.8% are somewhat concerned, 31.6% feel neutral, 15.8% feel very concerned and 15.8% are not very concerned about their financial Situation. Financial Situation mostly depends on the income of an individual and how they choose to spend it.

Few reasons why they are somewhat concerned and very concerned :

• Income
• High Cost of Living
• Insufficient Savings
• Lack of Financial Literacy
• Family Obligations
• Health Issues
• Lifestyle Inflation

Few reasons why they are not concerned at all :

• Stable Income
• Strong Financial Literacy
• Minimal Lifestyle Inflation
• Budgeting and Planning
• Supportive Network
• Economic Awareness

Let’s talk a little about the 5 human factors I mentioned earlier.

Physical, Cognitive, Social, Cultural and Emotional. These particular human factors play an important role while designing a product. Why?

1. Physical Factors :

• Comfort and Efficiency : Designing for ease of use and reducing physical strain (e.g., minimizing the need for excessive scrolling or tapping).

2. Cognitive Factors :

• User Understanding : Aligning the app’s functionality with the users’ mental models to make it intuitive and easy to navigate.
• Information Processing : Avoiding cognitive overload by presenting information in a clear and organized manner, which aids in comprehension and decision-making.

3. Social Factors :

• Interaction and Collaboration : Facilitating social interactions, sharing, and collaboration among users, which can enhance the app’s functionality and appeal.
• Community Building : Creating features that foster a sense of community and belonging, which can increase user engagement and loyalty.

4. Cultural Factors :

• Relevance and Appropriateness : Ensuring the app’s content and design respect and reflect the cultural norms and values of its target audience.
• Localization : Adapting the app to different languages, customs, and user expectations to reach a broader audience and improve user satisfaction.

5. Emotional Factors :

• User Satisfaction : Creating a positive emotional experience by making the app enjoyable, engaging, and satisfying to use.
• Trust and Loyalty : Building trust through consistent, reliable, and transparent interactions, which can lead to increased user loyalty and long-term success.

All the questions asked were curated based on these 5 human factors.

Alright then, let’s find a solution.

3. Ideation

The Solution Asked : Provide a solution that provides resources and support for the mental health and well-being of Ashish (persona) as he takes on this new journey in life (need).

By this time I had decided that I will be designing an app, considering they wanted me provide a solution that can provide resources, support for mental health, an app would be much more accessible for these solutions.

But I did not want the app to be fully a mental health app, There are many apps out there which already does that. Although New-nest has features that mental health apps have but it’s much more than that.

Finding a solution

Based on the research and the interviews, I could understand that most of them just simply required trusted people in their life for emotional support, quality time away from work and not have a monotonous life where it’s just work and home everyday, They needed a good social circle.

The rest of their needs were Professionals Help, Exercise, Practice mindfulness, Meditation and Have Hobbies to not feel monotonous.

After Brainstorming for a while, I came to conclusion that I will be making an app where people can find not only the features that a mental health app has but also a platform where they can connect with people in a new city through communities and get the support for their personal well being through online support groups.

The 2 main features of the app will be Communities and Online Support Groups.

Few things you need to know before hand

1. Support groups and communities are differentiated by “s/group-name” for support groups and “c/community-name” for communities. Otherwise people will have a hard time knowing which is which. I got this idea from reddit where the use letter in this way (u/) to differentiate between community pages and individual persons / creators pages.
2. Support groups will only have a 25 person limit. Why? In support groups, say there are 300 people and all of them are in an online meeting, It would be impossible for everyone to get a chance to speak and share with the people which is the whole point of a support group. So not to defeat this purpose, support groups will have only 25 people max so when the online meetings happen the members get a chance to talk and communicate well.
3. While creating a support group there is an option for the creators to set the number of people they want in their support group and max limit is 25. where as for communities there’s not limit as of now.

Let’s take a look at the features.

End of part 1, Here’s the link for part 2 (final designs and execution of the ideas) : Reviving personal well-being : Solution for young professionals who have moved into a new city #2.