Brain Dump
An organizational tool for people with ADHD.
Sole UX/UI Design
Role
Tools Used
Google Docs
Figma
Timeline
80 Hours
BackgroundDid you know it’s likely you experience symptoms of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) without even realizing it?
ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in Canada. Affecting 1 in every 20 adults. (CADDAC)
But symptoms are on the rise!
Studies show people with heavy social media usage are at an increase risk of developing symptoms of ADHD. (Psychiatrist)
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It’s estimated more than 210 million people worldwide suffer from a social media addiction. (True List)
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Is anyone else guilty of the second statement? (don’t worry I am too) I did a case study on the affects of social media where I dive deeper into patterns and behaviours of social media users if you’re interested.
But back to this storyline, since ADHD is prominent in our society it’s got me thinking…
Research goalI want to learn users’ who have ADHD, behaviours and habits with their phones so that I can understand how apps and technology affect their daily lives.
Let’s start investigating!
Research Time to get to know my users!
I conducted research with some objectives in mind. I interviewed six participants with ADHD and configured my findings and desk research into an affinity map. Here are some takeaways:
100% Of participants struggle to understand information if it’s not concise and direct.
20% Of participants learn hands on by doing the actual task.
60% Of participants struggle reading books due to inattention and long text.
Users with ADHD are visual learners
Users with ADHD who are medicated still experience symptoms of ADHD
(80% Of participants are medicated)
100% Of participants experience “task paralysis”.
60% Of users use 3rd party apps that helps cope with ADHD symptoms.
Users with ADHD are prone to risky behaviours to increase dopamine levels
60% Of participants struggle with impulsive shopping (leading to financial difficulties).
40% Of participants have struggled with substance abuse.
Research mentions people with ADHD have lower levels of dopamine.
How might we statementThe most common difficulty amongst 100% of the interviewees was struggling with task paralysis, regardless if they were medicated.
Task paralysis:
Spending an excessive amount of time thinking about the task, rather than doing the task. Task then becomes daunting and never gets started or done.
So now I’m wondering….
How might we help users with ADHD who experience task paralysis start a task that feels overwhelming? Users who experience task paralysis often have incompleted tasks or don’t make important deadlines which leaves them feeling anxious, angry and overwhelmed.
BrainstormHere’s my brainstorming process that led me to the fun idea of...
Create a brain dumping app where users can prioritize tasks that are ruminating in their brain and break down the tasks in manageable chunks!
Task paralysis got nothing on us now!
WireflowsNext, I created a wireflow that reflects my task and user flows that I’ll be basing my usability tests on.
Usability testsI found five enthusiastic participants with ADHD to test out the flows of my low-fidelity wireframes and configured the analysis in a T-chart.
Don’t worry about reading through the entire T-chart, I got you covered with the main takeaways.
IterationsMain takeways:
100% Users mentioned not needing a step by step guide for banal, everyday tasks.
Instead of having a pre-determined breakdown of the users most common tasks, I substituted it for a blank canvas for users to write any extra details or reminder about said task.
60% Users would benefit from having a daily - weekly - monthly display of tasks.
I added a deadline feature that allows users to set deadlines by date and time to any tasks. I also created a new tab called Calendar which allows users to have a monthly overview of their tasks.
100% Users didn’t choose a preset task when testing out the user flow.
Instead of having pre-determined tasks I replaced it with saved tasks, a feature where users can save a task they created for future use.
UI Kit
Users with ADHD often experience anxiety and are prone to overstimulation. With this in mind I chose my colours wisely incorporating calming colours, as well as choosing very legible typefaces to reduce cognitive overload.
SolutionDesign an organizational app that allows users to prioritize tasks, manage deadlines and feel accomplished.
Users with ADHD work best with positive reinforcement. I designed a progress bar with a completion screen to activate users dopamine levels to help with their motivation levels.
Implement a reward system
Users with ADHD are prone to overstimulation. To reduce cognitive overload I used familiar traffic light colours to represent the status of their task.
Reduce cognitive overload
Use a coping mechanism called “brain dumping” for people who experience task paralysis.
Users can quickly write down tasks that are ruminating in their mind and prioritize each task with a simple drag and drop interaction.
ReflectionWow, I didn't realize before doing this project how common the diagnosis and symptoms of ADHD are in our society. It also has a high potential to increase, as studies show that people with high social media usage have an increased chance of developing symptoms of ADHD. What I enjoyed about this project was conducting research about ADHD and observing how it manifests in users' lives during interviews. I developed a significant appreciation for users who struggle with symptoms of ADHD and have to find ways to cope and navigate a world that doesn't necessarily cater to their style of thinking.
A hiccup: I wanted to try my best not to use the same people that I interviewed for my usability tests, and I also wanted to steer away from friends...but I caved! I did make an effort and joined various groups on social media for people with ADHD, making posts to see if anyone would be interested in participating in my user research. However, the type of people who responded were usually older men with only one profile picture who would open with 'hey sweetie ;)' ... Hmm, I think I'll pass on that one! So, in the end, I did use my friends (who have ADHD) for the interviews and usability tests. I'm so grateful they saved me! But this experience also taught me that next time, I have to get more creative if I want to find participants.
An improvement: There are certain elements of my UI that could use a little more TLC. Ah, don’t judge me but to save on time I didn’t create a mood board. When it came time to designing the high fidelity screens and my UI kit, I was having a difficult time making design decisions because I didn’t have an anchor to refer back to. That would have definitely made my process 10x easier. What I thought was going to save me time ended up costing me in the end. Next time I won’t neglect Pinterest!
A lesson: Brainstorming is way less fun and not as effective alone. I find that because a lot of my projects are solo, I got used to brainstorming alone. This time around, I gathered people that I knew, posed them a "how might we" question, and brainstormed ideas. WOW, this is WAY more effective and enjoyable to do with other people. I was able to have twice the amount of ideas within the same amount of time it would have taken me during one solo brainstorming session. Not only that, but gathering different points of view and perspectives added insight. Even if I didn't go with someone's main idea, I was still able to incorporate aspects of it into my design.