We have become a society that relies on technology, which has it’s downfalls. Most U.S. adults today say they use the internet (95%) and have a smartphone (90%). Additionally, 4 in 10 of those adults reported being online constantly, found a study conducted in 2023.[1]
Regardless of these technological innovations, humans seem to be experiencing mental health issues at an all time high. Over 1 in 5 US adults reported experiencing mental illness in 2021.[2]
[1] Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband, Pew Research, 2023
[2] Mental Health By the Numbers, NAMI, 2021
With such high volumes of the population looking at screens all day, we decided to start working on a unique mental health media app with a focus on breathwork to help with the mental health issues being raised by these technologies.
My brother, Jack Bunce, and I decided to pair up as Co-Founders for this project. He has his own mental health coaching business and is professionally trained in breathwork, so he focused on the production of media content, while I focused on designing the chrome extension and website.
My brother and I have both experienced our fair share of anxiety and other mental health issues. We have both found we are able to reduce flare ups through the practice of breathwork. My brother, Jack Bunce, introduced me to the practice a couple years ago and it has been pivotal in the regulation of my mental health since.
One day, during a long drive in British Columbia, I said to my brother, “why don’t you make an app that will instantly calm people down when they use it through breathwork.”
This idea eventually evolved into a concept that helps users to relax while they are working at a computer. We decided to go for a chrome extension as the mobile app market is very saturated and a web extension seemed like a more seamless way to help people who are working at their computer (our target user). For our first build, we started with basic functionality to start getting feedback as soon as possible.
Once we’d outlined what should be included in the first version of the app, I got to work on designing the required screens in low fidelity.
For version one, we wanted to ensure it has just enough functionality to convey the concept but to keep costs at minimum by only having the absolute essentials. These screens included user login, onboarding, the media library, notifications, guided breathwork sessions and breath reminders and settings. We also wanted to ensure that users have the ability to provide feedback while they use the beta.
There were several rounds of review with my brother in this phase for deciding how we would approach the homepage. After a few different attempts, we decided to look to some of our favourite products for further inspiration.
The next phase of the process is to refine the design into a high fidelity user interface. As always, I based the application off designs I had found on design websites like Dribbble and Behance. I also took inspiration from both Spotify and Apple Music, being that they have dominated the media application landscape for years.
An important principles is Jakob’s Law, which refers to the use of familiar patterns in design in order to facilitate user experience. This means that it’s best to follow and recreate existing design concepts, which makes it easier for users to pick up and understand your products. This is why following designs like those of Spotify and Apple Music can help to make new users feel comfortable with our designs, as soon as they begin using products like Release.
As mentioned in part 02, my brother and I were doing regular review of the screens I was designing. Being that we’ve been living together, we’ve been able to move very quickly and give rapid feedback.
Another essential concept that I follow is to fail fast, which is advised in the New Business Road Test & by other modern entrepreneurship teachers. The idea is to build quickly and then continuously review and rebuild until the product is what the user actually wants. In order to do this to the best of our ability, we need to test our product on real users, which is what we’ve started doing with the beta version.
After the two of us have worked on different development teams, we’ve learned that it’s best to build using the agile development process (ie. building, testing and reviewing at regular intervals or sprints). This approach is best, as it keeps the development process efficient, allows for open feedback and ensures that the development team will be best set up for a success development lifecycle.
At this stage in the process, we’ve had the first beta build of Release completed by a freelance developer. This first version is the minimum viable product (MVP), which has the most basic features and functionality, allowing for us to showcase the idea and get feedback from real users. You can check our website and get access to the beta version of the app via the following link.
You can see the more recent app design that is currently in the process of being developed below. We intend to continue to build the product out and hope to turn the app into a successful start up.
If you’re interested in building your own chrome extension, I would be more than happy to chat about how I can help bring your vision to life.
