In order to ensure that the mood tracking feature of the app not only looks good but is also easy to use and understand, including all of the necessary information, several experiements were carried out by way of creating different interface options and using these as part of a questionnaire that was put to a testing group.
Research
By looking at existing mood tracking apps it enabled me to see how they were getting users to input data. Some were more simplistic than others using a single colour to represent a mood and utilising a swiping function to switch between them. Others were more complex going deeper into their moods by asking who they were with on a day, where they were and activities they were doing.
Initial Ideas
Using the research initial ideas for the mood tracking feature were drafted. There were 4 concepts produced digitally that were then presented to the testing group on the questionnaire.
Concept 1
Concept 1 features 7 pages that make up the daily entry. Day 1 asks you to select how you are feeling and you are presented with 6 buttons, each with a different mood ranging from Great! to Sad, you then swipe to go to the next page. The questions asked look deeper into your mood asking things such as where have you been today?, How does your body feel? and who were you with?. Once you have selected your answer for each page you then get shown your days mood which you can then announce to your feed or go and see your previous moods.
Concept 2
The 2nd option features a wheel that is made up of sections, each one representing a day of the month. This way you can see what your moods were for every day of that month whilst choosing your days mood using 1 of the 5 buttons underneath, you can also add extra notes using the + icon which is useful for tracking other factors that have affected your mood. Once you have selected you are taken to the page to announce or see previous moods again.
Concept 3
Concept 3 uses a very modern input method in that you swipe the chat icon that shows the various moods in the same way that modern dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble work. Once you are happy with your selection, press submit to lock in that mood for the day.
Concept 4
Finally, the 4th option uses sliders to input the mood with the sliding scale ranging from awful to great! with 3 options inbetween. This concept allows for additional questions as it doesn't take up a lot of space.
Experiment Results
The questionnaire can be seen here: https://forms.gle/Kwi3UMnDrTJRZA48A
The people asked to participate range in age, gender, have different experiences with mental health, different experiences with the pandemic & lockdown, come from different parts of the UK with some having experience with app design, some with graphic design and some with no experience. This meant that I have recorded a solid set of results from all demographics to really help see the whole picture and not focus on 1 particular set of people, however, all people asked fit within the 18-35 age bracket.
The majority of questions were multiple choice with the last question offering an opportunity for extended feedback.
Outcome
As a result of the experiment it was decided that concept 2 with the wheel style input resonated best with the intended audience. Being able to see the whole month in one go without having to look for it was cited as a big bonus in comparison to the other concepts.