Viewphoria

Enabling Long-term and palliative care patients to benefit from mindfulness in the comfort of their own home or hospice.

Team

Solo

Duration

6 Months

My Role

Design, Research, Development, User Testing

Tools

Figma, Unreal Engine, AFrame.js, Mural, Zoom

01 - OVERVIEW

Forest bathing is the practice of immersing oneself in nature to reduce stress levels, boost mood, and improve overall health and well-being.

Viewphoria provides an immersive experience that stimulates all five senses, allowing long-term care and palliative care patients to experience mindfulness from the comfort of their room.

02 - PROBLEM

Although patients' physical health may be well-attended to, the challenges they face in their daily lives can take a toll on their mental health.

03 - RESEARCH

Studies have indicated that patients encounter various challenges and recognize the potential benefits virtual reality holds in healthcare.

The significant findings suggest that:

Obstacles lead to reduced travel

Patients admitted they could no longer travel due to health complications, insurance or financial restrictions, companion concerns or mobility issues. (Fiocco et al.)

Patients encounter comparable challenges

Primary challenges for long-term and palliative care patients consist of pain, depression, difficulty coping, a loss of dignity, and lack of independence. (Woo et al.)

VR eases pain in trauma treatment

VR studies have shown to alleviate pain when used individually or alongside traditional methods in the treatment of traumatic experiences.

VR alleviates discomforts

VR therapy showed reductions in pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and improved well-being.

04 - OPPORTUNITY

When a patients mental health is not maintained, it can result in a decline in overall physical well-being, create additional health concerns, and increase recovery times.

05 - CHALLENGE

“How might we enable patients to feel in control of their mental health?”

06 - Solution

Enabling patients to escape the physical confines of their living space - from the safety of their living space.

07 - PERSONAS

Understanding The User

To better understand my users, I created three personas based on both qualitative and quantitative data from studies, including their potential health conditions and mobility issues.

08 - User Journey

Building Empathy

Using research and personas, I mapped out the journey users take to go outside while considering mobility limitations. This helped me identify pain points and opportunities.

09 - User Flow

Goin’ With The Flow

I simplified the process of navigating VR Menus by introducing a companion app, recognizing that digital interfaces can be challenging for some users.

I developed a three-step user flow for onboarding, pairing devices, and publishing settings to the appropriate devices.

10 - Competitive Analysis

Comparing the competition

I looked into and tested similar existing apps primarily targeted towards meditation. I found that an overwhelming majority of currently existing wellness VR apps only offer experiences that involve sight and sound.

11 - DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Biophilia Effect

Nature-rich environments decrease stress and improve focus and concentration.

Immersion

A focused state that brings joy and satisfaction by disconnecting from reality.

Mimicry

Copying familiar objects or environments to benefit from their inherent properties.

12 - COMMUNICATING IDEAS

Building out the experience

I chose not to make paper versions of my design and instead made a prototype that people could interact with in a virtual reality environment. I also created models for physical parts that I couldn't test using Cinema4D.

13 - user interview & Test

Testing and validating

I tested my prototypes with four different participants, concluding each session with a semi-structured interview to verify assumptions I had made beforehand.

The significant findings suggest that:

A desire to involve more of the senses

“I want to get more of my senses going, like if I could like, hear sounds or like feel the temperatures or something.”

Environments can elicit memories

“It brings nostalgia of seeing familiar places in your life, and it actually does feel like your in an environment.”

Convenience is key

“I want to be able to just, you know, use it. I think it’s inconvenient for me to learn how to use it.”

Agency over the experience is important

“I think to something that could be cool as adding like changing lighting effects like maybe not being able to move myself, but changing the environment, or like moving the environment, in a way, if possible.”

Immersion is extremely sensitive

“I like that there’s no like seams, I can look around and it’s just like how it would look if I were actually there.”

14 - Final product

All your info at a glance

Users can make their selections, get a quick overview of their devices and view relevant information for each device all at once.

Immerse all your senses

Don’t just see and hear your virtual environment, you can feel, touch, and taste it too! Each device is catered towards one of your five senses, ensuring total immersion.

Free to explore

Look through hundreds of environments to find your happy place, wherever it may be.

15 - Reflection

This was the first time I had been responsible for all aspects and phases of a project. It was an extremely enlightening opportunity, and allowed me to wear many hats and view the project from various different perspectives - Not simply as a designer, but as a developer, engineer and researcher.

The best motivation to solve a problem is to find a personal connection to it. Your solutions will be more meaningful and you’ll have a deeper sense of empathy for those you are solving for. If you lack a personal connection your solutions can feel empty and lack any real substance.