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INTIIMI
November 2023
The objective of this project is to create an app that acts as a safe space to ask questions and receive answers about difficult/embarassing topics regarding sex, intimacy, and relationships. This app aims to support intimate communication during an age where dating is more stressful than ever because of the internet.
Background
The main question driving this project: Where do young people go for relationship and sex advice?
Goals of the app:
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Provide quick and discrete access to chat with relationship or sex therapists in real time without having to sign up for an entire therapy course
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“Ask a Therapist” model but through private conversations
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Provide an anonymous forum or chat rooms to encourage healthy conversation between peers
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Create conversational prompts/ activities to facilitate self help
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Provide easier access to informational resources regarding sexual health, mental health, and relationships.
The main question driving this project: Where do young people go for relationship and sex advice?
Goals of the app:
-
Provide quick and discrete access to chat with relationship or sex therapists in real time without having to sign up for an entire therapy course
-
“Ask a Therapist” model but through private conversations
-
Provide an anonymous forum or chat rooms to encourage healthy conversation between peers
-
Create conversational prompts/ activities to facilitate self help
-
Provide easier access to informational resources regarding sexual health, mental health, and relationships.
Audience
The target audience of Intiimi is 18-30 year olds interested in improving their dating experience as well as their relationships with themselves and others. The app creates a conversational space to allow people to learn more about dating, relationships, and sex.
Potential Concerns
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Creating “casual therapy” without ethical concerns such as doctor patient confidentiality
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Using language to create a personalized feeling while keeping the responses general enough to not be a liability for therapist
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How are we paying therapists?
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What is the accountability on the user’s end, What is their incentive?
Mission Statment
In the information age, dating and relationships are more difficult than ever. Many young people struggle to find a secure outlet to ask questions and express concerns regarding topics that are embarrassing, awkward, or just plain difficult to discuss. Sometimes all we need is a discrete and unbiased party to act as a sounding board for our relationship problems, no matter how complex or petty they may be. At Intiimi, our mission is to provide you with all of the tools you need to experience temporary relief from your issues concerning relationships and sex, and to direct you to a reliable and long term form of support if necessary. Intiimi provides you with the opportunity to chat one on one with a team of licensed therapists who are specialized in relationships and sexual wellbeing in real time. We also offer anonymous chat rooms that encourage communication between you and your peers on a myriad of difficult topics. In addition to that, we provide personalized writing prompts and thought re framing activities to help you help yourself. Finally, our goal is to make resources such as educational videos, podcasts, and blogs easily accessible and tailored to your personal journey.
At Intiimi, we strive to create better relationships for a better you.
Research
59 potential users completed an anonymous survey I created to gather intel on common concerns and pain points regarding dating and sex in today’s time. These are the results of the survey.
Result Statistics
Final Prototype
Lo-Fi Prototype
Site Map
Early Process Pieces
Conducting a research survey proved to be a very helpful first step in designing my application. Through my survey, I was able to identify several pain points that my target audience had when it came to looking for relationship and sex advice. Many participants worried about the discretion of the parties they were seeking advice from while others wondered how accurate the information they were finding was. some participants also found that information that was from a "reputable source turned out to be impersonal and not relatable, so they weren't able to apply it to their own situations. All of this information confirmed for me that I would need to create a forum where users could chat with health professionals privately, but also get advice from peers anonymously through moderated chats to prevent misinformation, bullying, and hate speech. I made sure to include these features in my site map before I began prototyping.
Some of the critiques to my lo-fi prototype were that there wasn't enough mention of anonymity and discretion which were both very important concerns from the end of the user's end. Users also found that my app name and logo were too generic and that they could be more comforting and personable given the functions of the app.
Hi-Fi Prototypes First Draft
After creating an initial style guide and implementing it into my lo-fi prototype to create a hi-fi prototype, I had several issues with the new appearance of my interface. On the positive side, the logo was attractive yet minimalistic and the typography and buttons worked well in terms of size and hierarchy. The main issue with this draft was the color palette after a user evaluation, several members of my target audience found that the color palette was too inappropriate for the content of the app. A few reviewers stated that the flesh tones and reds were quite sexual while the content of the app was more related to lifestyle coaching and mental health. After taking those critiques into consideration, I decided to change the color palette of the app to a calming teal and lavender combination in order to promote the therapy and mental health purpose of the app.
Final Hi- Fi Prototype
Style Guide & Key Frames
User Journeys
Clickable wireframes
Each of the four user personas has a clickable wireframe that allows you to use the app through their point of view. These clickable wireframes were created using Figma and walk you through the associated user's journey.
Implementation Plan
Funding Strategy
The goal of Intiimi is to provide affordable/ accessible care to users without several hoops to jump through. One of the roadblocks that deters many users from therapy apps is having to go through insurance which is what we are trying to prevent. Insurance is typically the way that therapists on an app are paid so we have to use alternative funding strategies. Some options are to become a non-profit and rely on grants from organizations committed to improving mental and sexual health, to include advertising on our app, or to partner with a preexisting organizations with similar values and work as an extension of those organizations. Potenial partnerships and relationships with other organizations may prove to be the best way to fund this app. Combining the app with that of an existing organizations may be the besst improvement trigger for this app.
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