FEBUARY 2022
ALONE IN A CROWD: A STUDY ON COLLEGE STUDENT LONLIENESS.
Research: Problem and Opportunity Space
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Out of 48,000 college students
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64% are very lonely
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19% of the students have never felt lonely.
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In total 81% of students are lonely/very lonely
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(American College Health Association)
Finding In-Person Interviews
General Question: Why are you lonely?
32 survey answers
General Survey Multiple Choise Questions:
1. Not lonely
2. Lonely
3. Very lonely
Short answer as to why you’re lonely if you answered 2 or 3
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Picked 15 participants that answered 2 or 3 to ask further questions at an in person interview. (25/32 participants answered 2 or 3)
INTERVIEW RESULTS:
Main points from the 15 interviews.
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Peer pressure
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Stress: extra work and commitment in college
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Loss of Individuality
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“Overall fun but sometimes I struggle with depression and social anxiety”
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Can’t get help even with a “supportive community”
Main points from classmate interviews ( 14 Classmates who conducted around 50 Interviews in total)
OPPORTUNITY SPACE:
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People in Greek Life all talked about loneliness and isolation/needing new friends but feeling stuck (11/15 Participants)
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Most people who experience severe social anxiety/depression don’t seek professional help. (0/15 Participants see a therapist)
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Online shopping as a coping mechanism. (12/15 Participants)
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Most people don’t address struggles/issues in life (made a point to keep their names anonymous. 13/15 Participants)
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Toxic Environment
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Feel Stuck
Goal: Addressing the Loneliness of College Student through their Online Shopping Habits
APP DESCRIPTION:
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Hate Bar- Journaling/Shopping app based off loneliness.
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The app aims to quantify and scale negative experiences/depression.
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Uses the scale to recommend products for the user to purchase Online.
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A Fun Entry Point to a Difficult Conversation, Critical Design
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Fun/Casual
WHY WOULD PEOPLE USE THIS APP?
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Relatable to Certain Users
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Fun to try out casually especially if you don’t take the app seriously (ex: Treat it like a Buzzfeed quiz)
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Takes an uncomfortable situation and pokes fun at it. Hopefully starting a conversation about unhealthy spending habits due to negative emotional health.
APP DESIGN
Information Architecture
What information do I want in the app?
How would they interact with one another?​
APP Operation Description
Log In Pages
Shops
Price
Journal
Main Page
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Log In Page: Enter Username and Password
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Shops: Filter and Choose shops you would like to be recommended to you.
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Price: Put in you budget
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Journal: Acts as a place to vent where you can write whatever you want
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Hate Bar: Based off of what you write in your Journal your hate bar will increase/decrease and products will be recommended to you.
Flow:
Adding the “About Us” page and the “Professional Help Links” page.
Flow With Connectors:
Basic Emotional Indicators for Hypothetical Data Analysis (45 College Participants):
By what criteria does the app determine which products to suggest to you?
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Scans for keywords relating to emotion or material goods (ex: sad, happy, cry, sports, shoes, purses etc.)
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The more people that use the journal the more sentence structures the app can save and recognize.
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Using the Shops page the app can also find out about user interests/needs and wants.
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Cross references the keywords from Journaling app and the shops page as well as past user feedback to give you the best product.
Skinned App Pages:
Art Concept:
​From the onset, I had a clear intention to use red liquid to symbolize both anger and vitality in the Bar. The concept of a leaf represents a compact representation of a "hate bar" in an oval form. The concept revolves around the notion that when the "rage" fills up, the leaf will drop, symbolizing the shift in emotions. The idea is that emotional development is akin to the growth of new leaves, as people's feelings undergo constant transformation throughout their lives.
To mitigate the intensity of the word "Hate," I opted for pastel colors to create a more gentle ambiance within the app. The artwork consistently features a theme of sunrise at the beginning and sunset at the end which alludes to the design of the app. There is a definitive conclusion in mind and is not intended for prolonged usage. The imagery of outstretched hands symbolizes the desires and aspirations of the users. The presence of broken rock statues represents users who are fragmented or experiencing difficulties.
Conclusion
The primary goal of the app is to spark discussions about the mental health of college students. Fundamentally, the app is designed for casual and enjoyable use. While it does not serve as a solution for unhealthy spending habits, its satirical nature aims to raise awareness among students about the issue and encourage them to seek assistance.
A More In-Depth Project Inspired by Hate Bar