todew: a learning product
For the student struggling with ADD/ADHD, Todew is an app that helps students relax and complete their schoolwork with confidence and ease.
The Need
3.3 million adolescents from ages 12 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. 85% of children with ADD or ADHD are at risk of having it as an adults. Only 10.9% of adults with ADD or ADHD get treatment.
I worked with a group in this project, and we quickly realized that we needed to create some sort of tool that would make learning a bit easier for these individuals.
The Users
To understand our users a bit better, we created two personas and mapped out their journey with ADHD based on our research.
Abby's Journey
Through Abby’s journey, we found that she tends to get frustrated with her work, she loses focus, tends to forget things, and overall has an ultimate feeling of guilt.
Through Abby’s journey, we found that she tends to get frustrated with her work, she loses focus, tends to forget things, and overall has an ultimate feeling of guilt.
Denzel's Journey
When it comes to our other user, Denzel, we found out that his experience is similar but some of the things he feels are different. He also gets distracted, but he feels overstimulated and has an emotional response of guilt as well.
When it comes to our other user, Denzel, we found out that his experience is similar but some of the things he feels are different. He also gets distracted, but he feels overstimulated and has an emotional response of guilt as well.
Discoveries
Through these discoveries about our users, we came up with 3 main functions the we wanted to create. We decided on a to-do list, a work timer, and a mood tracker.
Through these discoveries about our users, we came up with 3 main functions the we wanted to create. We decided on a to-do list, a work timer, and a mood tracker.
Body Doubling
Next we considered the idea of body doubling. Body doubling is the practice of having someone around you when you complete tasks, such as cleaning your room or studying. For people who have ADD or ADHD, body doubling is proven to improve the ease of completing these tasks.
Because of this, we decided to create a character, “Todew” that would act as a body double in our app.
Tone & Manner
When it came to creating the app, we wanted to have a friendly tone and manner. We intended for every step of the process to feel like a conversation, so we created speech bubbles that allow Todew to communicate with the users.
Calendar & To-Do List
I prototyped a calendar function that helps users remember their school work. From here, users can set tasks on certain days, create to-do list items, and track habits that they have.
Work Timer
To help our audience stay focused, we created a timer based on the Pomodoro method. The Pomodoro method works by setting a duration of time, and then taking breaks throughout. This means that users complete their work in intervals. To make this more accessible, users can also use the timer on their smartwatch.
Mood Tracker
To address the emotional dysregulation that comes along with ADD or ADHD for some, we designed a mood tracker where the audience can log their mood daily. From here, they can look back on their mood and build self awareness regarding their emotions, or even share this with a mental health professional.
Abby's Journey with Todew
With all of these functions in mind, I envisioned Abby's journey with Todew in a specific way. I believe that once she sets up her account, she would make use of her to-do list to keep track of tasks and logging her frequent habits, as well as using the work timer to complete assignments.
Denzel's Journey with Todew
When it comes to Denzel, I believed that his journey would include accessing the mood tracker to understand the complex emotions that he encounters, as well as using the timer to complete assignments.
Extension
To extend Todew, we created notifications that would remind users to start a timer, or track their mood. We kept our limitations in mind, and made sure to use the friendly language we established.
