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Short, low-pressure quiz that tailors self-care recommendations to mood, energy level, and emotional goals.
Turn wellness practices into interactive, anime-inspired ‘trainings’, making building healthy habits engaging, relatable, and fun.
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Users create a “Protagonist” avatar that evolves with progress, while key milestones unlock badges that gently reinforce effort and growth.
"I can't say enough good things about Emily’s skills and the impact she had on our project. She really understood the anime community's world. The wireframes and prototypes she came up with were spot on and shaped the whole direction of the app, it set a strong foundation for the development team to build upon"
Fans don’t just watch anime, they pick specific shows with clear emotional goals (comfort during stress, escape after a rough day, inspiration when motivation lags).
Conventions and online spaces offer real support and belonging where traditional systems fail.
Generic self-care apps feel disconnected — lacking visuals, tone, or cultural cues that resonate with this audience.
"I have a major mental disorder and anime gets me through each night. I can forget about my problems at least until I stop watching"
"Welcome to the NHK helped me with finding the motivation to keep applying for jobs and not just stay home after graduating"
"...having anime characters with similar stories I could relate to gave me hope to keep going and helped me realize that the rough times will pass"
“I want tools that speak to me”
“I need to feel like I’m improving”
“It’s hard to find therapists who get me”
We choose to first focus on features that help users build trust, experience emotional wins, and feel a sense of progress through self-care. By focusing on what users could do before seeking professional support, we aimed to lower emotional barriers, making the idea of reaching out to a therapist feel more approachable over time.
How might we make wellness feel as compelling as an anime arc, so users stick with it and feel supported?
Questions to tailor self-care recommendations based on needs.
Guided evidence-based exercises reframed as anime quests.
Simple achievement badges to reinforce every win.
Custom “Protagonist” avatar that evolves with progress
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Success metrics: at least 60% of participants report feeling less stressed after engaging in the activity, and at least 50% express interest in doing the activity again.
We ran Crazy 8s to generate divergent concepts, then distilled them into wireframes and a clickable prototype for user testing.
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Taking a mobile-first approach, we prioritized content, clarified the information architecture, and ensured key functionality was communicated clearly for development.
I focused on designing the stress-reducing box breathing flow and achievement to create early wins for users. Combining clear, benefit-driven guidance with a quick, discreet exercise and immediate rewards to encourage habit formation from the very first session.
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Geek therapists are mental health clinicians who use fandom (like anime and video games) to make therapy more relatable for their clients.
Insights from 1:1 interviews with our Geek Therapists inspired Anime Reflections, a guided journaling feature where users draw meaning from shows they love.
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Each designer conducted a 1:1 expert interview with a geek therapist where we discovered a recurring recommendation: use anime the way geek therapists do—by helping people reflect on their own experiences through story parallels.
We conducted pre-test interviews to gather feedback on previous experiences with mental health apps, understand what attracts viewers to anime, and assess openness to using anime as a self-care tool. Post-test interviews were then used to gauge interest, capture likes and dislikes, and collect overall impressions and suggestions for improvement.
"My concern is that in the current phrasing of 'productive' or 'didn't work out' to be further stigmatizing" - Kristi (Geek Therapist)
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"I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do now" - Nick (Usability Test Participant)
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Early on, I worked too independently due to remote schedules and async workflows. It led to rework that could’ve been avoided. I learned how valuable it is to get quick, early feedback from teammates and users, it saves time and leads to better ideas.
Inclusive design isn’t just about accessibility checklists, it’s about challenging assumptions and embedding lived experience into every layer of the product.
Looping in engineers early helped us figure out what was possible before we got too far. It made the process smoother and helped us stay creative without getting blocked later on.