Client
UpLife
Year
2020
Scope of Work
Founding Product Designer | Sole Designer | UX | UI | Branding | A/B testing
As the sole product designer at Uplife, I led the end-to-end design process for a mental health app to address the global gap in accessible psychological treatment. Our small, dedicated team comprised the CEO, CTO, a psychologist focusing on content, and myself. My responsibilities encompassed the entire design process, including branding and visual tone of voice, information architecture development, wireframing and prototyping, design system creation, illustration direction, and UI preparation for development, followed by subsequent testing.
We identified a critical need in the mental health space: with 1 in 5 people in the US having a diagnosable mental illness and 264 million people globally suffering from depression, 75% of individuals lack access to necessary psychological treatment. To address this, we developed Uplife, a digital therapy app employing Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT) principles.
While working on the design system, I aimed to evoke feelings of trust and comfort through pastel colors and low-contrast elements, creating a cozy atmosphere conducive to mental wellness. For easy navigation, I prepared the palette, where each color represented a different topic. I also led an illustrator to develop artwork in the style and colors I suggested.
The app's core features include daily CBT-based psychological courses, interactive tools for self-reflection and cognitive restructuring, mood tracking and well-being assessments, as well as habit formation tools to embed healthier routines. We adopted a freemium business model, offering several subscription options for different user needs. Through rigorous A/B testing, we optimized the onboarding process to enhance the marketing funnel and improve product retention.
Our iterative design process involved extensive research into the mental health app landscape, engagement with potential users to identify unique differentiators, user interviews for feedback, and A/B testing for continuous improvement. Uplife has now established a strong market presence in the US and Ukraine, offering transformative courses structured as daily guided sessions designed by professional psychologists.
By focusing on user engagement and the practical application of CBT techniques, we’ve created an app that offers more than just information — it provides a fundamental framework for improving mental health. The positive user feedback, including stories of significant personal transformation, validates our approach and underscores the app's impact on users' lives. Behind this is a lot of design work that couldn't fit into these 11 slides, and I would be delighted to share more details about this project. If you want to learn more, please feel free to reach out.