In February 2025, I joined a research initiative led by Dr. Kanu Priya Singh in the Interactive Design department at Kennesaw State University. The project, formally titled User-Centered Design and Development of an E-Mental Health Application with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Tools for College Students, aims to design and develop a mobile application that supports college students' mental health and overall wellbeing.
The transition from high school to college introduces a unique set of pressures, from academic independence to social adjustment, that can significantly impact students' mental health. Many students face economic and social barriers that make accessing traditional mental health support difficult or unrealistic. A free, student-facing mobile application offered alongside existing campus resources could serve as a more accessible first step for students managing mild to moderate mental health concerns.
To ground the project in real student experiences, we used a user-centered design methodology that included participants from the very beginning. We conducted six focus groups and co-design workshops with 26 students who were either self- or school-diagnosed with mental health concerns, with mild to moderate symptoms measured by the PHQ-9 (depression) and GAD-7 (anxiety) scales. Simultaneously, we conducted stakeholder interviews with 14 participants, including faculty, staff, and counselors from the Psychological Center at Kennesaw State University.
My primary responsibility during this phase was analyzing the stakeholder interview transcripts to surface findings that would inform both the app's design and a forthcoming research publication. Using NVivo, I coded interview transcripts, identified key quotes, and developed thematic categories for the findings section.
I also contributed to the literature review, helping analyze over 40 research papers to establish an evidence base for the project's design decisions. Key themes that emerged from the stakeholder interviews included:
Parallel co-design sessions with students surfaced the following priority feature areas for the app:
Using affinity mapping to synthesize research findings, one of the design assistants developed the first wireframe iteration. This was followed by a higher-fidelity second iteration, developed collaboratively by both designers.
The second set of wireframes was presented to a subset of the original student participants in a follow-up focus group. Based on their feedback, I collaborated with one of the designers on a third iteration. My contributions included auditing color contrast for accessibility compliance, refining the color palette, and introducing more visually cohesive UI elements throughout the app.
Following the design handoff, I worked closely with the developer to ensure design alignment and helped guide decisions during the build process. The app was developed using React Native and tested on mobile devices via Expo Go. Core features in this version include:
I developed the usability testing protocol and have been actively recruiting participants and facilitating task-based sessions. We are measuring usability through the System Usability Scale (SUS). As testing wraps up, I am leading the next design iteration based on collected user feedback before the next developer handoff
The first functional prototype addresses many of the core needs identified in our research:
One of the most consistent pieces of feedback across the focus group sessions was a strong preference for simplicity and straightforwardness. Students felt that a clean, uncluttered design would contribute to a calmer, more supportive experience, which has become a guiding principle for subsequent iterations.