Clinical tone
The products spoke like institutions when users needed something warm and approachable.
VENT-ON.
A witty, Gen-Z mental-health companion for tracking emotions and habits — but with personality.
Read the case study ↓
TONE =
THE FEATURE
THE FEATURE
3 CORE
FLOWS
FLOWS
25+Survey responses
6User interviews
8Hi-fi screens
3Core user flows
01
THE BRIEF
MAKING EMOTIONAL TOOLS
FEEL HUMAN.
Vent-On is a Gen-Z mental-health companion designed to help users track emotions, recognise patterns, and build habits. But the core idea wasn't the features — it was the tone.
I was the first and only designer, owning product design, user flow, design system, brand language, and hi-fi prototyping end to end.
The question behind the project: can a mental-health app have a personality without trivialising mental health?
02
THE PROBLEM
MOST MENTAL-HEALTH APPS
DON'T FEEL HUMAN.
Clean, minimal, well-structured — yet the experience felt sterile. The tone was clinical, interfaces were rigid, and interactions resembled filling out a report more than having a conversation.
Rigid interaction
Logging emotions felt like completing a form rather than checking in with yourself.
Low return value
People still needed support, but the experience gave them little reason to come back.
03
RESEARCH
PEOPLE AREN'T AVOIDING SUPPORT.
THEY'RE AVOIDING HOW IT FEELS.
I ran a survey and six interviews about people's relationship with mental-health apps. The responses weren't surprising — but they were telling.
- They struggle with anxiety, overwhelm, or inconsistent routines.
- They have tried mental-health apps but stopped returning.
- They drop off not from lack of need, but because the app doesn't feel relatable enough.
“A lot of times I feel lonely but the apps don't help.”
“The tone of these apps is so depressing!”
“Are we sure the copywriters are not depressed?”
04
AFFINITY MAPPING
THE QUESTIONS BECAME CLEARER
BEFORE THE ANSWERS DID.
After surveys and interviews, I translated recurring concerns into “How Might We” questions. They naturally grouped around two emotional territories.
ISOLATION
Help someone feel less alone.
- How might we help users feel less isolated using mindfulness?
- How might we prevent social isolation in their lives?
- How might we motivate them to get out of their isolation?
ALLEVIATING
Make the moment feel lighter.
- How might we alleviate anxiety with social interaction?
- How might we help users take their mind off the problem?
- How might we help them train their mind to dedramatise problems?
05
SORTING IDEAS & PRIORITISING
FROM A PILE OF IDEAS
TO A DELIBERATE SCOPE.
Every interview surfaced a feature someone wanted. I clustered the ideas into four themes, then ran them through MoSCoW — with one rule fixed in advance: personality is a Must-have, never a nice-to-have.
Tracking
Mood, emotions, and habits captured without feeling like homework.
Reflection
Patterns framed as a gentle check-in rather than a report.
Engagement
Light, relatable moments that make someone want to return.
Personality
The voice and tone running through all of it — the non-negotiable.
MMust have
Personality & tone system
Daily mood check-in
Emotion & habit tracking
Reflection loop
SShould have
Activity / module library
Habit streaks
Unload zone
CCould have
Journaling
Grounding exercises
Mini-games
“Call a friend” nudge
WWon't have — v1
Anonymous stranger chat
Full resource directory
Social feed
Three core flows done with care beat fifteen done without. MoSCoW kept personality from being diluted by feature creep.
06
THE CONCEPT
WHAT IF YOUR MENTAL-HEALTH APP
HAD A PERSONALITY?
A Gen-Z-friendly companion that helps users track emotions and habits — but with character. Not comedic, not trivial. Just approachable. The features other apps have too; the tone is what makes someone stay.
Clinical→Approachable
Warm, expressive, and human where other apps feel sterile and institutional.
Instructional→Conversational
It talks with you rather than at you — closer to a check-in than a form.
Performance→Check-in
No streaks to defend or scores to chase. Low-stakes and judgment-free.
07
MOODBOARDING
DESIGNING THE EMOTIONAL LAYER
FIRST.
Since the app targets people who typically avoid self-help apps for being too corny, I built it in the style of Gen Z — reassuring, modern, and gentle. Neobrutalism brought solid borders, cutouts, bold type, and expressive illustrations.
08
DESIGN SYSTEM
A SYSTEM BUILT
FOR WARMTH.
Built before a single screen — a friendly sans-serif, a palette far from clinical blues and greys, and a neobrutalist component language that feels like a friend, not a form.
Colour system
Base#FFFAEC
Primary#6B5B95
Energy#FFCD29
Accent#FF6037
A warm cream base instead of clinical white. Purple carries trust; yellow and coral carry the personality.
Typography — Poppins
Feeling okay?
Let's check in.
Aa Bb Cc — the quick check-in.
Components — Neobrutalism
How are we feeling today?
No right answers. No judgment. Just tap whatever's closest.
Logo & tokens
- Border
- 2px solid
- Shadow
- 3px 3px 0
- Radius
- 12–16px
09
USER FLOW
THREE FLOWS.
ONE JOURNEY.
Onboarding happens once. After that, the daily check-in and reflection form a loop the user returns to — designed to become a habit, not a chore.
- 01
ONBOARDING
Set up once.
- Splash screen
- Consent & privacy
- Questionnaire
- Personality setup
- 02
DAILY CHECK-IN
The returning ritual.
- Pick today's mood
- Module matched to mood
- Do the activity
- Track it
- 03
REFLECTION
Close the loop.
- Rate the session
- Pattern insight
- Gentle nudge back
- Repeat daily
Flows 2 and 3 repeat daily — reflection feeds straight back into the next check-in.
10
HI-FIDELITY SCREENS
THE FINAL
PRODUCT.
11
DESIGN DECISIONS
THE CHOICES
THAT DEFINED IT.
INSTEAD OF
Clinical, minimal UI
Clean grids, muted tones, and serious typography — the visual language used by every major mental-health app.
I CHOSE
Neobrutalism
Bold borders, warm cream backgrounds, and expressive illustrations. A system that feels like a friend, not a therapist's office.
INSTEAD OF
Reflection as performance
Emotion tracking as a task — streaks, scores, and progress metrics.
I CHOSE
Reflection as check-in
Low-stakes conversation. Meme-worthy image options. No right answers and no judgment.
INSTEAD OF
Feature coverage first
Packing in every wellness feature before deciding what the product should feel like.
I CHOSE
Personality first, features second
MoSCoW made tone a must-have. Three core flows done with care beat fifteen flows done with none.
12
REFLECTION
WHAT THISTAUGHT ME.
Tone is a feature
I used to think voice and personality were the last 5% of a product. Vent-On taught me they're the first decision. Everything else follows.
Start with the emotional layer
Moodboarding before wireframing changed how I approach consumer products. Getting the feeling right before the layout saved weeks of rework.
Neobrutalism is a decision, not a trend
Choosing a visual language because it communicates something — not because it's in style — is the difference between a designed system and a styled one.
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