Case study: 3 UX Challenges Solved for Headspace and One Extra Furry Bonus

I’m an enthusiastic user of Headspace

Really.

I’m such a big fan that I’ve already been using the app for more than 20 hours in the last several months. True story. I love its features, its beautiful UI, Andy’s charming voice…

But

As a designer, I can’t ignore the small details, and I feel that I have to make a move. Hopefully one day my wishes will come true :)

What is Headspace?

Headspace is a meditation and wellness company which has been founded by Andy Puddicombe, who gave up his studies in sports science to become a Buddhist monk for over 10 years in his early twenties. Headspace has one mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world by offering guided meditations, animations, articles, and videos to millions of users in more than 190 countries.

Andy Puddicombe answers questions about life in the monastery

So what’s the problem?

There are several problems, and now let’s go over them one by one:

Sharing is Caring

Recently a friend of mine recommended a nice Sleepcast to me but she wasn’t able to send it over, so she had to take a screenshot for me. Then I realized that it should not be this way. With its hundreds of meditations, it’s a shame not to be able to share them.

Adding a share button is so simple but also very powerful

Favorites List

As I sometimes like to listen to the same meditations, I keep collecting them in my ‘Favorites’ list which has grown massively in recent months. However, in order to find my desirable meditation, I have to scroll down until I find it because there is no filter or search bar provided.

I have added a search bar and filtering options which make the experience faster and easier to navigate

Custom Recommendations

I am quite frustrated by the fact that Headspace doesn’t offer other alternatives based on what I have already listened to. It could have been so great to get Headspace’s customized recommendations! At the moment, you can only find the featured ones, but they are not related to my Headspace journey.

This process has actually been quite easy since the ‘Featured’ meditations appear twice (unnecessarily) on the same screen

I placed a ‘For you’ button instead of the ‘Featured’ one

I made a carousel, so you can always swipe between Headspace’s new meditations

All of your customized meditations are ready to play. Voilà!

Last but not least — Petitations!

How wonderful would it be to meditate with your pet? I have been researching the web and apparently, there is even a term called “Petitation”, founded by Elisabeth Paige, about which you can read further here. In short, for those who have trouble meditating, focusing on your furry buddy can help a lot. It alleviates anxiety, helps to achieve better sleep, and improves your mood.

I have inserted the “Petitations” section among the rest of the meditation options. I have kept the illustrations the same style as the Headspace ones so they can look and feel like an integral part of the app

Conclusion

This app has become such a significant part of my life and I truly worship the Headspace team for their work. These proposed additions have not been tested on anyone, they are only based on my personal opinion. I have really enjoyed this challenge and have been happy to actively experience how, even the big ones, can always improve in order to grow.

You can try Headspace here.

Thank you for your time!

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to contact me at moranarosenthal@gmail.com or on LinkedIn