Hiraku

Project Overview

Role: Sole UX/UI & Product Designer · Concept case study, Summer 2025. The result: a stigma-free wellness experience built around gentle, judgment-free check-ins and non-linear progress — proof that a wellness product can support people without labeling them.

Hiraku is a concept mental-wellness app built on a simple premise: support shouldn’t require a label. Designed for people navigating stress, burnout, or habits they’d like to change, Hiraku replaces the clinical, gamified tone of most wellness apps with something gentler — an experience built to meet people where they are, not where an app thinks they should be.

The Problem

Research into the wellness-app category, including simulated user interviews and affinity mapping, surfaced five recurring gaps:

1. Stigma baked into the language – Clinical or heavy-handed copy discourages exactly the users who’d benefit most from engaging.
2. Tracking that adds pressure instead of removing it – Rigid progress charts and gamified streaks punish anyone whose week doesn’t go as planned.
3. Cost as a barrier – Subscription pricing puts consistent support out of reach for everyday users.
4. Narrow definitions of wellness – Few apps make room for users who don’t identify with traditional “mental health” framing.
5. Cluttered, overwhelming interfaces – Interfaces packed with metrics and prompts work against the calm they claim to offer.

Goals

• Build a stigma-free experience that feels subtle rather than clinical.
• Make reflection approachable through gentle, low-pressure check-ins.
• Design for non-linear progress — users can pause and return without penalty or guilt.
• Keep the product affordable and accessible by design, not as an afterthought.
• Ground the whole experience in a calm, consistent design system built around inclusivity.

Process & Approach

1. Research

• Audited Calm, Headspace, and leading journaling apps against the goals above.
• Simulated user interviews and affinity diagramming pointed to the same three needs: subtlety, inclusivity, and affordable pricing.

2. Information Architecture

• Structured the product around three flows: Mood Check-In → Habit Reflection → Community/Support.
• Cut friction by minimizing steps and visual clutter at every stage.

3. Wireframes

• Tested low-fidelity flows across different tones of voice and interaction styles.
• Iterated until usability and a calm, non-intrusive feel could coexist.

4. Design System

• Built around soft colors, rounded typography, and fluid spacing intended to lower stress on sight.
• Created reusable UI components to keep the system scalable and consistent.

5. Prototyping & Testing

• Usability testing weighed emotional tone as heavily as function — how a screen felt mattered as much as how it worked.
• Rewrote copy across the product until it read as supportive rather than prescriptive.

Where AI Fit In

AI tools supported specific steps rather than replacing them: synthesizing research findings, generating early wireframe variations, running accessibility pre-checks (contrast, labeling, structure) ahead of manual review, drafting UX copy variations for revision, generating supporting visuals, and pressure-testing prototype flows before usability testing. Every output was reviewed, edited, and validated by hand.

Solutions Delivered

• Gentle mood check-ins → Space to reflect without pressure, streaks, or judgment.
• Habit reflection over habit tracking → Encourages small, achievable steps instead of rigid metrics.
• An accessible pricing model → Designed from the outset to reach users priced out of competitors.
• Inclusive, stigma-free language → Copy built on emotional intelligence rather than clinical framing.
• A calming, cohesive design system → Consistent color, typography, and components that make the product feel like a safe space, not a task list.

Outcome

Hiraku reframes what a wellness app can be when subtlety, inclusivity, and user autonomy come first. By designing directly against the stigma, cost, and usability gaps in the category, the concept offers a credible path for people to reflect, adjust, and find balance on their own terms — without ever being made to feel like a project to fix. As a concept project, the natural next step is longitudinal testing with real users to see whether non-linear progress actually holds up as a habit over months, not just a session.

‍