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AiChat

Personal Project | Fall 2021

UX UI Design | Adobe XD

AiChat is a mobile application that aims to create a more positive and satisfying online communication experience for both senders and receivers. With the increasing reliance on online messaging, we often encounter situations where negative emotions are triggered by the other party. AiChat addresses this issue with features that allow users to block unwanted content, set up modes to inform contacts, and an AI chatbot for companionship.

AiChat_mockup.jpg

1

Block Unwanted Contents

AiChat provides users with the freedom to block unwanted content while also intelligently generating similar words for their convenience. Users can choose to block content for specific people or apply it to all.

2

Set up Modes

AiChat empowers users to set their own mode, which is visible to all contacts or selected people, for a default time period of 24 hours. This mode informs their contacts about their current mood and availability, promoting more mindful and considerate communication.

3

AI Chatbot for Instant Messages

AiChat features a chatbot designed to offer companionship, providing users with tools such as the Book of Answers, Astrology, and Tarot cards to regulate their emotions and offer instant companionship when their friends are not available. This feature ensures that users can always have a friend to talk to, regardless of their availability.

4

Manage your Block Words

In the profile settings, users can manage their blocked words list by adding or removing words according to their preferences.

Design Process

Problem

Problem

Statement

UX Research

Persona

Survey

Journey Map

Ideation

Solution

Service Map

Blueprint

Prototype & Testing

Low/Hi-fi Prototype

Visual Identity

Usability Testing

Final Outcome
AiChat Logo.png

Problem

Today, our increasing dependence on technology has led to an overwhelming amount of information. Online instant messaging is so accessible that we can receive messages every second, day or night. As a result, our emotions are constantly being influenced by external messages that we have little control over.

Face to Face

Our emotions are easier to tell in a real life context. When we communicate our emotions, we call attention to ourselves and provide information to others that may inform how they should react.

Online Environment

The read of emotions becomes difficult in an online setting. Without a physical contact, our emotional state cannot be caught by the other side, which lead to an emotional interference.

The spread of emotional contagion is also circular in nature. It brings to mind the concept of the Mobius strip, a surface with only one side and a single boundary curve.

Starting from the imperceptible yet impactful role of emotions in digital spaces ...

How might we design an online messaging platform that minimizes the impact of negative emotions and promotes positive emotional experiences for users?

Interviews

"I will definitely consider my friends' emotions and comfort my friends. I seldom affected by their emotions, but the stuff relates to myself, I get involved."

"I totally support my friends and offer helps. I put myself in a stand-by position, but I still have empathy trying to understand their feelings."

"When I think my friend expresses impatience, I will stop complaining. I will be affected by all negative emotions."

I discovered:

 

people do consider the other side during online messaging and are particularly impacted by specific topics and emotional contagion.

Survey

In order to figure out if users are truly affected by the negative emotions from the other side during online texting, I conducted quantitative research, with a sample size of 200 people.

Main Causes are:

81%

Of people always have negative emotions

75%

Are affected by negative emotions

Emotion chart.png

Family Conflict

Wealth

Relationship

Health

Love

Study

Why people do not want to reply messages:

83%

Of people always do not want to reply messages

Pressure

Down Mood

Immersive

No Interest

Speechless

Tone

Influence chart.png

In Conclusion:

Many people experience negative emotions and are influenced by the emotions of others during online communication. Emotional issues, whether feeling low or high, often cause people to delay or avoid responding to messages.

Persona

After conducting user research through both qualitative and quantitative approaches, I was able to develop two typical personas: one focusing on receiving-oriented interactions, and the other on sending-oriented interactions.

Journey Map

The presented journey map depicts the experience of the second persona Evelyn, who goes through a challenging period, using the five stages of grief model. She passes through the stages of low ebb, ups and downs, and finally attains stability. The map illustrates the various techniques she employs to cope with the trauma.

Mechanisms deal with emotions

Three effective ways to cope with emotions that are available anytime and anywhere, without the limitation of time and space.

Book of Answers

📖

Ask a yes or no question, open the book, and find your answer. It's a fun, satisfying way to get advice and much quicker than asking everyone you know for help.

Tarot Cards

​🎴

Tarot cards are often used by practitioners to gain insight into the past, present, or future, and may help individuals to better understand their own lives.

Astrology

♊️

Astrology gives you the ability to see yourself from an objective, outside perspective, allowing you to gain insight into aspects of your personality that may not have been previously revealed.

Target Group

  • The main target group are people who always use online messages

  • Who care about the emotions about others

  • Affected by negative emotions

Purpose

  • Form a more satisfying online communication enviroment

  • Care the emotions of both the senders and receivers and provide sufficient companion

Solution

  • Create a chat app dealing with the problems

  • Including the functions of blocking specific words, setting up mood and mode, and the chatbot

Scenarios

Receiver

Gina already has a lot of pressure, and when she receives the key word “test”, she feels even more stressful. She uses the block function in the app, and blocks specific words. After the block, her contacts will be notified.

Sender

Evelyn encounters a trauma, and asks her friends for help. However, her friends do not reply her after a while. She opens the app, and use the functions in chatbot. After interacting with the chatbot, her negative emotion has been relieved.

Service Map

The service map illustrates the interactive relationship between the app and users, as well as how the app informs and interacts with both sides of its users.

Blue Print

After identifying the main solutions to the problem statement, I delved deeper into the three functions (Do Not Disturb, Not Interested in Specific Topics, and Cannot Reach Friends for a While) and explored how they function in both the front-end and back-end stages.

Wireframe

User Testing

To test the user experience and improve the app overall, I invited target users to test it and provide feedback. They wrote down suggestions to enhance the app's performance.

01
Chatbot Character

After conducting user testing, I introduced a new chatbot character and modified the original chatbot interface to make the chat environment more vivid and immersive.

The original low-fi design appeared to be mundane and lacked the sense of companionship, which made it indistinguishable from traditional chat interfaces.

02
Graphic Components

The revised version also implements a more vibrant color palette and appealing graphic elements.

Visual Identity

icon
logotype.png

The logo combines the elements of the robot and the dialog box. The cute and rounded shape creates the welcoming and friendly feeling.

#F0EDED

#FEA82F

#5C7AC9

#000000

Ai carries two meanings:

Artificial intelligence

"Ai" means "love" in Chinese

mockup.jpg
mockup.jpg

Reflection

When I presented the block function to my friends, I received positive feedback. Emotional contagion is undoubtedly a critical issue in today's world, particularly during messaging where many aspects such as copresence, visibility, audibility, contemporaneity, and simultaneity lack grounding. Therefore, an online chatting environment is more challenging than face-to-face communication. My future designs will continue to prioritize the emotional well-being of users.

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