Many strains found in relationships can stem from invisible places. These pressures are known as “mental loads,” referring to the cognitive stress that comes from managing work, relationships, and a household. This built-up mental load can lead to relationship damaging problems. However, partners who aim to have a lasting relationship are willing to take action once they find a starting point.
Equo is an app that creates a starting point for balancing mental loads through mutual communication and behavioral changes. In-app activities like task list building and prompt cards generate data that build a unique profile for you to review. This profile will identify improvement areas and inspire users with curated tips that foster teamwork.
Equo helps users learn to express themselves, mutually communicate, and discover areas of improvement for creating long-lasting connections. The app has five main features - onboarding & articles, pairing & talk, sharing physical loads, expressing emotions, and mutual reflections.
When you first log on, a brief tutorial enables users to quickly view all the features. Before adding their partner, guests can easily access the "Home" page where they can read articles from prominent experts to help start the process of understanding mental load and solutions.
It is easy to link with a partner by having them share their code number. Starting communication can be hard, but by following the instructions and prompt cards, users can sit together and express their real feelings and thoughts.
After addressing the mental load, Equo prompts users to share their physical tasks and create a calendar, allowing them to work as a team.
Equo offers two ways for users to express their feelings. The first is a “rant room” giving users a private space to express their emotions and what is on their mind. The second space is “community” which connects users to other Equo members in similar situations, creating connection and understanding.
Equo tracks user data by adding tasks and logging task completion. It also prompts users with notifications for how to improve, pay more attention to your partner, and share their mental load. This creates a more equitable partnership.
I received various color palettes from our brand visuals. So when applying the visuals after making wireframes, I realized that I needed to maintain consistency in the ratio of colors and establish the typographic hierarchy. Using every color and font in the app can cause confusion and create a mess for users, so now I am very mindful of it.
At one presentation of this project, we got feedback on the cost of making each feature because we tried to build everything by ourselves. After it, we dived more into the project's business aspect, expanding it to possibly every resource we can utilize.
We've been talking about climate change for ages, whether it's in the news, in class, or in articles. But the real challenge is getting people to take action. It's a daunting task that often feels overwhelming, and we may even wonder if our efforts are making a difference. However, after digging into our research on Sweden, we discovered a treasure trove of impressive features in their cities, culture, and mindset that we can all learn from. By sharing these insights, we can spark meaningful conversations and inspire positive changes that will make a real impact in the fight against climate change.
