Scentiment
Start building your emotional awareness through the power of scent.
Role
Lead Product Designer
Duration
April 8th, 2024 (CreateSC Designathon)
Tools & Skills
UX Research, UI Design, Figma, Emotional Intelligence, Scent Design
Team
3 Designers, 2 Developers, 1 Scent Specialist
Emotional Intelligence.
Through Scent.
Scentiment is a mobile application that helps users build emotional awareness by leveraging the powerful connection between scent, memory, and emotion.
The Project
Developed as part of CreateSC, a designathon focused on digitizing intangible experiences, Scentiment explores the untapped potential of our sense of smell in digital wellness.
While many apps focus on visual and auditory mindfulness, Scentiment pioneers a new approach by incorporating the powerful sense of smell into emotional intelligence development.
The Turning Point of Emotional Awareness
Emotional Blindspots
- Limited emotional vocabulary and expression
- Difficulty identifying and naming emotions
- Challenges in managing stress and emotional responses
- Disconnection from physical sensations related to emotions
Scent-Based Solutions
- Scent-based emotional tracking and journaling
- Guided exercises connecting scents to emotional states
- Personalized scent profiles and recommendations
- Educational content on the science of scent and emotion
Scentiment helps with
anything you feel or smell.
Combining neuroscience, psychology, and aromatherapy to create a holistic approach to emotional intelligence development.
Tracks what you feel
The Emotional Scent Journal helps you track your emotions and associate them with specific scents, building a personal scent-emotion dictionary that becomes more refined over time.
Guides your practice
Follow guided scent meditations that use scent as an anchor for mindfulness and emotional regulation. Learn to use scent as a tool for grounding during stressful situations.
Teaches the science
Learn about the neuroscience of scent and emotion through bite-sized, engaging content. Understand how your brain processes scent and why it's so powerfully linked to memory and emotion.
Design Process
The development of Scentiment followed a user-centered design approach, with multiple iterations based on feedback from potential users and mental health professionals.
Research & Discovery
Conducted interviews with psychologists, aromatherapists, and potential users to understand the relationship between scent and emotional awareness.
- Interviewed 12 mental health professionals
- Surveyed 50+ potential users about emotional awareness challenges
- Researched scientific literature on scent-emotion connections
- Analyzed existing mental health and wellness apps
Ideation & Prototyping
Developed wireframes and interactive prototypes to test core concepts and user flows, focusing on creating an intuitive and calming user experience.
- Created user personas and journey maps
- Sketched multiple UI concepts and interaction patterns
- Developed low and high-fidelity wireframes in Figma
- Built interactive prototypes for user testing
Testing & Refinement
Conducted usability testing with a diverse group of participants to refine the user experience and ensure accessibility.
- Conducted usability testing with 15 participants
- Gathered feedback from mental health professionals
- Iterated on UI design based on user feedback
- Refined the emotional tracking system for accuracy
Design Tools
Scentiment's design was created using industry-standard tools to deliver a seamless and engaging user experience.
UI/UX design & prototyping
User journey mapping
Visual design & assets
User testing
Results & Future Vision
Scentiment has already made an impact, with promising early results and exciting plans for the future.
✓Outcomes
Scentiment won the "Most Innovative Mental Health Solution" award at the hackathon, receiving recognition for its novel approach to emotional intelligence.
Early user testing showed promising results, with participants reporting increased emotional awareness and a greater ability to identify and name their emotions.
The project attracted interest from mental health professionals and wellness organizations interested in incorporating scent-based approaches into their practices.
→Next Steps
Expand the scent library and develop partnerships with scent manufacturers.
Conduct formal research studies to validate the effectiveness of the app in improving emotional intelligence.
Develop a companion physical product that can deliver scents based on the app's recommendations.
Create specialized versions for therapeutic settings and corporate wellness programs.
Interested in Scentiment?
Scentiment is currently in development. Get in touch to learn more about the project or to discuss potential collaborations.