Designing an AI-Powered Coaching App for Mental Performance
Designing an AI-Powered Coaching App for Mental Performance
A mobile app that provides proactive AI-powered coaching to help high performers stay focused, understand their mental state, and support their overall well-being.
A mobile app that provides proactive AI-powered coaching to help high performers stay focused, understand their mental state, and support their overall well-being.
Project overview
Project overview
Our client approached us with the vision of creating a mobile app to help high-performance professionals improve their mental well-being. Using biometric data like heart rate variability (HRV) and data-driven insights, the app aims to detect changes in mental state and provide proactive coaching. We designed the mobile app with an AI-powered coaching approach, focusing on the main screens and workflows, along with a clickable prototype for investor pitches and early validation.
Our client approached us with the vision of creating a mobile app to help high-performance professionals improve their mental well-being. Using biometric data like heart rate variability (HRV) and data-driven insights, the app aims to detect changes in mental state and provide proactive coaching. We designed the mobile app with an AI-powered coaching approach, focusing on the main screens and workflows, along with a clickable prototype for investor pitches and early validation.
🙋🏼♀️ My role
🙋🏼♀️ My role
As the UX Designer in a two-person team, I was responsible for:
As the UX Designer in a two-person team, I was responsible for:
Conducting discovery workshops with the client to understand their vision and key functionalities
Researching similar digital products for insights
Designing user flows and wireframes
Definition of interaction and mental models for the AI coaching and data visualization
Conducting discovery workshops with the client to understand their vision and key functionalities
Researching similar digital products for insights
Designing user flows and wireframes
Definition of interaction and mental models for the AI coaching and data visualization
I collaborated closely with a UI Designer, especially during the final stages of the design process.
I collaborated closely with a UI Designer, especially during the final stages of the design process.
The design process
The design process
🔍
Understand
Understand
Conducted discovery sessions with the client to define the vision and user needs.
Conducted discovery sessions with the client to define the vision and user needs.
📌
Analyze and define
Analyze and define
Mapped the ideal user journey, identifying potential opportunities, friction points, and AI’s role.
Mapped the ideal user journey, identifying potential opportunities, friction points, and AI’s role.
✏️
Ideate
Ideate
Analyzed similar products for inspiration and created wireframes to validate core user flows and interactions.
Analyzed similar products for inspiration and created wireframes to validate core user flows and interactions.
🎨
Propose
Propose
Designed the UI and built an interactive prototype to gather feedback and refine the experience.
Designed the UI and built an interactive prototype to gather feedback and refine the experience.
Understanding the challenge
Understanding the challenge
Through discovery sessions with the client, we identified key challenges that informed and shaped our approach.
Through discovery sessions with the client, we identified key challenges that informed and shaped our approach.
💭 The problem
High performers seek coaching to optimize their mental performance, but existing solutions only provide insights after stressful situations occur. Without timely guidance, they struggle to recognize and manage challenges in the moment, leading to reactive decisions and missed opportunities for improvement.
High performers seek coaching to optimize their mental performance, but existing solutions only provide insights after stressful situations occur. Without timely guidance, they struggle to recognize and manage challenges in the moment, leading to reactive decisions and missed opportunities for improvement.
💥️ Our approach
We designed a mobile app that uses biometric data, like heart rate variability (HRV), to monitor mental performance in real time. When shifts are detected, AI-driven coaching offers timely support to help high performers manage stress and stay focused throughout the day
🚀 Product vision
We want users to get timely, actionable coaching
We want users to engage with AI through natural, journal-like interactions
We want users to get smart notifications for awareness and self-regulation
We want users to track mental performance easily
We want users to get timely, actionable coaching
We want users to engage with AI through natural, journal-like interactions
We want users to get smart notifications for awareness and self-regulation
We want users to track mental performance easily
Mapping the user journey
Mapping the user journey
I created a user journey to map the step-by-step experience, validate key screens, and define AI’s role in coaching. This guided MVP planning, ensured team alignment, and shaped the clickable prototype.
I created a user journey to map the step-by-step experience, validate key screens, and define AI’s role in coaching. This guided MVP planning, ensured team alignment, and shaped the clickable prototype.
User Journey Map – Visualizing the experience of a first-time user exploring the app, from onboarding to receiving proactive coaching insights.
Scroll right to explore the journey map 👉🏻
User Journey Map – Visualizing the experience of a first-time user exploring the app, from onboarding to receiving proactive coaching insights.
Defining the design requirements
Defining the design requirements
Building on the validated user journey, we translated key user goals into design requirements and collaborated with the client to prioritize the most valuable features for users and the business.
Building on the validated user journey, we translated key user goals into design requirements and collaborated with the client to prioritize the most valuable features for users and the business.
MVP Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) created in collaboration with the Product Manager to align on project milestones, key design requirements and prioritize features for this design effort.
Design milestones
Design milestones
Onboarding
Onboarding
Guide users through setup, permissions, and introduce AI-powered interactions along with key app concepts.
Guide users through setup, permissions, and introduce AI-powered interactions along with key app concepts.
Mental Performance Tracking
Mental Performance Tracking
Provide real-time insights based on biometric and contextual data.
Provide real-time insights based on biometric and contextual data.
Notifications & Resulting Coaching
Notifications & Resulting Coaching
Alert users of significant mental performance shifts, prompting AI-driven coaching for timely self-regulation.
Alert users of significant mental performance shifts, prompting AI-driven coaching for timely self-regulation.
Reflection & AI-Powered Insights
Reflection & AI-Powered Insights
Deliver personalized support based on user patterns and journaling entries.
Deliver personalized support based on user patterns and journaling entries.
Analyzing existing solutions
Analyzing existing solutions
With limited user access, analyzing similar apps helped me identify common UX patterns for clarity, engagement, and personalization, ensuring alignment with user expectations and a more intuitive, proactive experience.
With limited user access, analyzing similar apps helped me identify common UX patterns for clarity, engagement, and personalization, ensuring alignment with user expectations and a more intuitive, proactive experience.
Findings
Guided Experiences May Improve Engagement: Step-by-step coaching could help reduce cognitive load and keep users engaged.
Guided Experiences May Improve Engagement: Step-by-step coaching could help reduce cognitive load and keep users engaged.
Conversational, Human-Like AI Might Feel More Supportive: Natural interactions can make AI-driven coaching feel approachable and personal.
Conversational, Human-Like AI Might Feel More Supportive: Natural interactions can make AI-driven coaching feel approachable and personal.
Proactive Notifications Could Encourage Action: Timely nudges may help users engage at key moments.
Proactive Notifications Could Encourage Action: Timely nudges may help users engage at key moments.
Contextual Insights Enhance Personalization: Integrating journaling could help AI better understand user triggers, improving coaching relevance.
Contextual Insights Enhance Personalization: Integrating journaling could help AI better understand user triggers, improving coaching relevance.
Wireframing
Wireframing
To validate early design decisions, I created wireframes for the app's main flows, helping to visualize AI and journaling integration, aligning key interactions before high-fidelity design, and refining the experience based on client feedback.
To validate early design decisions, I created wireframes for the app's main flows, helping to visualize AI and journaling integration, aligning key interactions before high-fidelity design, and refining the experience based on client feedback.
Onboarding process
Onboarding process 👉🏻
Intake questionnaire for calculating mental performance baseline score
Intake questionnaire for calculating mental performance baseline score 👉🏻
Notifications and prompts
Notifications and prompts 👉🏻
Walkthrough exploration
Walkthrough exploration 👉🏻
The solution
The solution
We designed an AI-powered mobile app prototype that provides real-time insights and proactive coaching to support mental well-being.
We designed an AI-powered mobile app prototype that provides real-time insights and proactive coaching to support mental well-being.
Key features included:
Key features included:
AI-Powered Journaling
AI-Powered Journaling
Users log reflections, helping AI track context and deliver personalized insights.
Users log reflections, helping AI track context and deliver personalized insights.
Real-Time Performance Tracking
Real-Time Performance Tracking
Monitors HRV and stress levels to detect mental state shifts.
Monitors HRV and stress levels to detect mental state shifts.
Proactive Coaching
Proactive Coaching
AI provides timely guidance based on biometric data and user patterns.
AI provides timely guidance based on biometric data and user patterns.
Smart Notifications
Smart Notifications
Nudges encourage self-awareness and intervention before stress escalates.
Nudges encourage self-awareness and intervention before stress escalates.
This integration of AI with journaling was a key design decision, ensuring the product delivers relevant, real-time support that adapts to each user’s needs.
This integration of AI with journaling was a key design decision, ensuring the product delivers relevant, real-time support that adapts to each user’s needs.
Key features included:
AI-Powered Journaling
Users log reflections, helping AI track context and deliver personalized insights.
Real-Time Performance Tracking
Monitors HRV and stress levels to detect mental state shifts.
Proactive Coaching
AI provides timely guidance based on biometric data and user patterns.
Smart Notifications
Nudges encourage self-awareness and intervention before stress escalates.
This integration of AI with journaling was a key design decision, ensuring the product delivers relevant, real-time support that adapts to each user’s needs.
💡️ Project take aways
💡️ Project take aways
Context Matters: Capturing contextual information through journaling, and other mental models, significantly improves the relevance of AI-driven tools
Context Matters: Capturing contextual information through journaling, and other mental models, significantly improves the relevance of AI-driven tools
Balancing AI and Human Support: For this specific product, we had to ensure the AI supported coaching without replacing it, as the goal was for coaches to eventually be involved in future iterations
Balancing AI and Human Support: For this specific product, we had to ensure the AI supported coaching without replacing it, as the goal was for coaches to eventually be involved in future iterations
UXUI Design・Product Design
UXUI Design・Product Design
2025
2025