MUSE

The Ask

As most of us are well-aware, teens are notoriously addicted to their phones and social media. Studies have shown that this screen addiction has led to increased rates of depression and anxiety and decreased self-esteem. Since the pandemic, the rates of teen mental health crises have risen exponentially. Our team was tasked with the challenge of creating an app that would get teens off of their phones and focusing on their mental health.

Sounds counter-intuitive, right?

Take a scroll through MUSE to see the angle that we took to get teens off their phones and focusing on mental health, but in a way that they would keep using the app.

man walking in front of a wall of poster ads

MUSE uses a combination of music and visual arts to tackle the epidemic of teen dependency on their devices.

The teaser ads and mockup below were created by my teammate, Andres Uribe.

App User Flow

App design and user flow
by Emily Wildman

When the user enters the app, they are prompted to select the feeling that best describes their mood before they continue. Based on their answer, the app will generate a music playlist that best suits their mood. Between screens, little quotes supporting the research behind art as a therapeutic medium will be available to help educate teens about better self-care and coping skills.

Once the user presses play, their timer starts and their phone goes into “do not disturb” mode. While the user listens to music, they create whatever sort of visual art they feel like. When they are finished, they hit the stop button and are able to access their phone once more. At this point they are prompted to add a photo of their masterpiece and share it to an anonymous gallery. This feature keeps a hook to make the app more appealing to teens and to keep them coming back.