Connecting with sleep: design and development of an app for better sleep
Inspiration and purpose of the project
The idea of developing an app focused on sleep came from a combination of curiosity and empathy. Personally, I was unaware of the existence of apps that effectively address sleep-related problems, which sparked my interest in exploring this area. In addition, the possibility of creating a tool that would help people fall asleep more efficiently was particularly inspiring to me.
Our goal was to design an app that would not only accompany users in their sleep routine, but also offer practical and personalised resources to improve their sleep quality.
Secondary research: market exploration
Before starting the development of the app, we conducted secondary research to understand the existing market landscape for sleep-related apps. Our goal was to identify which solutions were already available and which approaches were most common.
During this process, we discovered that many of the existing apps focused primarily on three areas:
Relaxing music: offered audio tracks and ambient sounds to facilitate falling asleep.
General tips: provided basic recommendations for improving sleep habits.
Progress tracking: allowed the user to monitor their sleep over time, visualising patterns and statistics.
This analysis allowed us to identify opportunities to differentiate our proposal, exploring innovative ways to address sleep wellbeing.
Understanding user needs
After analysing the market landscape and gathering information on existing sleep apps, we decided to take the next step: conducting qualitative interviews to gain insight into users’ experiences and perspectives.
The main objective of these interviews was to understand the personal context related to sleep and the problems faced by users. To do this, we designed a structured guide covering the following key points:
Context and sleep problems: we inquired about the difficulties they experienced in falling asleep and the factors that might influence this.
Habits and routines: we asked about their daily sleep-related practices, such as bedtime, use of electronic devices and pre-sleep activities.
Use of sleep apps: we explored whether they had previously used any sleep-related apps and what they valued or criticised about these tools.
Motivations and barriers: we sought to understand what would motivate them to use such an app and what factors might discourage their use.
This qualitative research phase allowed us to gather relevant and genuine information, which was essential to guide the development of our app towards the real needs of the users.
Key factors and users perceptions
Qualitative interviews, complemented by surveys, provided us with valuable information about users’ experiences and needs in relation to sleep. Through this combination of methods, we were able to obtain both detailed insights and quantitative data that reinforced our findings.
1. Factors affecting sleep
Stress and worries emerged as the main obstacles to falling asleep and staying asleep at night, as indicated by both interviews and survey results.
A busy lifestyle was also identified as a common difficulty in establishing consistent sleep habits, directly affecting the sleep routine.
2. Perception of sleep improvement apps
Some users consider sleep tracking apps to be complex or inaccurate, raising doubts about the reliability of their data. This perception was observed both in the comments collected during the interviews and in the survey responses.
There is a clear interest in apps that provide personalised advice and combine sleep tracking with relaxation exercises, thus offering a holistic and practical approach.
3. Relaxation routines and techniques
The primary research showed that before going to sleep, many people opt for relaxing activities such as listening to calming music, podcasts or reading.
To improve sleep quality, a common recommendation is to avoid using electronic devices just before bedtime.
In addition, users identified useful practices such as deep breathing, drinking herbal teas and specific relaxation exercises.
The use of interviews and surveys allowed us to approach the problem from different perspectives, thus gaining a more complete understanding of users’ needs.
Based on the results of the research phase, which included interviews and surveys, we developed a User Persona to represent the typical profile of our target audience. This archetype helped us to better visualise user needs, motivations and challenges, thus guiding the design and development of our application.
This approach allowed us to capture a clear and detailed profile of the ideal user, ensuring that the design of the application responded directly to their expectations and needs.
Understanding the problem: keys to development
After collecting and analysing the data obtained through interviews and surveys, we held a collaborative working session in which we shared the results. To structure the information in a clear way, we used an Affinity Diagram, which allowed us to group related ideas and draw meaningful conclusions.
Using the Affinity Diagram helped us to visualise the main areas that emerged from the research. The common themes we identified were as follows:
App feature needs: users expressed the need for practical functionalities, such as personalised tips, integration of relaxation exercises and easy sleep tracking.
Habitual sleep habits: pre-sleep routines include relaxing activities such as listening to music, reading or practicing breathing exercises, avoiding the use of electronic devices.
Problems found with current apps: users highlighted that many existing apps are complex, lack accuracy and do not address sleep comprehensively.
These categories helped us define the critical points that our app needed to address to be truly useful and effective. With the issues grouped and analysed, we formulated our problem statement to focus the development of the application:
“When [users approached their bedtime moment], [they] want to [have a consistent & easy to follow routine] so that they can [disconnect from screens or stressful thoughts ]”.
This approach allowed us to concretise the main challenge and steer the design towards practical, user-centred solutions.
With the problem statement clearly defined, we started the ideation phase to generate possible solutions and functionalities for our dream application. To do this, we used creative and prioritisation strategies that allowed us to organise our ideas efficiently.
We used the Crazy 8 technique to foster team creativity. During this dynamic, each member came up with eight ideas in a limited amount of time, allowing the brainstorming to be quick and unrestricted.
At the end of the session, we had a wide variety of proposals, from innovative functionalities to user experience improvements.
After collecting all the ideas, we conducted a vote to identify those we considered most promising. The selection criteria included factors such as feasibility, potential impact and alignment with previously identified needs:
Survey to understand user needs: including a brief initial survey will allow us to personalise the experience from the outset, identifying the main sleep issues and preferences of users.
To-Do list for sleep: this functionality will allow users to create to-do lists related to rest, such as establishing pre-sleep routines or practising specific relaxation exercises.
Activity progress: showing the percentage of progress associated with each activity performed will allow users to visualise the positive impact of maintaining healthy sleep habits, encouraging motivation.
User notifications: implementing alerts and reminders will help to maintain a constant routine and motivate the user to perform the proposed activities, such as relaxation techniques or maintaining regular schedules.
To structure the proposed functionalities and focus the development of the application, we used the MOSCOW method. This technique allowed us to categorise each idea according to its importance and need within the project.
By comparing our categorisations, we realised that in order to keep the project focused and viable, it was essential to focus on the elements catalogued as Must Have. These functionalities constituted the core of the application and were essential to provide a useful and effective user experience.
In this way, we were able to prioritise resources and development time, ensuring that the final product met basic expectations and delivered significant value from the first release.
First sketches for concept testing
Once the functionalities were prioritised, we started working on the first low-fidelity designs (Lo-Fi). The goal was to have a clear and simple representation of the structure of the application, allowing us to visualise the basic flow and share ideas quickly.
With these initial sketches in hand, we carried out concept testing to validate the proposals and ensure that the functionalities were understandable and useful from the user’s point of view. Here are the main findings:
1. Personalisation in sleep tracking
Users value receiving personalised tips and routines based on their own data.
Some prefer suggestions that are more specific and actionable, tailored to their daily activities and habits.
2. Data visualisation and motivation
There is an interest in immediate visual tracking of progress, which increases engagement.
Motivation is reinforced through comparative notifications and highlighting the benefits achieved.
Maintaining interest by unlocking features and access to articles is effective.
3. Goal setting and challenges
Users find it motivating to challenge themselves and set goals.
Shared challenge dynamics and rewards for streaks help to maintain consistency.
4. Gamification and social connectivity
The ability to connect with friends and share progress generates a high degree of motivation.
Users find the idea of earning social points and tracking progress together appealing.
These results helped us to better understand what motivates users and how to keep them engaged over time, which will guide the next phases of development.
Shaping the idea: from visual identity to prototype
Once we had identified the improvements and preferences from the concept testing, we started working on the visual development of the application. Our goal was to create a graphic identity that reflected the functionality and experience that users expected.
The first step was to design the Style Tile, where we defined the key visual elements, such as the colour palette, typography and graphic components that would represent the essence of the app. In this way, we ensured that the design was coherent and appealing, aligned with the previously identified expectations.
Each team member created a moodboard to visually represent the app concept. After reviewing the proposals, we selected the moodboard that best evoked feelings related to sleep and rest, ensuring that it conveyed calm and comfort.
For the typography, we chose to combine two fonts: Corben for the titles, providing a distinctive and welcoming touch and Lato for the rest of the texts, guaranteeing a clear and modern reading.
With this visual identity defined, we began work on the high-fidelity version of the application, applying the selected style to achieve a coherent and attractive experience.
With the prototype completed, we started to carry out usability tests. Performing usability tests on our prototype was essential to ensure that the user experience is optimal. Through these tests, we can identify possible problems in the interface that make it difficult to use and correct them before the final implementation. In addition, the tests allow us to validate that the design is intuitive, accessible and efficient, which increases user satisfaction.
The results were as follows:
After the results of the usability tests, I decided to focus on improving the perceived personalisation of the app and making the user’s progress more visible. My goal was to make it clear to users how they can adapt the app to their preferences, and at the same time, to make their progress more visible and motivating. I made these changes with the intention of making the experience feel more personalised and engaging, which also strengthens the user’s bond with the app. Through these adjustments, I sought to make the interface more intuitive and aligned with what users really value, the result of which is the following…