Project
Rise · UX/UI case study
Year
2024
Timeline
10 weeks
Role
Research, UX and UI · solo
Outcome
Clickable Android prototype
Tools
Figma · Miro · Procreate
Rise
A grief companion app
Designed for people in India navigating loss.
A place to turn when grief is hard to share.
Why
Research
Competitors
Persona
Decisions
Structure
Design process
Identity
Product
Reflection
01 · Introduction
A safe space to process grief, one day at a time.
Rise is a mental health app designed to support people through the challenging journey of grief. It recognises that grief is unique and personal, and gives people a safe space to process their emotions.
My process · a user-centred design (UCD) roadmap
User needs led every stage. The approach involved user research, feedback loops and design refinements to make sure Rise addresses the challenges grieving people face.
Weeks 1–2
Discover
Competitor analysis, interviews, survey, expert consultations
Weeks 3–4
Define
Empathy map, persona, scenario, opportunities and features
Weeks 5–7
Design
Ideation, card sort, IA, task flows, sketches, wireframes, visual guide
Weeks 8–10
Deliver
High-fidelity screens and the clickable prototype
02 · Why I made this
One of the hardest moments of my life was losing a close family member.
My world felt shattered and I was adrift in grief. Like many others, I struggled to find appropriate support, felt isolated, and had to keep up with daily responsibilities while processing my emotions.
That journey sparked Rise, and a question: what would discreet, personal support look like for someone grieving quietly?
— Shital
“Grief is the price we pay for love.”
Queen Elizabeth II, quoted in the original write-up
Research scope
7
in-depth interviews with people who had lost someone
64
survey responses, collected with Google Forms
5
grief-support apps compared across 16 features
10
weeks, research to clickable prototype
Plus consultations with psychologists and counsellors
The problem · the landscape of grief in India has changed over the past few decades
Grief is increasingly carried
alone
, with
stigma
around death and little
awareness
.
Large joint families and community rituals once carried people through mourning.
01
The shift to nuclear families
Fewer people are around to offer support during bereavement. Urbanisation has weakened the networks that once helped.
02
Talking about death is “inauspicious”
Cultural discomfort with open discussion hinders healthy grieving, and stigma keeps many from seeking professional help.
03
Low mental health awareness
Grief gets mistaken for simple sadness rather than a complex emotional journey.
The tension Sonal's scenario captures
What life still asks
Be a pillar of support for the children
Carry work responsibilities alone
Keep up with daily routines
What grief brings
Confusion about how to feel
Anxiety when something triggers
Guilt, anger, and sometimes hope
The solution scope · what we can do
Offer personalised grief support plans based on individual needs and stages of grief
Facilitate connections with others experiencing similar grief
Include interactive activities to help manage emotions and promote healing
Provide tools for creative expression of emotions and memories
Why this mattered: accessible tools and resources to help people navigate grief and support their emotional well-being.
03 · Research
The need wasn’t just for more information.
I had two goals: understand the emotional, psychological and practical needs of grieving people, and make sure any support would be ethical, safe, respectful and culturally sensitive.
Objective 1
Understand people's emotional, psychological and practical needs while coping with grief
Objective 2
Learn which features, tools and support systems people would want
Objective 3
Find the ethical boundaries and best practice for therapeutic techniques
Objective 4
Make sure support is safe, respectful and culturally sensitive
Strategy · four methods
Competitor analysis
User interviews · 7
Survey · 64 responses
Expert consultations
The 11 interview questions
01 Who did you lose, and when? How was the person related to you?
02 Tell me more about your grief journey.
03 What are the things that helped you through the loss?
04 What are the things that you struggle with?
05 What aspects of your life were affected by the loss?
06 How often do small things trigger you? What do you do when that happens?
07 How do you express the things going on in your mind?
08 Do you think you can openly talk to other people about your experience?
09 Do you know about, or have you considered, therapy to help you?
10 Have you used any therapy app or website in the past? If yes, which?
11 Do you think a personalised app to help you navigate this difficult time of your life can help you? Why?
Primary research · survey
What people told us, in their own answers.
From this project’s own survey of people who had experienced loss, not population statistics.
27.3%
feel that sharing their feelings would burden others
36.4%
said something triggers their grief every day
50%
don't see the need to seek professional therapy
90%
think a personalised app may help them
Do you think you can openly talk to other people about your pain?
Only with certain people
40.9%
No, I don’t want to burden others
27.3%
Sometimes, only if the topic comes up
27.3%
Yes! I love to talk about them with others
≈4.5%
The last slice isn’t labelled in the original chart; its size is the remainder.
How often do you get triggered by events?
On special occasions / events
40.9%
Every day
36.4%
Multiple times a day
9.1%
Once or twice a week
9.1%
A few times a month
9.1%
Are you aware of professional therapists who can help you through grief?
I’m aware, but I don’t think I need it
50%
Yes, I have considered it
27.3%
No, I was not aware
22.7%
On a scale of 1 to 5, how challenging has it been to navigate your grief?
1
2
3
4
5
The most common answer was 5, the most challenging. The original chart has no values, so the bar heights here are traced from it.
Do you think a personalised app can help you through this difficult time?
Yes
Maybe
No
90% answered Yes or Maybe. “Maybe” was the largest group; the exact split isn’t labelled in the original.
What would your top 5 goals or expectations be from such an app?
Emotional expression
· journaling, creative outlets
Returning to routine
· gentle nudges and reminders
Mindfulness and well-being
· relaxation techniques
Community
· connect with others who’ve had a similar loss
Virtual memorials
· an archive of memories
Listed in this order in the original. Bar lengths are traced from it; no counts were given.
Secondary research
What the headlines said.
The following headlines from leading newspapers speak volumes about the grief sector in India. They showed how much is unresolved in grief and mental health.
The last headline is about common mental disorders broadly, not grief, so it is kept separate from the grief findings.
ORF · curated by Vasundhara Gupta · last updated 25 January 2022
By Anesha George · 8 December 2023
Published 21 October 2023 · 7 min read
The Economic Times · Panache
04 · Competitive analysis · evaluating market trends
Lots of content. Little help in the moment.
I compared five grief-support apps across 16 features to find their strengths, weaknesses and the gaps Rise could fill.
Feature
Grief Refuge
Untangle Grief
Grief Relief
Grief Works
Empathy – Loss Companion
Coverage
Offered by every app
Guided audio
Common · 3 of 5
App tour
Daily journal
Breathing / meditation
Community chat
Occasional · 2 of 5
Other people’s stories
Workout / yoga
Online events
Funeral planning
Paperwork / admin work
Rare · 1 of 5
Podcast
Motivational quotes
Online course
Live counselling
Sleep sounds / stories
Daily reminders
Features offered
7 / 16
8 / 16
3 / 16
11 / 16
4 / 16
Grouping by prevalence is added here for readability. Every cell matches the original matrix, which is linked below in its original row order.
What stood out
Guided audio was the only feature in all five apps
Grief Works covered the most, with 11 of 16; Grief Relief the fewest, with 3
Live counselling appeared in only one app
Practical features like funeral planning and paperwork sat in two apps
What wasn't among the 16 features
Quick help when a trigger hits
→ became the one-tap trigger button
An assistant whose communication style you choose
→ became the customisable Rise Assistant
05 · Expert consultation · ethical and effective support
Psychologists and counsellors set the guardrails.
I consulted medically trained psychologists and counsellors to make sure Rise would offer ethical, effective support, and to understand where an app should stop. Their insights helped shape a comprehensive, empathetic and professional approach to grief support.
Why consult experts
Two objectives from the research plan
Determine the ethical boundaries and best practices for integrating therapeutic techniques
Ensure the app provides safe, respectful and culturally sensitive support
Expert consultation was the fourth of four research methods, after competitor analysis, user interviews and the survey.
What they guided
What the app could include
Music and art therapy
Therapeutic techniques: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)
Positive reinforcement
Support for complex emotions such as guilt and regret
Where they drew the line
They highlighted the ethical limitations of these therapies. The app must:
Respect user privacy
Avoid potential triggers
Provide appropriate referrals to professional help when necessary
Where this guidance shows up in the project
Expert guidance
Where it appears in the artefacts
Music and art therapy
Card sort: “Music therapy” and “Art therapy: drawing, abstract art analysis”
CBT and REBT techniques
Card sort: “Therapy exercises: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)” and “Graded exposure”
Positive reinforcement
Card sort: “Rewards system: positive reinforcement”, and Routine builder › Reward system in the sitemap
Complex emotions such as guilt and regret
Empathy map: “Guilty for not being able to save them” and “Did I do my best?”
Respect user privacy
Empathy map pain point: worries about the privacy and security of personal data
Avoid potential triggers
Not recorded in the original documents, so no feature is claimed here
Refer to professional help when necessary
Onboarding task flow: critical condition → contact psychologist · Sitemap: Settings › Helpline / psychologist
Recognise the ethical limits of these therapies
How Might We 5: diverse therapeutic activities “while ensuring ethical standards and best practices”
This table was traced by comparing the guidance with the card sort, empathy map, sitemap and task flows; the original documents don’t state it. They also don’t record how many experts were consulted or who they were, so no names or quotes are shown. It is guidance from consultation, not clinical validation.
06 · User persona · research-informed, not a real participant
Sonal Shah
Age
36
Profession
Architect
Family
Two children
Location
Bangalore
“I don't know how to deal with it. I don't know how and why I feel this way.”
Sonal lost her husband to cancer a few months ago, after seven years of marriage. She is trying to process the loss while single-handedly balancing work and family, which keeps her very busy.
Goals
Slowly move on in life
A way to express her feelings and emotions
Manage a busy schedule while still looking after her mental health
Frustrations
Doesn’t know how to deal with the loss of her spouse
Has no one to talk to and share feelings with
No time for herself while balancing work and family
Motivations
Be strong for her children
Give her kids a healthy and happy life
Personality
Calm
Anxious
Introvert
Extrovert
Thinks
Feels
Optimistic
Pessimistic
Patient
Impatient
Busy
Time-rich
Empathy map · from interviews and survey responses
Mapping what grief sounds and feels like.
The map helped me picture users’ emotional journey and keep the app focused on their specific concerns and wishes.
Outward · what others can see and hear
Inward · what stays private
Says
“I am doing fine.”
“I miss my ….”
“I don’t want to talk about them.”
“Why did this have to happen?”
“They will always be there with us.”
“I have to move on now.”
“I will achieve the goal which they expected from me.”
Thinks
I don’t know how to deal with this
I don’t know why I feel this way and how to come out of it
I have to be strong for my friends and family
I miss the person. Why did this have to happen?
I shouldn’t burden others with my thoughts
survey: 27.3% feel sharing will burden others
Who can I share my feelings with?
Did I do my best?
What if this happens to me?
Does
Distracts themselves with work and other things
Tries to talk with friends and family
Looks at photos, videos and memories together
Asks mutual family and friends about their memories
Goes through all the rituals
Revisits places they have been together
Feels
Extremely sad to have lost their person
Grief
Confused about how to feel
Anxious when something triggers
survey: 36.4% triggered every day
Angry about why this happened to them
Guilty for not being able to save them
At peace when they accept the loss
Hopeful about the future
The user
navigating grief
−
Pain points
Time constraints
Limited time to engage with the app
Emotional overwhelm
Difficulty using the app when feeling overwhelmed
Scepticism
Doubts about an app’s effectiveness for deep, personal loss
Privacy concerns
Worries about the privacy and security of personal data
+
Gain points
Emotional support
Tools to cope with grief while managing daily responsibilities
Structured routine
Regaining daily structure, for her and her kids
Personalised guidance
Advice tailored to her unique situation
Stress relief
Relaxation techniques to reduce stress
The two survey tags are added here to connect the map to the research. They repeat figures from the survey charts above. Everything else is as in the original map.
User scenario · illustrating behaviour
Sonal’s week, and where Rise fits in.
Meet Sonal, a single mother of two who works as an architect at a large private company. Her world shattered when her husband died of cancer a few months ago.
01
Sonal now has to be a pillar of support for her children…
02
…while carrying the professional responsibilities that now rest solely on her shoulders.
03
Balancing her job and family is tough, but she knows she needs to take care of her own feelings too.
04
Talking to a friend who has been through something similar, she learns about Rise.
05
Rise becomes like a friend. She uses the journal to pour out her thoughts without holding back, and it gently guides her to make sense of her feelings.
06
She feels better and more motivated. The app has been a helping hand, giving her personal support and showing her a way forward.
07 · From need to design decision
Designing for the person who keeps going.
After the research and interviews, I wrote five “How might we” questions. I then aligned the app’s features to them, following the hierarchy of pain points.
HMW 1
How might we …offer quick, accessible resources for people who may not have time for traditional support systems?
HMW 2
How might we …design a support system that offers personalised support, adapting to each person’s grieving process and busy schedule?
HMW 3
How might we …create quick-access tools to help people manage sudden waves of anxiety or distress?
HMW 4
How might we …create a safe space for people to express their thoughts and emotions freely?
HMW 5
How might we …offer diverse therapeutic activities while ensuring ethical standards and best practice?
Opportunities and features · evidence → question → feature
Feature
Evidence from research
Answers
Original feature description
Trigger button
36.4% triggered every day · “anxious when something triggers”
HMW 3
Sudden emotional triggers from external sources necessitate a rapid-access solution.
AI chatbot
27.3% don’t share to avoid burdening others · “who can I share my feelings with?”
HMW 2
AI chat that provides personalised support and suggestions based on user interactions and emotional expressions.
Journaling
Emotional expression, first in the expectations list
HMW 4
A safe space for users to express their thoughts and emotions, fostering self-reflection.
Therapies / activities
Mindfulness expectation · expert input on CBT, REBT, music and art
HMW 5
Guided exercises to help users manage anxiety and process emotions and memories gently.
Personalisation
90% think a personalised app may help · scepticism pain point
HMW 2
Therapies and activities suggested based on preferences, likes and personality traits.
Routine builder
Returning to routine expectation · “structured routine” gain point
HMW 1
Set achievable daily goals and new routines, gently nudging towards a more structured day.
Mood tracker
Confusion about how to feel · emotional overwhelm
HMW 3
Monitor emotional well-being over time and get activities recommended according to mood.
Notifications and check-ins
“Who can I share my feelings with?” · time constraints
HMW 1
Check-ins that remind users the app is there for support whenever they need it.
The links between evidence, questions and features are my mapping for this case study, based on the wording of the original documents.
08 · Card sorting · grouping and categorising content
Every idea from research, sorted into five groups.
I brainstormed possible features and grouped them by card sorting. This organised the ideas, showed which were most valuable, and fed directly into the information architecture.
1
Communication
4 cards
Community: connect with others
AI bot: to talk to, ask doubts
Contact a psychologist or therapist
Connection: reaching out to a friend or family member
Became
The AI bot became the Chat tab. Contact a psychologist appears as a critical-condition step in the onboarding flow and as Helpline / psychologist in Settings.
Left behind
Community and connecting with friends or family are not among the final screens.
2
Therapies / activities
9 cards
Art therapy: drawing, abstract art analysis
Music therapy
Record thoughts: log and examine thoughts related to grief
Write down and burn; write strengths of self; my image
Graded exposure: gradually face and acclimate to grief-related triggers
Therapy exercises: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Create a list of small, enjoyable activities to improve mood
Journaling
Letters to a loved one, or past/future self
Became
The largest cluster, with nine cards. It became the Therapies / activities feature (guided exercises) and Journaling became the Journal in My Space.
Left behind
The sitemap lists activity types such as relaxation and mindfulness, but not the individual techniques named here.
3
Daily tasks
6 cards
Habit tracker
Mood tracker
Streaks: daily routine
Daily practice reminder
Daily check-in
Memory reflection: reflect on a positive memory each day
Became
Mood tracker became the mood check-in, daily check-in became a Dashboard task, streaks appear on Home, and reminders sit in Settings under Notifications and reminders.
Left behind
Memory reflection is not in the sitemap.
4
Personalised features
9 cards
Personalised assessment to get to know the user
Rewards system: positive reinforcement
Customise resource sections based on the type of loss
Hobbies tasks
Coping style and recommended activities
Preferences for suitable grief counsellors or therapists
Personalised grief journeys or progress paths based on the type of loss
Support in local language
Communication style
Became
The assessment became the onboarding questionnaire, the rewards system sits in Routine builder, and communication style became the customisable assistant.
Left behind
Support in local language is not built; it is listed as a proposed next step.
5
Audio features
6 cards
Spirituality healing
Podcast
Audiobooks
Sleep stories / sounds
Relaxation techniques
Guided workout / yoga sessions
Became
Relaxation, sleep and workout map to the sitemap’s Activities types (relaxation, sleep inducing, activity / workout).
Left behind
Spirituality healing, podcasts and audiobooks are not in the sitemap.
How to read the board
34 ideas, five groups.
Therapies / activities
9
Personalised features
9
Daily tasks
6
Audio features
6
Communication
4
Each group has a note beneath it. Became and Left behind were traced by comparing the board with the sitemap and final screens. The original documents don’t state them.
Information architecture · organising information hierarchies
Seven areas in the sitemap, five tabs in the prototype.
The sitemap is the app’s blueprint. It was the toughest step of the process for me, because a clear structure is what lets people find what they need on a hard day.
Rise
41 end points in 7 areas
1.0
New user
3 items
1.1
Questionnaire
1.2
Create profile
1.3
Personalisation
2.0
Dashboard
5 items
2.1
Daily affirmation
2.2
Daily check-in
2.3
My progress
2.4
Quick access
2.5
Recommended activities
3.0
Activities
10 items
3.1
Based on mood
3.1.1
Happy
3.1.2
Sad
3.1.3
Anxious
3.1.4
Stressed
3.2
Based on type
3.2.1
Relaxation
3.2.2
Mindfulness
3.2.3
Activity / workout
3.2.4
Sleep inducing
3.2.5
Expressive
3.3
Recommended
4.0
AI chatbot
1 item
4.1
Chatbox
5.0
Routine builder
5 items
5.1
Goal setter
5.2
Progress tracker
5.3
To-do list
5.4
Suggested routine
5.5
Reward system
6.0
Journal
9 items
6.1
Calendar view
6.2
Folder view
6.3
Unguided
6.3.1
New entry
6.3.2
Folder
6.4
Guided
6.4.1
Thought dump
6.4.2
Gratitude
6.4.3
Affirmation
6.4.4
Daily log
6.5
Past entries
7.0
Settings
8 items
7.1
My profile
7.2
Personalisation
7.3
Notifications and reminders
7.4
FAQs
7.5
Resources
7.6
Helpline / psychologist
7.7
Privacy policy
7.8
Settings
In the final prototype · bottom navigation
Onboarding
before the tabs
Home
Activities
Chat
My Space
Routine builder + Journal
Settings
Three levels
Areas (1.0), screens or groups (1.1) and their options (1.1.1). Numbers are added here for reference and follow the original left-to-right order.
Sitemap to tabs
The bottom navigation has five tabs: Home · Chat · Activities · My Space · Settings. Journal and Routine builder sit together in My Space, and the dashboard becomes Home.
Not recorded
The original documents don’t say why seven areas became five tabs, so no reason is given here.
Task flows · user pathways through tasks
Four paths, each with a way to pause or get help.
Flows show the path a user takes to complete a task, from the entry point through each step to a successful outcome or final action.
Onboarding
Every route passes the same check before the dashboard. A proposed concept, not clinically validated.
App download
↓
Onboarding
↓
Login
if not a new user
New user?
Create account
if a new user
↓
↓
Update info
Set up profile
↓
Questionnaire
↘ from Update info
Critical condition?
↙ from Questionnaire
↓
Dashboard
if no
Contact psychologist
if yes
Journaling
Two ways in, from a mood check or straight from Activities, and a prompt for when the page feels too blank.
Dashboard
Activities
direct route
↓
↓
How are you feeling?
Journal
↓
Select emotion
↓
Activity suggested: journaling
↓
Know what to write?
both routes meet here
↓
↓
Unguided journal
if yes
Guided journal
if no
↓
Get a prompt
↘ to Type / record
Type / record
↙ to Type / record
↓
Save
Activities
Leaving an activity is allowed, and the flow asks why and offers another before exiting.
Dashboard
Activities
direct route
↓
↓
How are you feeling?
↓
Select emotion
↓
Activity suggested
↓
Select activity
both routes meet here
↓
Guided assistant
↓
Restart activity?
if not completed · yes → Guided assistant
Complete activity?
Success
if yes
↓
Reason
if no restart
↓
Other activity?
yes → Select activity
↓
Exit
if no
Routine builder
It starts from life before the loss, and missed goals lead to reflection rather than failure.
Routine builder
↓
New user?
My goals
if not new
↓
↓
Habits / routine before the event
if new
↓
Set goals
↓
Set reminders
↓
Track goals
My goals and both loops return here
↓
Analyse reason
if no
Goals complete?
Reward
if yes
↓
↓
Try again
→ Track goals
Increase difficulty
→ Track goals
Key:
Start
Step
Decision
Outcome
09 · Design development
From paper sketches to a calmer visual system.
With the research in hand, I moved from paper to greyscale screens in Figma and then to a visual system.
01
Paper sketches
18 sketched screens laid out the structure, calls to action and task flows: assistant customisation, a mood wheel, mood-based activities, chat, dashboard, a breathing break, journal with prompts, onboarding details and the personal space.
02
Greyscale wireframes
Detailed greyscale layouts for every flow, from splash and intro screens, OTP login and the questionnaire to assistant setup, chat, dashboard, journal, activities, mood check-in and history. Skeleton first, before typography, colour and icons.
03
Visible between sketch and screen
The sketched mood wheel became a swipe up or down in the final mood check-in
The sketched Mood / Type tabs for activities became six category tiles
Assistant customisation kept its three steps: eyes, smile, name
These are differences you can see in the artefacts; the reasons weren’t recorded.
10 · Naming and visual identity
Rise
I wanted a name that felt inclusive and uplifting, with no gender bias or age limitation. Like the sun rising each morning, Rise stands for a new beginning and renewal, and for the app's mission: hope and optimism through a personal journey of healing.
Also considered: growth, renewal, resilience
And Indian names
Sahara
Mukti
Asha
Visual guide · establishing consistency
A mature yet modern palette that signals positivity and trust. A simple, readable humanist typeface, legible at small and large sizes. Icons and friendly illustrations add warmth.
The mascot across the product · real screens
Your assistant
Listening
Happy
Low
Breathing
Typography
Raleway
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
Secondary text
Inter SemiBold
·
Inter Medium
·
Inter Regular
Colour
Periwinkle
#7F9CFF
Sun
#FFE433
Charcoal
#4A4A4A
Sky
#C2E5FF
Butter
#FFF29A
Light grey
#F5F5F5
Action blue
#3866FF
Motif
11 · Final screens · the finished product
These are the prototype’s real screens, shown as designed. Each moment answers a need from the research.
01 · Onboarding
Start your journey.
A quick overview to begin a personalised grief journey with confidence, and an easy setup to get started.
05
Welcome · log in or sign up
01
Splash
02
Your companion for healing
03
Tailored to your needs
04
Express thoughts unfiltered
Login and sign-up
Phone number with OTP, or Google, Facebook or Apple. Then just a name.
The four-step questionnaire
Personal details
Date of birth · where you live
What happened
The loved one was my… · when you lost them
Impact on life
How hard it has been, on a scale · how often things upset you · which parts of life are affected: health, family, people, sleep, relationships, work, studies
Coping with feelings
Comfortable expressing emotions? · how you’d describe the people who support you · how you deal with your feelings: avoid, keep busy, talk to someone, something else
Its questions echo the survey, and its answers personalise the plan. In the proposed flow, they also check for crisis.
Customising the assistant
Shape its face, then how it talks.
Three steps set its eyes, smile and name. Then you choose a communication style. The fourth style, supportive and encouraging, appears in the wireframes.
01
Choose the eyes
→
02
Think about the smile
→
03
Give it a name
→
04
Ready
01
Direct and concise
02
Collaborative and interactive
03
Independent
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
02 · Home
Your personal dashboard.
A central hub to manage and navigate a grief journey. It offers tailored resources, progress tracking and activities that support emotional well-being.
1
Daily affirmation
2
Activities based on the logged mood
3
Daily check-in tasks
4
Streak
5
Journal prompt of the day
6
Daily to-do list
7
View and track weekly goals
8
Mood log, last 7 days
9
Trigger button
10
Navigation: Home · Chat · Activities · My Space · Settings
1
A kind sentence before any task
2
Each activity shows its length
03 · Mood tracker
Reflect on your emotions.
Track emotions by swiping up or down. Over time, the mood log shows emotional patterns so you can reflect on your progress.
01
Swipe up or down
→
02
The sun’s face follows; name the feeling, or skip
or
02
A low mood brings difficult emotion words
→
03
Home recommends activities for the logged mood, and the last 7 days build a mood log
04 · AI chatbot
Personal grief support.
The Rise Assistant offers compassionate, real-time support alongside your grief journey. It gives personalised advice and coping strategies, but it is designed to assist, not replace, professional mental health care.
The conversation in the prototype
Rise
Hi Sonal! What’s on your mind?
User
I miss my husband.
Rise
It’s only natural to feel this way. What made you miss him?
User
I saw a photo of him.
Rise
Sometimes, happy memories can trigger our emotions. A small change in how we see these memories can reduce their intensity. Would you like to try?
User
Sure → Reframe your thoughts · 10 min · Acceptance
01
“Always available for you”
02
Listening first, then a gentle exercise
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
05 · My Space
A personal sanctuary for reflection and healing.
Journal
Choose guided or unguided journaling, with prompts for structured reflection or free writing.
Routine builder
Create daily activities that support well-being and bring structure back during an unorganised period.
1
Start writing
→ Journaling and prompts
2
Journal history
→ Journal history
3
My Activity
4
My tasks: the day’s to-do list
5
Add to-do
6
Add goal
→ Goal creation and editing
7
Edit or delete a goal
→ Goal creation and editing
8
Monthly overview
→ Progress and monthly overview
04 · Workflow
Progress and monthly overview
01
The monthly card on My Space
→
02
Weekly progress inside the month
01 · Workflow
Journaling and prompts
01
Start, or get a prompt
→
02
Change the prompt if it doesn’t fit
→
03
A kind exit message
Journal in the sitemap
Unguided, guided, and a way back.
Unguided
New entry · Folder
Guided
Thought dump · Gratitude · Affirmation · Daily log
Looking back
Calendar view · Folder view · Past entries
Taken from the information architecture above. The prompt flow on the left is the guided path.
02 · Workflow
Journal history
01
As a list
→
02
As a calendar
03 · Workflow
Goal creation and editing
01
Add a goal
→
02
Edit a goal
06 · Activities
Engage in healing activities and find calm.
A variety of activities and relaxation techniques designed to promote healing and reduce stress.
Breath Well
20 audios
Reflection
20 audios
Mindfulness
13 exercises
Workout
20 audios
Self expression
20 audios
Sleep Well
20 audios
From a category to a guided exercise
01
Pick an exercise · each shows its length and type
→
02
Read the benefits and instructions, then Start now
→
03
The sun breathes with you
07 · Signature feature
One tap, when a wave hits.
36.4%
of survey respondents said something triggers their grief every day
Sudden emotional triggers from outside need a rapid-access solution. None of the five compared apps offered one among their 16 features. The trigger button sits on the main screens, ready when grief arrives without warning.
The screen it opens isn’t part of the source material.
On Home, beside the mood log
On Activities, over the category grid
12 · Reflection, limitations and next steps
A prototype is a beginning, not a conclusion.
Rise set out to support people grieving in India, where cultural taboos and busy lives often make it hard to talk openly about loss. The result is an app that offers discreet, effective and culturally sensitive support, and encourages people to process their emotions and find healing.
Rise is a high-fidelity, clickable prototype, not a validated clinical product
Limitations
No usability testing is documented yet
The crisis check is a proposed concept, not clinically validated
The assistant’s responses are designed, not live AI
Survey percentages describe our respondents, not the population
Next steps · proposed
Test the experience with five to eight bereaved adults
Review the assistant and safety mechanisms with experts
Explore support in local languages, which the card sort surfaced
From the original scope
Connecting people with similar loss (community) was in the solution scope but isn’t in the prototype
Virtual memorials were a survey expectation not yet designed
What I learned
This project taught me a lot about understanding user needs and the importance of empathy in creating meaningful solutions. It was challenging, but incredibly rewarding, and I enjoyed every step.
Thank you
Rise is a high-fidelity prototype, not a clinical product.