We planted a seed of innovation in the way MANAS delivered mental wellness to young Indians.
Young Indians are increasingly facing a number of lifestyle issues, particularly post the Covid Pandemic. The Government of India responded by initiating the MANAS app to promote mental well-being on a national scale.
For the average Indian, accessing mental wellness resources and incorporating them into the everyday is a challenge. The platform had to be built to feel approachable and accessible to user types across the country.
We created the way forward.
To create a friendly, relatable platform that appeals to the young Indian demographic by placing mental wellness within the context of everyday Indian life.
The knowledge base of the app comes from leading research institutions across India. The current content developed by NIMHANS and AFMC targets core areas of concern for young adolescents.
The content needed a well-defined structure that translates seamlessly onto a mobile application. We devised a content framework to convert each topic into self-help focused modules.
Within each module, a three level system of content interaction, structured as education and self-awareness, assessments for self-evaluation, and practice modules was introduced.
The app needed a cohesive narrative to hold together the diverse subject modules. Our strategy was centering the app around nurturing one’s tree of wellness. As users completed a module, they would witness their seed evolve into a mighty tree.
This analogy of growth encouraged users to nurture their mental well being and cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves. The user experience was made more engaging and friendly with fun, intuitive interactions and gamification elements.
The visual style innovated for the app draws inspiration from Indian folk art and evokes the joyful experiences of everyday Indian life. Familiar elements were introduced to create a sense of belonging, comfort and relatability for the users.
The style is entirely hand drawn and utilizes textural and tactile elements to evoke warmth and soften the otherwise cold, unstimulating experience of using the app on a phone. A dynamic color palette was crafted to mirror the vibrancy of the country while also remaining functional.
Given the sensitive nature of mental well being, versatile and abstract imagery, textures and colors were created to communicate a wide range of topics.
A modular visual design system was created to ensure scalability and accommodate future expansion, as more learning modules are added to the app.
.png)
MANAS has been successfully launched across India in two languages and has contributed in making mental health and wellness more accessible and attainable in the country.
DEVICE FOR MEDTRONIC LABS
A handheld device that enables community health workers to capture images of the tympanic membrane, input patient history, store and share data with healthcare providers for diagnosis and treatment.
