Cozy Corner

Surveying students to understand mental health pain points

The product manager and I co-led the research phase. We crafted a Google Form survey and distributed it across campus through word of mouth and student Discord servers. Our goal was to understand how young adults currently approach mental health support and what gaps exist in their experience.

Key Insights

After analyzing responses, we identified four critical pain points:

These insights confirmed our hypothesis: young adults need a solution that is immediate, human, low-barrier, and emotionally safe.

Defining core features through team brainstorming

With our research findings in hand, the team held brainstorming sessions to define what Cozy Corner would be. We knew we wanted to blend gaming with mental health support, but the challenge was figuring out how to make therapy feel natural within a game environment.

We landed on three core features:

• Social spaces: Meet and chat with other players for peer support
• Wellness mini-games: Practice mental health concepts through engaging, offline-capable games
  
• Therapy chat: Live chat with licensed professionals when users need immediate support

The Home Ecosystem Metaphor

The biggest design challenge was integrating therapy chat into the user flow without it feeling clinical or separate from the rest of the game. I was taking a course on cognitive psychology in human-computer interaction at the time, and we were learning about design metaphors. I realized that a home ecosystem could serve as the connective tissue for all our features.

Instead of treating therapy chat as a separate tab, I designed the user's avatar home as the central hub where every feature is accessible through intuitive, spatial interactions. Users could click on a computer to play mini-games, tap a large button to access therapy chat, and walk through a door to enter social spaces.

When I presented this concept during our first feedback round with mentors, one mentor challenged me to think deeper about how to make the therapy integration feel even more seamless. That conversation pushed me to refine the flow and consider user incentives.

Early Sketches

I started with small sketches on sticky notes to quickly explore different layouts and flows. These sketches required constant back-and-forth with my team. I would create iterations, and the product manager and business analyst would provide feedback on possible tweaks or alternative approaches.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

Once we had a clear direction, the product manager and I translated the sketches into mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma. At this stage, we focused on structure and user flow without worrying about visual polish.

User Flow

Next, I created a comprehensive user flow diagram in Figma to map out the basic path within Cozy Corner. This helped the team identify potential friction points and ensure seamless transitions, especially for the therapy chat integration.

Visual Design & Branding

Before moving to high-fidelity, we developed a mini style guide with a color palette and mood board to define the vibe we wanted: warm, approachable, and calming. I also designed the Cozy Corner logo in Photoshop to establish brand identity early.

With the style direction locked in, I translated the wireframes into high-fidelity prototypes in Figma. I handled the majority of this work, though the product manager contributed feedback and refinements along the way.

3D Modeling

To bring the home ecosystem to life, I used Blender to create 3D models for the prototype, including the avatar's home and environmental elements. This added depth and immersion, making the interface feel more like a space users could inhabit.

Refining based on mentor and judge feedback

Throughout the six-week jam, we received feedback from mentors and judges at multiple checkpoints. The most valuable feedback focused on the therapy chat integration and user flow.

Making Therapy Feel Seamless

Judges pointed out that while the home ecosystem was a strong concept, the transition from playing games to accessing therapy still felt slightly disjointed. They encouraged us to think about visual cues, transition animations, and contextual prompts that could guide users naturally into the therapy space.

User Incentives

Another piece of critical feedback was around user motivation. What would keep users engaged with the app long-term? This led us to introduce an in-game currency system. Users could earn currency by interacting with wellness mini-games, chatting with peers in social spaces, and using the therapy chat.

We decided that therapy chat would reward the most currency, subtly incentivizing users to engage with professional support while still making it feel like a natural part of the game loop.

Advancing to the first round of judging

Out of 80 teams in the Business + Tech Innovation Jam, Cozy Corner advanced to the first round of judging, where 53 teams competed. While we didn't make it to the final five, the experience was invaluable.