Role
Industry/Org
Timeline
Project info
Scope of Work
Mighty Health is a fitness and wellness app for adults 50+. Our team focused on designing new features supporting mental well-being and community connection. We wanted to address the emotional challenges older adults face, especially loneliness and stress, by introducing tools to foster belonging and self-care.
Product Strategy
New Feature Proposal
Design System
Challenge
Nearly 25% of U.S. adults over 65 are socially isolated, and 43% feel lonely—both increasing depression and cognitive decline risk. Yet the current app only focused on physical health, offering limited mental wellness support. Many older users also struggled with technology, making trust and engagement harder. We needed features that felt intuitive, approachable, and genuinely supportive.
Solution
We introduced a Mental Well-being section that let users track mood, set social goals, practice breathing exercises, and join a friendly community chat. These features were projected to reduce reported loneliness by 20-30%, helping users feel seen and supported beyond physical health. The simple, approachable design made it easier for older adults to connect and care for their mental wellness.
User Research
I started by listening to real stories from users and categorized the data.
I interviewed older adults to understand why existing wellness tools felt unhelpful or intimidating. Many shared that while they valued fitness tracking, they often felt lonely and wished the app offered more emotional support. These insights helped us reframe our focus from just physical health to a more holistic experience.
Then, I defined the problem and identified the gap in the system.
Using the research, we built personas representing different types of users, like retirees living alone or grandparents caring for others. We mapped out their daily routines and emotional highs and lows. This clarified that the real barrier wasn’t only technology itself. It was the lack of a sense of belonging and gentle encouragement.
Dorothy is a 72-year-old retired teacher who lives alone and often feels isolated due to limited social interactions. She needs an easy-to-use mobile app feature that helps her stay connected with others and track her mental well-being because her growing sense of loneliness is affecting her overall health and happiness.
Design Process
To overcome tech hesitance in older people, I kept the interactions clear, minimal, and friendly.
We ran usability tests, collecting feedback on clarity and comfort. Many users said they finally felt the app understood them, especially when seeing daily mood reflections and simple encouragement messages. Based on feedback, we refined visual hierarchy and simplified navigation further.
To differentiate the new feature and streamline the workflow, I built a new design system.
Design System
Final Design and Interface
Mental Health Assessment
Mood Tracker and Supplement Reminder
Wellness Exercise and Community Building
Result
The new feature proposal reinforced how important it is to design for the unique needs of older adults, who has low digital literacy rate and facing struggles of loneliness in late age.
measured in projected growth through beta version
among users aged 65+ years old on Mighty Health App
Addressed the struggles of loneliness in older adults
while 28% of older adults live alone in the U.S.
