User Research

Survey

I conducted an online survey to gain a clear understanding of my target audience and their challenges. I shared the survey on a subreddit community and on Instagram. The survey comprises a combination of Likert-scale and short-answer questions. It is divided into three categories:

From this survey, I received 81 submissions.

Category 1: Have Dream Journaled

In this category, I've discovered that respondents do not document their dreams on a daily basis due to limited time in the morning and forgetfulness. Furthermore, respondents interpret their dreams but are unsure of what to look for or how to do so. I've also identified the top four methods commonly used for dream journaling and the four reasons why individuals engage in dream journaling.

Top 4 Methods to Dream Journaling

Survey Question: What’s your purpose for documenting your dream?

1. Dream Interpretation

“Usually to visually represent something or a feeling I am already aware of. I frequently discuss my dreams with a parent or friend who can help further interpret, but only if it’s a super meaningful dream.”

2. To remember dreams better

“It seems to help my dreams become more vivid and helps me remember them, which is why I try to document them if I remember.”

3. For casual reasons such as memory keeping or sharing with other people

“I like sharing them with friends and being able to recall a particular dream.”

4. Creative Inspiration

“I'm a writer, and sometimes I have complex dreams, so I document it to see if I can turn it into a story.”

Lastly, respondents stated that they only log dreams that are significant to them.

“Keeping note of what happened. It depends if I like the dream or if something crazy happens then I’m like yea I gotta write this down or type it in my notes app.”

“Mostly for reflection, but also because I keep hoping it will help me remember them better. So far I have noticed no changes but I do not consistently record my dreams — only when I remember AND they’re significant.”

Category 2: Wants to Dream Journal

Respondents who wish to start dream journaling expressed that they want to remember their dreams and learn how to interpret them. Unlike the respondents in the previous section, these respondents indicated that they can journal their dreams immediately upon waking up.

Survey Question: Why do you want to start documenting your dreams?

1. Dream Interpretation

“Link certain types of dreams to emotional/physical/environmental situations happening in real life at that time.”

2. Remember dreams better

“I want to start documenting them to help me remember everything the happened.”

Category 3: Haven't Dream Journaled

In this last category, the majority of the respondents are not interested in dream journaling because they find it insignificant. However, a small percentage of respondents indicated an interest in dream journaling, explaining that they would like to explore the meanings behind their dreams.

Interview Question: Is there a reason you don’t document your dreams? If so, why?

I don’t really remember my dreams and if I do I don’t see the point in doing so.

Interview Question: If you'd like to start documenting your dreams, what do you want to gain out of it?

To find out if there is a meaning or to find out if there are linking dreams

Interviews

I conducted five interviews, which were divided into two categories: those who have journaled their dreams and those who have not.

Key details I found:

There are two common types of people who dream journal: dream interperters and casual dream journalers.

Dream interpreters tend to recognize patterns more compared to the casual dreamer. Casual dreamers document their dreams either for memory keeping, sharing with others, or for fun. They don't analyze their dreams, but, they do notice if there's a pattern such as a recurring dream or theme.

Interview Question: Has keeping a dream journal had any unexpected benefits or surprises that you didn't anticipate when you started?

"...it’s also fun to interpret even if I don’t know what it means. I like talking about it with friends and hearing about other people's dreams. I think it’s a fun topic to start a conversation." - Dream Interpreter

"I just type my dreams for fun. I don’t try to analyze and see the correlation between the two." - Casual Dreamer

Participants who have not journaled their dreams express interest in learning how to do so. However, what's stopping them from dream journaling is how tired they are and the limited time they have in the morning. Nonetheless, they do recognize patterns in their dreams but lack understanding of their significance, wanting insight into the meaning behind their dreams.

Interview Question: What factors or circumstances might influence your decision not to write down your dreams?

"So I go to bed super late so my REM sleep is at like 6AM. So when I wake up I have to immediately get ready for school or something. I get all tired and use my phone to wake myself up."

"I’m too tired and lazy and then like by the time I wake up, I forget my dreams."

Analysis

Based on my research data, I discovered three different types of users: the casual dreamer, the interpreter, and the creative. I developed personas for each type, and each persona has its own empathy and journey map to understand their wants, needs, goals and pain points.

Personas

Empathy Maps

User Journey Maps

Storyboard

I illustrated a storyboard to demonstrate the user's experience using the solution, the Dreamcore app. This process helps me understand the user’s journey with the product, identify design flaws, and assess if the experience makes sense.

UI Workflow

Gamification and AI Features

Before starting the project, I brainstormed a list of gamification and AI features. From that list, I selected the ones that best suited the app. Before finalizing the features, I sought feedback from my peers to ensure they were appropriate. Some suggestions included achievements, methods for obtaining rewards, and the design of characters and virtual bedrooms.

Terms

Dream Pals: They are characters that users can earn by unlocking a specific dream symbol after logging their entry. Each character is based on dream symbols.

Dreamspace: They are virtual bedrooms that can be earned in the same way as dreampals. Each dreamspace is also based on dream symbols.

App Features

• Users earn XP and Stars through daily rewards and completing achievements
• Unlock characters and virtual bedrooms by unlocking a dream symbol. Each character and bedroom are based on the dream symbols.
• For every 3 levels, users earn an exclusive accessory and/or furniture
• A shop to purchase clothing and furniture for their characters and virtual bedrooms
• Characters are interactive: they interact with their environment in their virtual bedroom as well as guide users during dream interpretation
• AI dream interpretation with illustrated storytelling
• AI will pick out certain terms or phrases from an entry and organize them into tags for the user
• Achievements for users to complete. Currently, there are only 3 categories: Entries, Dream Symbols, and Shop. Under each category, there are small tasks for users to complete in order to get a reward.
• Dream statistics to view trends such emotions, themes, places and more.

Information Architecture

I created an information architecture to organize the navigation and usability of the application. This helps me understand which features belong under each section and assists me in the design process.

Interaction Model

I developed an interaction model to understand how users would interact with the Dreamcore app while creating their dream entry. This serves as the foundation for the application and helps me create sketches for wireframes.

Sketches

I brainstormed ideas for the screens by illustrating rough sketches on Procreate before translating them into wireframes. These sketches reflect the interaction model and information architecture, allowing me to focus primarily on the important screens.

Low Fidelity Wireframes

Before developing high-fidelity wireframes, I created low-fidelity wireframes to get an idea of how I would like the app to look in terms of color palette, typography, and design elements such as buttons and icons.

Med-High Fidelity Wireframes

User Testing

After completing the medium to high-fidelity wireframes, I conducted 9 user testings.

Issue 01: Buttons were too small

On the Home screen, users found that the icons in the navigation bar and the add button were too small as well as selecting the type of dream, "Dream" or "Nightmare" on the Write Entry screen.

Issue 02: No "Next" button on the quiz screens and indication of what answer they tapped on

A user stated that during the Quiz screens, they would like another screen with a "Next" button so that if they want to change their answers, they can do so on the same screen instead of going back. They also stated that they would like a way to know which answer they chose before going to the next question to make sure they chose the right answer.

Issue 03: No spacings or indications of separate elements in the Reflection Prompt and Final Entry

Users mentioned that in the Reflection and Completed Entry screens, there's not enough spacing between each element to make them distinguishable. Some stated that it felt overwhelming because of how much information is presented to them. Moreover, for the tags in the Completed Entry, users suggested that each theme should have its own color to make it easier to find.

Issue 04: Buttons are very similar to each other.

Users had trouble distinguishing between the "Enrolled" or "Equipped" and "Locked" buttons on the Characters screen, because of how similar they are. This same issue is applied in the List of Achievements and Select Dreamspace screens. They suggested changing the color to make it easier to distinguish between the two.

Issue 05: No organization to view items in Shop

Users expressed a desire for an organizing feature to make it easier to find certain items and rank them from least expensive to most expensive in the Shop screen.

Issue 6: Unsure what each section means in Dream Trends

A user suggested a description for each section in Dream Trends screen to have a better understanding of what each section is about.

High Fidelity Wireframes

After conducting user testing, I made updates to my wireframes based on the feedback I received. I increased the size of the icons and buttons to make them easier for users to tap. Next, I reorganized the Final Entry screen to prevent it from being overwhelming for users, and I split the Reflection screen into three separate screens for a cleaner layout. I also changed the colors of the "Equipped" buttons to distinguish them from the "Locked" buttons. Then, I redesigned the Shop screen by incorporating menus for the type of clothing, type of furniture, and whether the items were collected or not. Lastly, I added descriptions under each category in the Dream Trends screen to help users understand the meaning of each category.

Branding

Logo Ideas

I chose the brand name, Dreamcore, because it gives off more of a gamified feel compared to a different brand name I had orginally called Reverie. For the logo, I chose a purple monochromatic color palette because the color is often associate with sleep and nighttime. However, the app itself has lime green and magenta as accent colors to help enhance the app’s visual appeal. Lastly, I choose the cloud with one eye because it best represents how surreal and peculiar dreams are.

Final Logo

Character Design

Analyzer - Endo

Casual - Elvina

Creative - Creo

Beach - August

Competitor Analysis

Key Competitors

Why is Dreamcore better?

Having a gamified experience helps users maintain their dream journaling routine by motivating them to earn rewards. Each reward reflects their dreams, creating a personal connection between themselves and their dreams. For example, if a user wrote an entry about water, they would earn a water-themed dream pal and dreamspace. This can also lead to an attachment to their dream pal due to the meaningfulness of the reward.

Marketing Strategy

Advertising

To promote Dreamcore on social media, I plan to utilize Instagram stories and reels to capture users' attention. Within the stories and reels, the content will include the app’s features and functionalities. Instagram is chosen as the primary promotional platform due to its widespread popularity and robust features, such as stories, reels, and business account analytics compared to other social media such as Twitter. Another social media I have in mind is TikTok which has been on the rise to raise numerous types of awareness and attractions. I would use Tiktok as well to promote Dreamcore through short videos showcasing app features. This also applies to Youtube by putting up a video on Youtube ads.

Merchandise

For merchandise, I will be offering button pins, stickers, keychains, dream pals figurines, and a 3D model of different dreamspaces. Consumers can purchase these figurines and dreamspaces and place their figurines in their dreamspace similar to how it looks on the app.