case study: Intersecting BIPOC mental health and planners

Problem

Among the various types of planners in the U.S. market, none were specifically created for BIPOC mental health and wellness in 2020.

Project

Design and produce a stationery product that incorporated mental health, wellness, and organization to help BIPOC communities balance their day-to-day lives.

Target Audience

Females ranging from 18-24; Students (college and graduate)

Research & Findings

  • A thirteen-question survey was created to gather data on what our target-audiences aesthetic, feature, and planner preferences were. This survey was distributed as a link to James Madison University’s CMSS (Center for Multicultural Student Services) Facebook page and text message threads to students and young adults who lived in California, New York, and Virginia. In total, there were 137 survey responses to synthesize data from. Some of these questions and responses are featured in the carousel below.

  • I collected more qualitative data by interviewing 12 BIPOC participants from the survey. Each interview consisted of 5 open-ended questions and lasted on average 30-minutes.

  • In an attempt to further understand my target audience and their pain points, I also researched who my current competitors were. I researched popular brands like Passion Planner, Papier, and Intellect Change, etc. These brands had components of mental health but not specifically focused on creating a resource for people of color. I analyzed their negative reviews, features that users enjoyed, and the way they marketed their products.

SURVEY RESPONSES

  • How old are you?

  • What do you like most about your planner?

  • How do you use your planner?

  • Sunday or Monday?

  • Physical or virtual?

  • How do you track your long term goals?

  • what is your size preference for your planner?

  • Do you like monthly planner tabs?

  • Do you like planners with a metal spine?

KEY FINDINGS & CHALLENGES

SURVEY FINDINGS

  1. Physical and digital tools are used to plan.

  2. Planners are frequently used for school, work, and personal life.

  3. Monday is the preferred day of the week for a planner to start.

  4. To-do lists, blank areas, and inspirational quotes are the most-liked features in a physical planner.

  5. Reminders and lists are the tools that are most often used to track long terms goals.

INTERVIEW FINDINGS

  1. Users prefer a to-do list that separates their personal and work tasks.

  2. All interviewees use their phones or are open to a digital planner.

  3. Users would like to see a reflection portion for self-care.

  4. Male users prefer a minimal layout and blank spaces rather than a detailed layout.

  5. Users that have busy day-to-day schedules prefer to time-block their day and have space to list their tasks.

CHALLENGES

The biggest challenge that came to light was that there wasn’t an “all-in-one” planner for the majority of my target audience. Users that have a busy schedule and long to-do lists need one day on a single page (Teachers, wedding planners, students, etc); versus users that have a more flexible schedule prefer a birds-eye view of their week, requiring more days on a single page. This discovery in my research process created a lot of confusion, doubt, and fear.

How could I design a product without excluding a large portion of my target audience?

Designing the solution

I decided to create two products for my target audience: A daily and weekly planner.

Each planner has its own user persona profiles, Jameelah for the daily and Ashley for the weekly.

DAILY PLANNER

Sketch & First Draft

WEEKLY PLANNER

Sketch & First Draft

  • Each planner had three prototypes developed, edited, and tested to see what users liked and did not like about the layout and functionality. This process was carried out by requesting the participants to use a PDF prototype of their assigned planner for three days. These individuals were also participants of the initial Google survey.

    I gathered feedback by reviewing each filled out PDF and asked each participant the following questions over the phone:

    1) Explain your annotation process.

    2) List your favorite parts about this planner.

    3) How can we improve the functionality and design of this product?

  • COVID-19 & SUPPLY CHAIN

    I tried my best to be intentional about the finding a vendor. I wanted them to be a local BIPOC owned business based in the Bay Area but alas… The pandemic. Many vendors we wanted to work with closed due to COVID-19 or were way out of our budget. On top of having issues finding a reliable vendor, our order came in one and a half months later than anticipated due to the supply chain delays.

    GETTING GHOSTED

    My team and I spent two months emailing vendors all across the Bay Area to get a quote for our order. We finally landed on one that we really liked that was in our price range. We spent another month coordinating the order with TheVendorWhoWillNotBeNamed and eventually got ghosted. :( We turned to international vendors and eventually found a few options in time to make our launch deadline!

    PRODUCT SAMPLES

    Our team ordered samples from different vendors of the weekly and daily planner (Referenced as Vendor A, B, and C). Vendor A’s sample was a catfish. Vendor C’s product was average; It checked off all the boxes in terms of quality except for the spine of the planner. The spiral spine was made out of a cheap metal, that bended easily. This was especially a problem for the daily planner since this product has hundreds of pages and needed a metal spine that thoroughly supported it. Vendor B was thankfully a hit. They supplied us with high-quality products and exceptional service that we still use up to today.

The Outcome

  • Daily Planner Spread

  • Weekly Planner Spread

  • Reflection and Finances

  • Monthly Self-Care

  • 2022 Cover

What's Next?

What's Next?

This past November was the third annual release of our planners. The Essence Planner team and I are currently working on perfecting the newest fall 2024 collection. We are so grateful for our supportive community and are excited to continue developing mental wellness resources for people of color. For more information about our upcoming launches check out the Essence Planner website below!