In the hustle and bustle of Singapore’s fast-paced city life, many residents silently struggle to keep up with their responsibilities, their emotional well-being, and the feeling of being truly understood. A 2022 study by the Institute of Mental Health found that 1 in 3 young people in Singapore reported poor mental health, while seniors increasingly face social isolation, with 1 in 4 living alone by 2030.
My role: Sole designer
Duration: 34h
Responsibilities: End-to-end process
4/5
User satisfaction score
60+
AI companions
x/2
x/2
x/4
x/2
x/4
x/2
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Watermark
Logo
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH
Guerrilla user testing
I conducted user testing with participants across various scenarios and gathered insights from their feedback. Here’s the key learnings:
Participants found the interface generally easy to navigate but noted that some features were not immediately discoverable (e.g., advanced settings, emotional tone adjustments)
Some participants felt the AI’s empathetic responses would be overly scripted, lacking genuine warmth or attentiveness
Participants suggested that varying the tone based on context (e.g., upbeat vs. calming) would enhance perceived empathy
“Sometimes the replies feel too robotic. I want it to feel more natural.”
Participant 2
Participant summarising impressions of the Solace experience
4/5
User satisfaction score
60+
AI companions
70+
screens
Since this was a side project for a hackathon, I wanted to go beyond just solving real problems. I saw it as an opportunity to break free from typical design system constraints and experiment with new technologies and AI tools to deepen my skills. Through my research, I also discovered that more and more people are turning to AI for support and advice, especially during times of emotional distress.
Lessons
Tradeoffs
The primary tradeoff centered around the breadth versus depth of character development, offering users a wide variety of characters to choose from versus creating more meaningful, well-crafted interactions with a smaller set of characters.