Shimmer
De-shaming ADHD by sharing community perspectives
ROLE
Lead Product Designer
SCOPE
UX / UI Design
User Research
TIMEFRAME
2024
Shimmer is a platform that matches working professionals diagnosed with ADHD with ADHD coaches to make lasting behavioral changes in their professional and personal lives.
When I joined in January 2024, the coaching platform already existed as an MVP on Mobile and Web, but user feedback indicated a need for opportunities to connect from client to client in the form of shared perspectives.
What follows is a walkthrough of how the Community Polls feature was built, including research, explorations, and launched designs.
FEATURE OVERVIEW - POLLS
Combatting shame in ADHD
Many people with ADHD feel ashamed of how their brains function.
As someone diagnosed with ADHD later in life, I struggled with tasks like planning and organizing. This feeling of inadequacy changed when I began connecting with others like me in my thirties. I went from feeling alone to feeling like I became part of a larger community of folks who are learning to work with not against our unique brains.
At Shimmer, we introduced the Community Polls feature to help our members see their struggles reflected in others and connect with one another not with shame but with compassion.
Many Constraints,
One Integrated Design
In designing the Polls, I mapped out variables that would affect the user experience and made design choices that satisfied all three types of stakeholders:
USERS
Clients
💡 Byte-sized Info
Add value to the client experience in the form of easy-to-consume peer perspectives.
🙌 Relatability
Create sense of "I'm not alone" when clients engage in the platform.
TEAM
Coaches
📊 Real-Time Data
Give coaches timely data on what is interesting or challenging for clients.
🔄 Reinforcement
Generate opportunities for clients to bookmark topics to discuss with their coach.
ORG
Shimmer
🗣️ Scalable Engagement
Introduce a way for clients to engage with one another without moderation.
🧠 ADHD Insights
Deepen Shimmer's understanding of how clients think about their ADHD.
The Poll
Poll of The Day
Since we decided to release new Polls daily, having a Poll of the Day section allowed us to bring attention to new Polls through increased visual priority, and separate past Polls into their own section. This clarifies the behaviors of active voting vs. browsing past Polls.
Bookmark
with Coach
Our coaching psychologist & supervisor, Xenia, advised us to reinforce coaching within the Polls experience. We ended up creating a Bookmark feature so that clients can save Polls into their chat with coaches for future sessions.
Anatomy
of a Poll
Though there was no need to reinvent the wheel for Polls given the availability of existing design patterns, many details existed under the hood: voted vs. unvoted selections, progress bar intervals, and metadata such as time remaining vs. expired.
POLL LAUNCH INSIGHTS
Common challenges,
personalized paths
Norman really gets what our ADHD members need. He has undoubtedly left his mark with his thoughtful and collaborative approach.
Chris Wang - CEO - Shimmer
IMPACT
The results
are in...
126+
Polls created
2,229+
Votes from clients since launch
10
Categories of Polls such as Check-In's, Symptoms, Strategies, etc
Reviews
UP NEXT
Shimmer
Personalizing ADHD coaching through assessments
UX / UI DESIGN | RESEARCH
I joined Shimmer as a Lead Designer and led the Wheel of Life Assessment design, which helps clients get the most out of their coaching experiences through a comprehensive audit across 15 areas of their lives. I worked closely with the CEO and CTO to design and launch the feature, now a core part of our 2000+ members' coaching journeys.
Don't be a stranger
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