Rae

My Role: Founding Designer (UX, UI, Research, Branding)

Rae provides mental health support for anyone who needs it — 24/7. Leveraging AI, Rae offers structured sessions, actionable insights, on-demand therapeutic chats and progress tracking. Rae has conducted 5,000+ sessions with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.


Website: rae.chat (mobile app launching soon)

Overview

Many people who want mental health care don't get therapy due to high costs, lack of access, lack of time, cultural stigma and other factors. Rae aims to fill the gap by leveraging AI and incorporating proven therapy research.

Problem Description

They say design is not a linear process. I experienced this first-hand with Rae. The founder and I launched an MVP as quickly as possible to test market reception. Post MVP launch, I continuously redesigned to improve user experience, strengthen product stickiness, and increase user engagement. However initally, the focus was on the necessary elements to launch.

Building the MVP

Post MVP Redesigns

The product got users! Within 2 weeks post-launch, Rae had 240 sign ups, completed 318 sessions and received an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. This encouraged us to continue working on Rae.


New problem statement: how do we grow the user base and increase user engagement?


We divided the question into 3 sub questions.

Given the quick timeline of the MVP launch, I conducted secondary research and primary research from online forum discussions (e.g., Reddit). Below are the key findings that helped determine the UX, branding and UI for the MVP.

Reasons why some people appreciate AI therapy over traditional therapy:

  • No judgement

  • Always available

  • Available around the world, even in places where therapy isn't prevalent

  • Can keep users accountable

  • "Humans are quick to judge while I find AI therapy has a soft tone and says everything to help me keep going"

  • "ChatGPT has talked me through my intrusive thoughts and I’ve felt better than I have in a long time. Plus, I don’t have to wait a whole week for a 45 minute session that costs money"

  • Have a 24/7 casual chat option

  • Provide options in different languages

  • Make memory applicable throughout sessions

  • Have key insights

  • Have actional next steps

  • Be as empathetic, understanding as possible

Demographically, the majority of therapists (~75%) are female. Women are almost twice as likely as men to get therapy.

  • The branding and UI could lean more feminine

Shortcomings of AI therapy

  • Responses can feel unnatural

  • No true human sympathy


"They're so artificially eager to please and doesn't question or challenge"


"There are times when Rae would ask questions in circles"

  • Responses should be as natural and empathetic as possible

  • Add a voice option that sounds natural

Initial Discovery

Key Finding

Implications

  • The IA for the MVP is simple with 3 main parts

  • Sessions that aim to mimic traditional therapy sessions with actionable insights at the end

  • Chat is 24/7 support

  • My Journey provides an overview of one's mental health journey

Preliminary Information Architecture

Branding and UI

Imagery

The icons are inspired by nature, suggesting the natural journey of growth.

Section

Icon

Description

My Journey

The user's long-term journey is represented by a seedling. Similar to how a seedling grows under the right amount of water, light and nutrients, one's mental health can also evolve with care

Sessions are represented by a lotus flower to convey calmness, resilience and inner strength

Session

Chat is represented by a leaf. Chats are more simple and free flowing, just like how leaves blow in the wind.

Chat

Settings is a flower version of the traditional settings icon

Settings

Feedback is a water droplet because water nourishes the plant’s growth

Feedback

The overall feeling should be friendly, inviting and warm, so users enjoy talking to Rae. The experience should also feel calm, accepting and trustworthy, so users feel comfortable sharing personal emotions and experiences.

Naming

To make the sessions feel more personal, I wanted to choose a name that could sound like a person's name. The name should be short, 1 or 2 syllables, to keep the focus on the user. The name should be gender neutral to encourage inclusivity.

Short List

Niki

Raven

Rave

Rae

Raine

May

Rae was chosen because it is simple and is a homophone for ray, as in a ray of sunlight for a symbolism of hope.

Logo

The initial logo was inspired by the 7 chakras. A belief system exists that by balancing the 7 chakras, one could achieve a more fulfilling emotional life

Trial logos

Logo for the MVP

This was chosen for its hypnotic and calming qualities. The rings gradually decrease in width and become lighter as they go outwards.

Colors

The primary color is a soft blue, representing calmness. The secondary color is a green, and it’s mostly used to congratulate users when they complete something. Gradients are used to portray softness in the approach to mental health

Shades of blue for the icon circles

Secondary color

Text color

  1. How can AI serve an unfulfilled need in mental health?

  1. How can Rae develop a connection with users so they return week after week, even multiple times per week?

  1. How can we distinguish Rae from other AI therapy platforms, so users choose Rae over other platforms?

  1. AI can serve several key unfulfilled needs in mental health

    • 24/7 support

    • No judgement

    • Memory

    • Lower cost compared to traditional therapy

    • No need to do logistical steps like scheduling and calling insurance

    • Don't need to spend time finding a therapist

  1. How can Rae build connection with users?

    • Be reliable when someone needs help

    • Feel like a genuine friend by having a compassionate tone and remembering previous conversations

    • Remember previous conversations and relate them with current conversation

    • Be able to track progress

  1. How can we distinguish Rae from other AI therapy platforms, so users choose Rae over other platforms?

    • Distinct tone that is empathetic

    • Detailed and actionable takeaways after each session

    • Branding, UI and language that portray calmness compared to competitors that portray other feelings (e.g., Calmi uses Gen Z language; EarKick is focused on teenagers)

  1. Complaints, constraints suggestions

    • Sometimes Rae is too positive and it feels fake

    • Answers sometimes feel formulaic, ending in a question everytime

    • Being able to talk to Rae would make it feel more natural

    • Can't deal with crisis situations and some specialized disorders

    • Too much text at once can be hard to digest

We tackled these questions through user interviews (13 completed), 4 rounds of surveys (140 responses total), competitive analysis, and expert interviews.

I made an affinity map based on the user interviews, syntheisizing key takeaways to incorporate into redesigns.

Key Research Findings

Smoother, shorter onboarding process

One advantage of AI therapy is that it has a lower barrier to entry. Users do not need to search for therapists on the Internet, research their reviews and specializations, schedule an appointment, and spend extensive time building rapport. In the initial MVP for Rae, onboarding took on average 15 minutes to complete. I redesigned it to take less than 5 minutes, making it as frictionless as possible, while building excitement and trust, with the goal of decreasing dropoff. I also made sure to gather important information about the user and transparently communicate the limitations of AI therapy. For the visual experience, I leaned into Rae being a ray of light that symbolizes hope.

Major Redesigns After User Research

Personas

Rae has a diverse user base. I made 5 personas to empathize with why people use Rae, how they engage with it, features to expand upon, and areas for improvement.

The first screens introduces users to Rae's calming & hopeful energy, value proposition and limitations

Then we gather important information about the user to personalize the experience, keeping questions to the most essential ones so users don't decide to exit.

After gathering key information, we transition directly into the first therapy session to decrease friction. The user would get insights & next steps after the session. This would be the first chapter in their journey with Rae.

Adding Voice

One key takeaway from surveys and user interviews is that a lot of people prefer to just talk naturally to a therapist platform rather than having to type. I tried different approaches to visually show when Rae is listening vs. talking, while keeping the overall feeling calm and natural. I also wanted to keep the experience immersive with minimal distractions to help users focus on the session.

Rae is talking

User is talking

Expansion of Session Insights

Another advantage of AI based therapy is the ability to generate insights and save them, instead of having to write them down and even forget important revelations. Many users also indicated they got a lot of value from reading insights at the end of each session. I redesigned the insights section to be more robust and organized with actionable next steps for users to take. To make it more personal, key quotes are highlighted. To mark progress, each session is a chapter, as in a chapter in their mental health journey.

Trial, just for fun

Visualization of My Journey

To build emotional connection and user stickiness, we wanted to visually show the user's mental health journey and the topics they talked about with Rae. There is also a clear CTA to do a session, where the banner changes colors depending on the time of the session.

Immersive Sessions

An UI decision was to make the Sessions section immersive, so users feel encouraged to start a session.

Differentiating 24/7 Chat from Formal Sessions

A big advantage of AI therapy is that it's available 24/7. We wanted to make this feature different from formal sessions. I made the UI more casual with the ability to customize colors.