Before taking this class, I believed that behavior change mostly depended on individual willpower. While people could be nudged slightly by tools or reminders, I assumed that long-term habit change ultimately came down to discipline and personal motivation. Over the course of the class, however, my thinking changed quite significantly. Through the readings, lectures, and our own project, I began to see how strongly behavior is shaped by the environment and cues around us. Instead of expecting people to rely purely on motivation, designers can create systems that make the desired behavior easier, more visible, and more rewarding. This idea fundamentally changed how I think about habits. It made me realize that behavior change is not only about persuading people but about designing environments that support good choices by default.
Another assumption I had before the class was that UI design would be extremely difficult. I had very little experience with interface design, and I imagined it required either artistic skills or advanced design tools. What surprised me was how approachable the process became when it was broken into intermediate steps. Activities like style tiles, sketching screens, and brainstorming user flows helped translate abstract vibes into concrete interfaces. Working with a teammate also made a big difference. Discussing design ideas and iterating together helped us move forward quickly and refine our thinking.
One part of the design process that I particularly enjoyed was brainstorming through drawing. Sketching early interface ideas on paper allowed us to explore different possibilities quickly without worrying about whether they looked polished. In fact, starting with sketches felt much more creative than jumping directly into AI-generated prototypes or digital tools. It encouraged us to think carefully about the user experience rather than focusing on aesthetics too early. Another method that I found surprisingly useful was sketchnoting while reading papers. Creating visual summaries helped me organize the main ideas and remember them more clearly than traditional notes. At the same time, there were parts of the course structure that worked less well for me. Some in-class exercises felt somewhat repetitive, especially when they repeated similar brainstorming steps. For example I didn’t enjoy the “system paths” activity as much as some of the other design methods. It felt more rigid and linear compared to other approaches we used to organize ideas.
One of the biggest challenges our team faced during the project was coming up with an intervention that felt meaningful rather than simply replicating an existing productivity tool or calendar APPs. Many of our early ideas ended up looking like standard reminder systems or calendar applications. These solutions did not feel particularly innovative, and we struggled to identify what would actually make our project unique or impactful. After more brainstorming and feedback from the teaching team, we eventually developed two main interventions: motivational quotes and the provision of energy bars through a snack-box option. These features were designed to support users in moments when they might otherwise skip eating because they are too busy to prepare food. Instead of simply reminding users to eat, the app attempts to address the underlying barrier: lack of time and mental bandwidth. I think these interventions better reflect what we learned in the course about designing environments that support behavior change rather than relying solely on reminders.
Another important aspect we considered was ethics. Our project uses nudges to encourage healthier eating habits, but we tried to ensure these nudges remained transparent and optional. Users can opt out of features if they do not find them helpful, which helps prevent the system from becoming overly manipulative. For example they can snooze reminders if needed and they can often personalize reminders or designs to make them feel less pushy. Privacy was another consideration, especially with our calendar integration feature. While connecting a user’s calendar allows the app to detect busy times and suggest snacks proactively, it could also raise concerns about data access. One way we discussed mitigating this issue was limiting the information retrieved from the calendar. Instead of reading the full details of events, the app could simply detect when time blocks are occupied and treat them as “busy” without storing or analyzing the event content.
In terms of inclusive design, we tried to incorporate flexibility into the interface. For example, users can choose different health goals and snack box preferences. Many automated features also include manual adjustment options so that users can customize the experience to fit their needs. However, we also recognized that our project has limitations. For example, supporting users with serious health conditions or eating disorders would require medical expertise beyond the scope of our project. Designing responsibly for those groups would likely require collaboration with healthcare professionals.
One thing I wish had gone differently was the timeline for the baseline study. It felt somewhat rushed, and I think we would have benefited from being more aware of that deadline earlier in the process. With more time, we could have collected richer data and refined our intervention design before moving into later stages of the project. We also received useful feedback during user testing that we did not have enough time to fully incorporate. So it would be nice if we had done user testing then improved upon our design and submitted final prototype after that.
Our project promotes well-being through the hedonic theory of well-being, which focuses on increasing positive experiences and reducing negative ones. One common issue our users reported was skipping meals when they were busy, which often left them feeling tired or stressed later in the day. Our intervention aims to reduce this friction by providing small environmental supports, such as reminders, motivational quotes, and the option to receive snack boxes with snacks that they will look forward to. By reducing the stress of meal preparation and providing small moments of encouragement, the app attempts to improve users’ day-to-day experience.
I think what I will remember most from this class is how the design process can transform abstract ideas into concrete solutions through structured steps. Before this course, I would not have felt confident designing a mobile app related to behavior change. Now, I feel much more prepared to approach similar problems. The combination of brainstorming, sketching, prototyping, and user testing provides a clear path for turning ideas into real systems.
Most importantly, this class changed how I think about habits and behavior change. Instead of relying on willpower alone, I now see how thoughtfully designed environments and cues can make positive behaviors much easier to maintain. In the future, when designing technology or even thinking about my own habits, I will be much more aware of how small design decisions can influence behavior in powerful ways.
Next time I work on a behavior-change design problem, I would spend more time early in the process deeply understanding the underlying barrier rather than jumping too quickly into solution ideas. In our project, we initially proposed several features that resembled typical reminder or calendar apps. It took additional brainstorming and feedback to realize that the real issue was not remembering to eat, but the lack of convenient food options when users are busy or the motivation to eat when you are not super hungry. That insight ultimately led to the snack box idea, which addressed the root problem more directly. In the future, I would try to identify these deeper behavioral constraints earlier through user research and interviews. I would also plan more time for iteration after user testing, since we received valuable feedback that we were not fully able to incorporate before the final submission.
