DREAMER EMPATHY
I synthesized interview transcripts into empathy maps focused on the first minute after waking, capturing what dreamers say, think, do, and feel when recall is most fragile. Clear patterns emerged—rapid memory decay, hesitation without a safety net, vigilance about privacy, and varied expression modes (voice, sketch, quick text). These clusters formed the behavioral foundation for our personas (Bianca, Sonia, Alex) and set concrete constraints for the experience: one-tap, voice-first capture with autosave, a warm low-cognition tone, and explicit privacy cues for confident sharing.
USER PERSONAS - EVIDENCE BASED PROFILES
Built from interviews and empathy maps, these personas capture real contexts and constraints in the first minute after waking. They inform problem framing, flow prioritization, and UI decisions—so we design for behavior, not assumptions.
Soraya — In therapy, outcome-oriented
Soraya uses dream journaling to support therapy and needs structure she can trust. Her ideal flow starts with a quick capture in the morning, then a review in the evening to add context before exporting.
Bianca — Casual morning capture, low-cognition
Bianca wants to record before the memory fades, without settings or decisions getting in the way. A timed morning prompt, one-tap voice or quick text, autosave on exit, and mood chips at entry keep friction near zero.
Alex — Creative exploration, expressive input
Alex treats dreams as creative material and needs flexible capture that preserves texture. Voice notes, quick sketches, and optional audio attachments help him store fragments without breaking flow; later he explores patterns with tags, moods, and lightweight summaries.
HOW THEY GUIDE THE DESIGN?
Sonia defines the export & privacy model
Bianca sets the bar for first-minute capture
Alex drives expressive inputs and revisit patterns—together shaping the core flows and what we cut to keep cognition low
USER STORIES
I translated empathy insights into concise, testable user stories—As a [persona], I want [need], so that [outcome]—to turn research into concrete requirements and constraints. These stories defined the MVP scope (what’s in vs. out), informed IA and task flows, and set acceptance criteria for usability testing (e.g., time-to-record, decisions before capture, confidence in privacy). Stories anchored to Bianca’s first-minute capture, Sonia’s intentional, privacy-assured export, and Alex’s expressive inputs ensured that every design choice supported real behavior, not assumptions, and gave the team a clear yardstick for iteration.
USER JOURNEY MAPS - SCOPE
I mapped each persona’s wake-to-capture (and, for Soraya, capture-to-export) sequence to visualize actions, thoughts, and emotions across the first minute. The maps exposed “moments that matter” (prompt seen, first input, exit risk, privacy confirmation) and turned them into design priorities—one-tap start, draft safeguard, mood at entry, and explicit export confirmation—aligning flows, UI states, and test criteria around real behavior.
