Growth Study — Sōl Wellness App
Junior vs
Senior thinking
The same app, two years apart. This study displays how my design thinking evolved — from building screens to building systems that adapt to real users.
Junior Work
2023
Senior Work
2025
App
Wellness
Platform
iOS
Role
Lead UI/UX Designer
Feature 01
Dashboard & Home Screen
Designed for the template. Revised for the person.
Junior
· 2023
Rustling Leaves
Remaining 3 affirmations
Welcome Back!
How are you feeling today? Express your feelings in the
journal and let self-reflection guide your journey.
Quote of the Day
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing
elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt.”
Start A Meditaiton
My Favorites
Daily Affirmations
Steady Rain
Time Remaining 1 minute
EmpowerHER
Remaining 8 affirmations
Morning Boost
Remaining 3 affirmations
Home
Saturday
Affirmations
Journal Entry
Meditation
30%
51%
66%
Melanie Daneirs
Achievements
Daily Goals
Today
Affirmations
62%
Journal Entry
79%
Meditation
32%
Today
Affirmations
62%
Journal Entry
79%
Meditation
32%
Monday
Affirmations
Journal Entry
Meditation
83%
51%
66%
Sunday
Affirmations
Journal Entry
Meditation
95%
77%
46%
Profile
Senior
· 2025
Sōl
Good morning, Melanie
Thursday · March 26
9:41
TODAY'S READINESS
74
/ 100
● Sleep · good
● Mood · moderate
● Rhythm · aligned
FOCUS ENERGY
Low
Building
Peak
Fading
You're at peak energy — great time for deep work.
🔥
7-day streak
Your focus scores peak on days like today
Set your intention for today
Opens today's journal prompt
▶
SOUNDS
Neural Soundscapes
Deep focus
JOURNAL
Cognitive Mapping
3 day streak
● PATTERN SPOTTED
Focus scores are 30% higher on days you journal before 9am
Your week at a glance
Rhythm Intelligence · last 7 days
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
Sōl
Melanie Daneirs
Resilient Navigator
9:41
Today's goals
📓
Journal
In Progress
🎧
Sounds
Growing
🌿
Nourish
Consistent
◎
Personal Rhythm
Based on your last 28 days of activity
Day 18 of 28
Building
Peak
Consolidating
Rest
You're in your peak output phase — your consistency this week is your highest in 4 weeks. 🎯
Track Your Growth
See how your Mind, Body, Social and Nourish scores shift over time
Mind
+4%
Body
-3%
Nourish
+2%
Social
+6%
The fuller the shape, the more balanced your wellbeing
Mind · 75
Body · 50
Social · 80
Nourish · 72
What changed & why
System first, screens second
I mapped the user's emotional state before opening Figma. The dashboard now adapts to what the user actually needs each day.
Sleep, mood, and rhythm data feed into a readiness score that shapes everything you see.
Pattern spotting notices things you don't. Focus is 30% higher on days you journal before 9am.
A growth radar replaces a static favorites list — users see progress across Mind, Body,
Social, and Nourish at a glance.
What I was thinking
Screens first, flow second
I designed individual screens and connected them — the flow emerged from the visuals
rather than a mapped user journey.
The welcome banner is the same for every user, every day. It greets without knowing anything about you.
The favorites list is manually set and static. There is no intelligence about what the user actually needs at that moment.
Lorem ipsum in entry previews signals the information architecture wasn't fully resolved before visual design began.
Feature 02
Sounds & Meditation
Sound as medicine, not entertainment.
Junior
· 2023
Mindful Mix
Your personal sound sanctuary, offering a collection of calming music
and soundscapes to help you relax, focus, and find your center.
Background Sounds
Meditations
Popular
White Noise
Lofi
Nature
Chill
Thunder & Lightning
Time Remaining 8 minutes
Rustling Leaves
Time Remaining 3 minutes
Steady Rain
Time Remaining 1 minute
Ocean Waves
Time Remaining 15 minutes
The gentle hum of white noise, where the mind finds
its calm amidst the quiet.
Sounds
Senior
· 2025
Sōl
Neural Soundscapes
Sound tuned to your cognitive state — not just your genre preference
Deep Focus · recommended now
9:41
Deep Focus
Wind Down
Recovery
Creative
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Golden Hour
Ambient · Warm tones
Unwind
25 min
▶
Quiet the Noise
Ambient · Stress release
Calm
15 min
▶
Evening Woods
Nature · Forest sounds
Relax
45 min
▶
Just Be
Minimal · Breathing rhythm
Stillness
30 min
▶
NOW PLAYING
Quiet the Noise
Ambient · Stress release
10:00
25:00
What I was thinking
Genre-based browsing
I organized sounds the way a music app would, by genre and popularity. Simple to
design, but it asked the user to do all the decision-making themselves.
The tab navigation asks users to decide before the app has helped them figure out what they need.
The filters organize by genre, not by need. In a wellness app, those are very different things.
What changed & why
Cognitive-state matching
The senior version removes the browsing burden entirely. The app surfaces what you need based on your readiness score — it's already done the thinking before you arrive.
State-based modes (Deep Focus, Wind Down, Recovery) replace genre tags. They map to how you feel, not what you like.
The recommendations update as you do. What surfaces at 9am looks different by 4pm.
Feature 03
Journal & Reflection
From calendar log to self-awareness system
Junior
· 2023
September
Daily Prompt: What is one thing you did for yourself today that made you feel good?
Create New Entry +
Journal Title
8:36pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor . . . .
Recent Entries
Journal Title
7:50pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor . . . .
Journal Title
8:02am
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor . . . .
Journal Title
2:12pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor . . . .
Journal Title
2:12pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor . . . .
12
Mon
11
Sun
10
Sat
9
Fri
8
Thu
Journal
M
29
T
30
W
01
T
02
F
03
S
04
S
05
Senior
· 2025
Sōl
Cognitive Mapping
Map your inner state — thoughts, mood, and nervous system
Self-reflection · active now
9:41
Self reflection
Relationship
Nervous system state
Regulated
Hyperaroused
Shutdown
Recovering
TODAY'S PROMPT
What did you do for yourself today that made you feel good?
Write freely... your thoughts are private and safe here.
Recent entries
Morning reflection
Today · 8:14am
Evening check-in
Yesterday · 9pm
Deep work session
Mon · 11:30am
What I was thinking
A log with a calendar
The journal was a diary with a date picker. Functional, but the structure never guided users toward anything deeper.
The calendar takes up 30% of the screen. It navigates but never surfaces insight, trends, or context about past entries.
Generic daily prompts are the same every day, every user. No connection to what the user is actually going through.
What changed & why
A self-awareness system
The senior journal adds a nervous system state selector before writing. It frames the entry with emotional context and feeds directly back into the readiness score.
The nervous system state (Regulated, Hyperaroused, Shutdown, Recovering) is rooted in
somatic psychology. It changes the prompt that follows.
Entry history uses color-coded dots by state, so users can visually spot emotional patterns
across the week without digging into individual entries.
Feature 04
Neuro-Nutrition
A senior addition — identifying a problem space the junior version never saw
Senior only — new feature
The gap I noticed
The junior app told users to feel better. It never
helped them fuel better.
Research into habit formation and cognitive performance showed that nutrition directly
affects mood regulation, focus, and stress response — the three things Sōl is built around. Ignoring food wasn't neutral, it was a missed connection.
What research told me
Omega-3s and magnesium directly influence cortisol regulation. The same system the
readiness score already tracks.
What users told me
A 10 minute meditation app solves a small problem. Sōl was always meant to solve a bigger one.
The design challenge
Nutrition features feel clinical. The challenge was making food feel like self-care and not a meal tracker.
Senior · 2025
— Neuro-Nutrition
Sōl
Neuro-Nutrition
Brain-focused meals matched to your readiness score and rhythm phase
Focus phase · prioritise protein
9:41
Today's nutrient focus
Dopamine
Serotonin
Cortisol reg.
Focus
Brain fuel for today
Salmon & walnut bowl
Omega-3 · dopamine support
Lunch
Dark chocolate & nuts
Magnesium · cortisol balance
Snack
Blueberry oat smoothie
Antioxidants · memory boost
Breakfast
Community recipe kitchen
See all →
Focus Bowl
@maya_r
Quinoa, salmon, avocado, edamame
Dopamine
94% match
Sleep Tonic
@wellness_k
Chamomile, magnesium, oat milk, honey
Recovery
88% match
A gap worth filling
Nutrition as a missing system layer
The junior app addressed the mind — meditate, journal, affirm. But mental wellness doesn't stop there. Adding Neuro-Nutrition was closing a loop the product had always left open.
What makes it senior thinking
Research-led, not assumption-led
Nutritional neuroscience connects what you eat directly to mood, focus, and cortisol. The same systems the readiness score already tracks.
Meals are matched to the readiness phase — a high-cortisol day automatically surfaces magnesium-rich options.
The community kitchen adds social accountability without making it feel like a diet app.
Weekly adherence feeds back into the readiness score, completing the Mind-Body-Nourish loop in the profile radar.
