Yana
A Mental Health Support
Portal for Youth
Infos
Project Background
Google UX Design
Project Type
Mobile App
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Illustrator
Jitter
Role
UX Researcher
UX Designer
UI Designer
Timeline
2 months
@2024
Analysis
Process
Briefing
User persona
JTBD
Functional analysis
Research
User flow & CJM
Information architecture
User interview
Competitive analysis
Prototyping
Service structure
Functional prototype
Wireframes
Technical specification
Design
Visual concept
Design system
Icon design
Testing
Main flow testing
Interactive prototype
Specification
Yana (You Are Not Alone) is a youth-centered mental health portal designed to help young people understand their emotions, feel less alone, and access support in ways that are safe, inclusive, and accessible. Combining digital tools with community and family resources, Yana meets youth where they are, emotionally, socially, and culturally, while empowering them to take an active role in their well-being.
Problem
Youth mental health challenges are rising, yet many young people struggle to access timely, appropriate support. Stigma, lack of mental health literacy, and fragmented resources prevent youth from recognizing when they need help or knowing where to turn.
Solution
Yana offers a trauma-informed, youth-led digital experience integrating social-emotional learning, anonymous expression, peer support, and clear paths to community and professional resources. By connecting youth, families, schools, and local spaces, it supports early intervention, reduces stigma, and builds long-term emotional resilience.
Ideate
Adaptive Flows for Every User Path
By mapping our personas' behaviors, needs, and emotional states, we identified key decision points and barriers that youth face when seeking mental health support. Together, these journeys informed a user flow that is adaptable, low-friction, and empathetic, guiding both exploratory and purposeful users through the app while keeping emotional safety, accessibility, and engagement at the forefront.
Low-fidelity prototype
Mapping Youth Experiences to Screens
Mia and Jay navigate Yana differently based on their needs. Mia, the hesitant explorer, clicks through 6–7 screens, moving from anonymous entry and optional onboarding to mood check-ins, journaling, tools, and eventually peer support. Jay, the goal-driven user, follows a more streamlined path of 5–6 screens, focusing on quick access to mood tracking, coping tools, and resource navigation. Together, these flows demonstrate how the app balances exploration and efficiency while guiding youth toward support.
Designing Yana's website
Visual identity
SOLUTION
A Connected Ecosystem for Youth Mental Health
Yana delivers a trauma-informed, system-level approach to youth mental health by removing barriers to care and prioritizing emotional safety. Anonymous access, emotional learning, and self-help tools support early awareness and relief, while peer connection and a resource navigator guide youth to community and professional support, extending care beyond the app through families and schools.
The Result:
Yana enables earlier intervention by shortening the time from emotional distress to support, increasing emotional literacy and peer connection while reducing isolation and unmet mental health needs among youth.
Anonymous & Safe Access
What Yana solves:
Start anonymously to reduce stigma and build trust.
Gentle onboarding and optional personalization.
Impact:
Reduces stigma and fear at entry, enabling youth to seek help earlier and engage more honestly, resulting in higher trust and first-time use.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Tools
What Yana solves:
Micro-lessons on self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation.
Reflection prompts and scenario-based exercises to build emotional literacy.
Impact:
Improves emotional literacy, empathy, and self-regulation, helping youth recognize challenges sooner and build long-term emotional skills.
Mood Tracking & Journaling
What Yana solves:
Private journaling space for self-expression and reflection.
Mood check-ins with optional notes.
Impact:
Strengthens self-awareness and reflection, allowing youth to identify emotional patterns and communicate needs more clearly over time.
Coping & Self-Help Tools
What Yana solves:
Guided exercises for anxiety, stress, focus, sleep, and self-esteem.
Breathing, grounding, and mindfulness activities.
Impact:
Provides immediate, self-directed relief during moments of stress or anxiety, reducing emotional escalation and reliance on crisis-level support.
Peer Support / Talk Rooms
What Yana solves:
Moderated, topic-based chat rooms.
Anonymous usernames for safe social connection.
Community guidelines to ensure supportive interactions.
Impact:
Reduces isolation by normalizing shared experiences and fostering safe connection, increasing feelings of belonging and social support.
Resource Navigation & Access to Help
What Yana solves:
Location-aware navigator for youth-friendly resources, hotlines, and counseling.
Filters for free, low-cost, or online options.
Direct links to crisis support.
Impact:
Shortens the path from distress to professional or community support, increasing timely access to appropriate care and crisis resources.
Parent & Caregiver Support
What Yana solves:
Mental health literacy guides and behavioral health coaching.
Conversation starters and warning-sign checklists.
Youth-controlled privacy settings to maintain safety.
Impact:
Improves caregiver confidence and communication, enabling earlier intervention while respecting youth autonomy and privacy.
Promotion of Social Connection & Activities
What Yana solves:
Integration with arts, sports, clubs, and local community programs.
Encouragement of offline engagement to reduce isolation.
Impact:
Encourages real-world engagement and healthy routines, reducing loneliness and strengthening community belonging beyond the digital space.
Youth-Led Co-Creation & Feedback
What Yana solves:
Youth advisory panels to shape features and content.
In-app feedback and voting on resources and tools.
Programs designed with real youth needs in mind.
Impact:
Increases trust, relevance, and adoption by ensuring the platform reflects real youth needs and empowers youth as active advocates.
Accessibility & Emotional Safety
What Yana solves:
Trauma-informed design with soft colors and calm language.
Optional reminders, no forced interactions.
Anonymous-first experience, low cognitive load, and mobile-first layout.
Impact:
Creates a calm, inclusive experience that minimizes cognitive and emotional overload, making sustained engagement safer and more accessible for all youth.
Outcome:
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