Abstract

In this competitive society with the pace of people’s life speeding up, stress is inevitable. Too much stress though will bring negative effects on people’s physical and emotional wellbeing. According to a survey the American Psychological Association conducted from 2007 to 2016, very few actions are being taken to prevent or relieve stress effectively even though an increasing number of people have realized that stress has an impact on health and wellbeing.¹ Untreated chronic stress can contribute to severe health problems including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system.² Today, there are many stress trackers or guides on the market to help people solve this problem. However, most of these products lack effective solutions for a user’s individual situation and need design improvements from both a user experience and a visual design perspective to help solve people’s daily problems. This leaves a great opportunity open to help people with mental stress issues through wearable technology.

The mission of this thesis project is using data visualization and user interface design to first, help people determine their stress level and second, to provide customized scientific methods for relieving that stress. The final project is an interactive prototype of a mobile application that works with a wearable device which tracks data related to the user’s stress. Overall, the project aims to create a tool with a friendly user experience and attractive visual elements for people with stress issues. It will help them to understand their stress and to manage it in an easier, intuitive and accessible way.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Wearable technology--Design; Stress management--Interactive multimedia--Design; Information visualization; User interfaces (Computer systems)--Design; Mobile apps--Design

Publication Date

12-12-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Visual Communication Design (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Design (CAD)

Advisor

Chris Jackson

Advisor/Committee Member

Daniel DeLuna

Advisor/Committee Member

Shaun Foster

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

VISCOM-MFA

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