Design Thinking Notebook · Final Project Showcase
no rules, just choices
The Showcase
It can be anyone
A parent. A teacher. A neighbor working a double shift. The thing people reach for to cope doesn't belong to one kind of person, and neither does Optional.
Different faces, different reasons, the same quiet reach.
The Problem & Who It's For
People who reach for something to unwind or feel better deserve a way to notice their own cues (physical, emotional, and mental) and to see every choice in front of them, including the thing they're reaching for. Most people don't see themselves as having a problem, and being told they need to change only makes them defensive. So the goal was never to fix or stop anyone. It was to gently widen the options, and let the choice stay theirs.
Users on autopilot reach for vices to cope with life, and they need other options.
Meet the user
Felipe, the Fresh-Start Father
27, a mechanic and a father to a two-year-old. Felipe wants to be happy, make better choices, and advance in his career, but his biggest motivation is being a good example for his child. He gets bored and lonely, carries unresolved trauma, and financial strain makes it hard to care for his family, so he needs a healthy way to decompress.
"I find myself having destructive habits, and I'm trying to make better choices."
Key Features
The Companion
A friendly presence you can name that greets you, runs the check-in, and points you toward the right part of the menu, never a lecture.
Options Near By
A community-updated menu of real, local things to do, with a filter to hide what doesn't fit and screen for free options.
Mind / Body
Guided breath work, meditation, movement, and art or music therapy: healthier sources of the same relief.
Chat Rooms
Anonymous peer rooms and a campfire for sharing stories, so no one has to sit in the isolated moment alone.
Knowledge Hub
Resources people can share and learn from, plus a direct line to 988 for anyone who needs someone now.
Cue Alarm
A self-set reminder tied to the mind and body cues you tend to feel, a gentle nudge to notice the moment before autopilot.
What Testing Taught Us
We tested Optional two ways: a hard-nosed AI focus group told never to flatter us, and three real people from our target audience. The two pointed to the same truths. The AI panel found the structural gaps: the app was reactive, waiting to be opened instead of catching anyone in the moment; a vice-neutral menu could hand someone the very thing they reach for; and the content quietly assumed time, money, and mobility that our most exhausted users don't have. Our real testers, Whitney, John, and DJ, confirmed it all at the front door: nobody understood what the app was for, "Share / Don't share" felt too personal too soon, and the Companion, meant to be the heart of it, was easy to skip right past.
So we iterated. We added a Companion introduction that explains what it is and lets people name it, a gentle way in, with a quiet exit always available. We built the Cue Alarm to answer the "nothing catches me in the moment" gap. We gave people a user-controlled filter over Options Near By and made sure the menu holds real, free, local choices. And we warmed the language so the app never presumes how someone feels. Every change traces back to a specific voice that told us it was broken.
The Prototype
Final Reflection
Working with AI made the process different, but not easier. It came with its own challenges, and taught us that having a specific vision is essential for AI to be helpful at all.
Each iteration only made the next version better, because there's so much you miss when you first start. Building an app around real pain points is what truly informs its functionality.
And you never really know the full story until you do the research — because no matter how much you think you know, there's always more to surprise you.
Optional
no rules, just choices