The Challenge

Despite LePal’s unique gamification elements, retention dropped sharply after onboarding.

‍User behavior showed:

📉

High bounce rates after first few sessions

📓

Limited engagement with key features like the mood tracker and journaling

🫤

Lack of motivation to return daily or upgrade to premium

Key Business Goals:

📈

Boost retention & daily active usage

💰

Improve the perceived value of the app (freemium to premium conversion)

✨

Create a clear sense of progress and value from the start

My Process

🔍 User Research

To improve engagement and design monetization strategies, I recruited users to use the app for 7-10 days and provide feedback on their overall experience, the usability of specific features, their willingness to pay, the ideal customer profile, and any changes they would make.

To do this, I used these methods:

🔑 Incentivized Users

Offered a free 3-month premium subscription and access to exclusive Discord community upon successful completion of study

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Recruited Users

Via LinkedIn, Instagram, Tik Tok, and professional community outreach

❓ Screened Participants

Via 18 screener surveys to determine participant eligibility

🗣️ Interviewed Users

6 initially, 2 heavy users re-interviewed

Using the above methods, I uncovered these key insights:

🧠 Users were engaged by:

Spirit pet interactions and quests
Points, rewards, and visual progress
Daily checklists (quests)which reinforced habit loops

😵 Users dropped off due to:

Technical bugs, slow load times, and confusing navigation
Journaling and mood tracking felt repetitive or lacked personalization
AI-driven spirit pet sometimes gave surface-level or insensitive feedback

"It (spirit pet) told me to 'just chill out'... that wasn't helpful."

💸 Users hesitated to convert to a paid subscription because:

Free features felt too limited, but users didn't see enough value in upgrading
Users wanted tangible benefits (e.g., therapist chat, deeper insights)
Most weren't willing to pay without seeing emotional or functional payoff

"I'd rather spend $4 toward a real therapist."

I flagged my PM about the technical bugs and slow loading times, which was an issue for the developer team. I also notified my PM that the LLM for the AI-driven spirit animal needed to be trained further to give more in-depth and sensitive feedback. The remaining insights on user drop-off and monetization barriers were more design-related issues. In response to those, here are 2 solutions I proposed:

1. 🔥 Competitive Social Streaks

A gamified leaderboard to motivate daily engagement with XP, badges, and tiered streaks

Weekly XP competitions to unlock 'spirit pet' accessories
Optional buddy streak for lightweight social accountability

Why this would work:

"I wouldn't want to break a streak with a friend. That would keep me coming back."

2. 🌱 Personal Growth Tracker

A goal-oriented journey map to journaling and mood tracking.

Weekly summaries with mood trend visualizations
Custom avatars + 'spirit pet' evolution based on consistency
"LePal Reflections" — AI-generated feedback after journal entries

"This (personality insights) feel's more personal. I like it—it gives me feedback and shows what to focus on."

🧪 Usability Testing

Ultimately, I was tasked with redesigning LePal’s mood tracker to prioritize simplicity and emotional clarity. The updated screen allows users to:

Select an overall mood with expressive emoji feedback
Choose additional emotions from a wide range of options
Visually rate their stress level
Transition directly into journaling with one tap

I tested the prototype with 15 naïve users unfamiliar with LePal. Here is what I found:

Most users found the layout intuitive and the emojis emotionally validating
The ability to select multiple emotions resonated with users who felt mixed or complex moods
Users appreciated the stress slider’s visual feedback and found it “calming” and “pleasant to interact with”

📈 Outcome:

13 of 15 testers said they would use this kind of mood tracker regularly
Users said it “set the tone” for journaling and helped them “name how I feel”
Several testers asked if their mood data would be saved or reflected back over time—pointing to a desire for longitudinal insight

How I Enhanced Engagement for a Gamified Mental Health App

🧩 Context

📝 I was tasked with:

👤👤 Team

👩‍🎨 Role

🗓️ Duration

The Challenge

📉

📓

🫤

📈

💰

✨

My Process

🔍 User Research

To do this, I used these methods:

Using the above methods, I uncovered these key insights:

🧠 Users were engaged by:

😵 Users dropped off due to:

💸 Users hesitated to convert to a paid subscription because:

1. 🔥 Competitive Social Streaks

2. 🌱 Personal Growth Tracker

🧪 Usability Testing

💭 Reflection

🤔 What I Learned:

👉🏽 What I'd Do Next:

Want to get in touch?
Drop me a line! 📝

How I Enhanced Engagement for a Gamified Mental Health App

🧩 Context

📝 I was tasked with:

👤👤 Team

👩‍🎨 Role

🗓️ Duration

The Challenge

📉

📓

🫤

📈

💰

✨

My Process

🔍 User Research

To do this, I used these methods:

Using the above methods, I uncovered these key insights:

🧠 Users were engaged by:

😵 Users dropped off due to:

💸 Users hesitated to convert to a paid subscription because:

1. 🔥 Competitive Social Streaks

2. 🌱 Personal Growth Tracker

🧪 Usability Testing

💭 Reflection

🤔 What I Learned:

👉🏽 What I'd Do Next:

Want to get in touch?Drop me a line! 📝

Want to get in touch?
Drop me a line! 📝