"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom"
What is “Knowing” ?
“Knowing” began as a self-published ritual research journal created by Sasha Von Hanna.
At its essence it is a guide to awareness of the divine feminine ecosystem.
Through ritual reflection, charting and observation of natural cycles, feelings and behaviors, Knowing offers users an ability to uncover their patterns.
The concept for the Knowing app came forward as a desire to mirror, expand and reframe the journal in a modern and easy-to-use digital tool that users could access anytime, anywhere.
Concept
Research
Synthesis
Initial Ideation
Concept Phase
The Challenge:
Identifying and understanding the target audience for Knowing’s mobile app.
This project took the concept scripted in Knowing's first published diary through research and discovery phases, establishing the product's unique value and target audience. The founder wanted to discover that pathways to take to deliver to her vision as a tool that would eventually become an app.
Six Months: August 2021 - February 2021
Duration:
UX Researcher/Generalist
My Role:
Some Background
There were many levels that resonated with me about this product. What Knowing offered, had never been done and I was excited to help bring life to this important creation.
I was simultaneously aware of the challenge that it may be to design; creating tangibility out of hypothetical subject matter. Knowing explores the world of the intangible; it explores feelings, astrology, the moon and how we may be affected by our outer world. How might we successfully create a visualization of the abstract that was most useful to users?
Further, working with subject matter around which cultural/societal boundaries exist and perhaps even discourage exploration left us wondering; how large was our market, how sustainable was this product offering?
Yet, there is a beautiful science at the heart of how Knowing functions. In fact, Knowing uses a scientific method to collect and observe quantitative data. In this way, it isn't imagining or predicting. It simply offers an opportunity to chronicle parts of ourselves and experiences that often go uncharted, measuring them against time and space. The patterns reveal themselves.
Before taking any active steps, our team met at length to listen to the founder's vision, to share our perspectives, to align on the mission and to discuss all the different moving parts. This high concept idea was full of depth and there was much to consider. What was it that we suspected was the common need we would be solving? What was the problem in the world? We arrived together at the following.
The conversation
The Problem
People are unaware of how cyclical their lives are and struggle in states of unawareness and disconnection from themselves. Their feelings, choices and lived experiences are full of dynamic patterns and cycles, ready to be discovered if we pay attention.
The Hypothesis
We believe that by offering people a tool to observe, analyze and understand themselves in relation to astrology, that the resulting self and cosmic awareness will be impactful, liberating and transformative.
The Assumptions
People are unconscious of their inner worlds.
People want to live with greater self-awareness.
People would find this information useful.
People will be motivated to use the tool habitually.
People are interested in astrology.
People desire agency in their lives.
Competitive Analysis - The Marketplace
As we considered this tool, it was important to consider what products already existed in the space which offered something similar. Was anyone already doing this?
We found that there were many apps which offered pieces of what Knowing hoped to offer, but none which connected all the dots in the way that Knowing hoped to.
For instance, there are a vast many apps on astrology, there are apps on the moon, there are apps on behavior and patterns; but none connect inner and outer worlds whilst simultaneously offering a visualization of patterns. None showed through scientific method, the connections we may have between our inner and outer worlds.
User Interviews
Are people curious?
Are people skeptical?
How open are they to self-discovery?
How do people feel about astrology?
How in touch are people with their feelings?
How do people track their feelings and behaviors?
Do people believe in intuition?
If we offered a tool to do all these things, would they consider it beneficial?
How do they think it would be useful?
Do people believe in cosmic energy and its influence?
With these questions in mind, we carefully crafted a discussion guide.
We agreed that users to be interviewed would qualify based on a set of criteria; age, somewhat interested or curious in astrology, the moon and in self -discovery. We created a screener and set out to find our interviewees.
Screener
7 virtual user interviews - conducted over Zoom. Each interview took approximately an hour. There were 5 women and 2 men.
Synthesis
Key Insights from Interviews
Interest in subject matter crossed many statistical boundaries; there was a vast makeup in culture, age, race and geography.
All people were on a journey towards deeper self-discovery, all were at varying levels and stages of that journey.
Many felt a lack of direction on the journey and wished they were able to be more intentional and consistent.
All believed in intuition and all claimed to have personally experienced it. All experienced a sense of affirmation or empowerment when their intuition proved correct, and some felt shame about not following it, or listening to themselves.
Most are aware of their feelings, many suspected patterns and have felt trapped in them.
All felt affected by the energy of the moon and that it had some impact on them. Most were curious, some fearful, some accepting.
While all were interested or curious about astrology, some had barriers (religious, cultural) to embracing it.
All felt overwhelmed by learning more about astrology; the subject matter seems too vast for deeper understanding.
Most felt that tracking patterns of feeling and behaviors in their lives would be very helpful. Some were wary, some afraid of what they may unearth, most were excited ..but all were curious.
Persona
The next step was to create a persona of the user we imagined for Knowing. This caricature was based on the goals, needs, and pain-points of all in our user interviews.
It was helpful to have this persona on hand, for all on our team. It allowed us to constantly keep the user in mind as we made design decisions - ensuring it would be most useful to them.
Defining the Problem
We had reached the end of our discovery phase. After much deliberation, we had stated clearly what unique value we believe that Knowing was offering. We took our ideas and assumptions out to the world, and listened to what people thought and felt. We were able to identify key features of those likely to use the technology, and had through our research, we validated our hypothesis.
Indeed, there is a need that exists for people to observe and analyze themselves in an effort for deeper self-awareness. We also discovered a curiousity towards the Moon and towards astrology, but a definite sense of apprehension, overwhelm and lack of understanding towards astrology.
The challenge we now faced was how to honor what our research taught us? How might we create a tool simple and enlightening enough for people to take part consistently in a daily ritual of tracking; whilst simutaneosuly meeting each person where they were in terms of level of interest in the moon and astrology aspects we could offer.
The Features
Daily Tracking Ritual
Daily/Monthly Summaries
Pattern Finder
Ability to look back and forward over time
Astrological data with an educational piece
Journal