Influyo
2024
Bachelor’s Thesis
Digital kit for the autonomous development of emotional skills in art and design students.
Timeline
12 weeks (part-time)
Client
EASD Fernando Estévez — multidisciplinary art and design school (est. 1910, ~900 students)
Role
Research, UX, UI, Visual Design, Brand Identity, Project Management
Tools
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Google Forms, paper + pen
Goal
Help local students develop emotional regulation skills independently.
Outcome
Developed a mobile-first toolkit grounded in user research and emotional theory. Prototype tested with students, with feedback showing increased self-awareness and positive response to reflection tools.
“Emotions are data, not directives”
— Susan David
Design process
Empathise
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
The approach was iterative and non-linear, allowing flexibility to revisit phases as needed.
Both UX and visual design were developed in parallel given the tight deadline for the required deliverables.
Problem & Goal Definition
The problem
Students at EASD Fernando Estévez faced emotional challenges like stress, burnout, and low self-awareness—yet had limited tools or support to manage them. Despite emotional education being part of the curriculum, these issues remained largely invisible and unaddressed, affecting both academic performance and personal well-being.
The goal
To design a user-centered, research-driven initiative that helps students develop emotional self-awareness and self-management skills. The aim was to create accessible, context-appropriate resources that could improve well-being and engagement, while integrating naturally into students’ daily academic lives.
Why the problem was challenging
Limited school infrastructure for mental health or emotional support
Diversity in student ages, academic levels, and emotional readiness
Stigma around mental health made open conversations difficult
The intervention had to be scalable, low-cost, and easy to adopt
Main Objectives
Understand the emotional well-being challenges specific to EASD students
Design practical, student-centered solutions rooted in their context and motivation
Test prototypes with students and refine based on their feedback
Create accessible, relevant resources for daily use in school life
Phase 1:
Empathise
Research methods
Since the issue initially came to light through my own and peers’ experiences, I used three research methods to confirm whether it impacted other student groups as well.
Since the issue initially came to light through my own and peers’ experiences, I used three research methods to confirm whether it impacted other student groups as well.
Interviews with experts
Student survey
Documentary research
Interviews
with experts
Interview 1
Evelia Sánchez Afonso
School Counselor
Interview 2
Víctor Socas Guerra
Head of the Health Promotion and Emotional Education Program
Key insights
Mental health issues have increased since the COVID pandemic, but support systems are still severely lacking
Students tend to navigate social relationships well but struggle more with self-awareness and emotional regulation
Emotional Agility is a useful framework to face emotions openly, let go of unhelpful thoughts, and take values-based action
Student Survey
To capture firsthand insights at scale, a primarily closed-ended survey was designed, focusing on students’ academic and emotional experiences. This format enabled efficient analysis and comparison.
120 students from different academic levels and specializations participated, showing deep interest in the initiative.
Questions included
How do you feel about your studies and academic environment?
What emotions arise in response to academic pressure?
Do you feel equipped to manage these emotions?
Included a simple emotional intelligence self-assessment test
“The biggest challenge I’ll face [in my professional future] will be myself and my psychological circumstances.”
— Anonymous participant, emotional well-being survey
Phase 2:
Define
Redefining the Problem Through Research
Through primary (survey, EI test) and secondary research, we refined the initial problem to reveal a clear gap in students’ intrapersonal skills—especially self-awareness. The emotional intelligence test showed that while many students demonstrated some ability in self-management, self-awareness was significantly lower.
Open-ended responses provided context, revealing common struggles: insecurity, fear of being undervalued, difficulty meeting deadlines, and handling intense emotions. Despite academic and specialization differences, these emotional challenges were consistently reported across the student body.
By clustering the survey data and synthesizing insights with user personas and empathy maps, the focus sharpened on two main categories: self-awareness and self-management.
These intrapersonal skills appeared to be the foundation for addressing students’ emotional challenges, outweighing interpersonal or technical skill concerns.
From Problem to Content Strategy
With a clearer picture of students’ emotional needs, the content strategy began by focusing on self-awareness—helping students identify emotions, recognize personal strengths, and reflect on their existing coping habits. From there, the goal was to guide them toward a confident, self-directed vision of the future.
Choosing the Right platform: Digital vs. Physical
Initially, a printed hand-book was considered, but after evaluating pros and cons, a digital format was chosen. Digital offers greater accessibility and fits better with students’ existing daily digital habits, making it more accesible. While some activities encourage offline writing, the digital platform acts as a bridge between digital and physical tools.
Additionally, the digital format enables data analysis to track usage and improve the tool, supports user progress monitoring, and offers long-term benefits for emotional agility. Making the resource digital and public also allows it to serve not just the school community but to inspire broader emotional competence initiatives.
Phase 3:
Ideate
Content strategy
The content strategy was shaped around two key content types: techniques (practical tools for emotional regulation and self-reflection) and itineraries (guided paths tailored to the student’s emotional state and goals).
These content blocks were carefully defined and categorized using insights from the empathy phase and structured using the content diagram developed in the define stage.
UX design
The UX design phase began by analyzing references like Headspace, Design Orientation Scale or Design Toolkit UOC and translating research into structure.
Early ideation focused on how to organize and present the selected content in a way that felt intuitive, supportive, and engaging for students.
Phase 4:
Prototype
Phase 5:
Test
The first prototype was tested with 5 users, whose feedback provided valuable direction for refinement. The most relevant insight was the need for a more personalized and continuous experience.
“It’d be helpful to reread my older answers or check what I wrote earlier.”
— Student participant, usability testing session
These suggestions highlighted the importance of continuity and reflection within the tool, not just one-time use. Based on this, new functionalities were proposed, and the design process returned to the sketching phase. User flows were also created to identify potential gaps or friction points in the navigation and user experience.
Users expressed wanting to
Create a
personal profile
Track their progress
over time
Review previously completed activities
Back to phase 4:
Ideate
The second round of ideation followed a similar wireframing process as the first, now focused on implementing new functionalities based on user feedback.
Key additions
User profile creation and customization
Emotion tracking
calendar
Editing and saving favorite techniques
Additionally, a new emotion identification flow was designed, inspired by Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. The session also introduced basic interactions for sign-up and login, building the foundation for a more personalized user experience.
Visual Identity & UI Design
The visual direction of the project began to take shape with the naming process. Through a series of word-mapping and deconstruction exercises, I arrived at Influyo (“I make a difference”)—a name that captures the essence of self-agency, personal growth, and flow.
From there, the visual identity began to take form. Early sketching explored metaphors for emotional complexity and user transformation, while also considering color, texture, and typography that would feel both grounded and relatable for students.
This naturally led into UI design. Familiar elements like textured noise, human silhouettes, and abstract patterns, were carried into interface sketches, helping visually connect identity and functionality.
One key challenge was designing an intuitive way to represent emotions. After testing multiple models, I landed on a simple but effective approach: emotions as shapes inside a head silhouette, using color (emotion) and size (intensity) for clarity.
To support this system, the UI color palette was rethought using Plutchik’s emotional color theory as a base, but adapted for visual harmony and high contrast in interface use. This shift caused a noticeable leap in visual coherence between prototypes.
Back to phase 4:
Prototype
Back to phase 5:
Test
Throughout iterations, testing feedback was critical. The second prototype was tested by 8 users, which informed improvements that helped refine the final visual and interaction experience.
Pain points
Content felt too long and not engaging enough to practice
Abstract techniques were hard to understand
Users did not understand what the product did on first use
Overuse of color distracted from the content
"There’s too much text... I kind of lose interest halfway through."
— Student participant, usability testing session
Back to phase 4:
Prototype
The final prototype focused on clarity, personalization, and delight. These changes made the kit more intuitive, engaging, and better aligned with students’ emotional needs.
Pain points
Simplified text explanations and added visual aids
Added onboarding flow to guide first-time users
Improved visual consistency and refined color use
Redesigned homepage with seasonal, mood-aware content for students
The Results
Emotional ID Flow
Identifying emotions is key to enhancing students' self-awareness. The emotional ID flow was developed to make this process more approachable.
The Plutchnik emotional model is used as inspiration, defining emotions through two variables:
Color
To identify the type of emotion
Size
To express emotional intensity
This system makes it easier for users to identify their emotional state. Additionally, it also contributes to developing students' emotional vocabulary.
Visual Identity
The visual identity builds on the project’s unique emotion system—represented by a filled circle within an outlined one. This element replaces the letter “o” in the logotype, reinforcing the concept visually.
To ensure adaptability across digital formats, especially in small sizes, a simplified symbol (the emotion icon) is used as a standalone brand mark when needed, such as for the favicon.
The color palette assigns one distinct color to each of the eight core emotions, complemented by neutral tones (gray and white). To maintain clarity and visual harmony, emotion colors are only paired with neutrals, never with each other. This approach creates a vibrant yet cohesive identity rooted in the product’s content.
Launch Campaign
To ensure that students were aware of and used the platform, a launch campaign was designed that included the delivery of a physical starter kit to each student.
Onboarding kit included
Educational cards
Introducing students to the emotional ID system
Merchandising
Increasing brand presence & recognition in the school
Supporting materials
Inviting the user to
write manually
The Impact
Validated by users and experts
Although the project wasn’t formally launched, testing and survey feedback confirmed its relevance. Students and educators saw clear value in the toolkit’s ability to support emotional well-being in a practical, engaging way.
Designed to complement the curriculum
While emotional education is part of the school’s curriculum, many students found it difficult to apply in real life. This toolkit provides a more approachable, self-guided way to build emotional skills—reinforcing what’s taught in class, but in a way that feels relevant and personal.
Resource-aware by design
The modular, digital-first format was intentionally created to be low-cost, scalable, and easy to adopt—without adding pressure to already limited staff or school infrastructure.
Potential long-term impact
Reduce burnout and academic disengagement
Decrease pressure on school counseling services
Improve focus and self-led problem-solving