Mary Kate Larson
CleanMind
CASE STUDY · IOS APP · UX/UI DESIGN · 2025
ROLE
TIMELINE
TOOLS
PLATFORM
Solo UX/UI Designer
3 months · Sep–Dec 2025
Figma · FigJam
Interactive prototype — all screens clickable with Smart Animate transitions
iOS · Mobile-first
— OVERVIEW
— RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
A companion for the moment cravings hit — not just the moments between meetings.
The streak mechanic is the problem.
There are 21 million Americans in recovery. Most formal support — therapy, AA, sponsor calls — runs on a schedule. Cravings don't.
CleanMind fills the gap with a system built around one core insight: people in recovery don't need more self-awareness. They need to know what to do next. Daily check-ins track mood, sleep, cravings, exercise, and meetings attended — feeding into a real-time risk score. When that score is elevated, CleanMind doesn't just surface a warning. It generates a Next Best Action plan: call your sponsor, attend a meeting, use the in-app breathing tool. Specific steps, right when you need them
— PROBLEM STATEMENT
People in sobriety need in-the-moment support, but existing apps only log what happened — they never tell you what to do next. When a craving hits at 11pm on a Tuesday, a streak counter doesn't help. There's a gap for something that gives people a real plan exactly when they need one.
I audited five apps — I Am Sober, Sober Grid, Nomo, Bearable, Headspace — alongside published research on digital health interventions for substance use disorder. The pattern was consistent: streak mechanics that reset to zero on relapse. Users reported deleting the app entirely rather than facing a zeroed counter. The app's primary motivational tool was also its primary churn driver.
WHAT EXISTING APPS GOT WRONG
DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES I IDENTIFIED
Streak reset on relapse → immediate abandonment
Cold, clinical UI language created emotional distance
No actionable guidance — apps log feelings but never tell you what to do next
Check-ins designed as data collection, not genuine support
No guidance for the first 72 hours of a new attempt
Milestone model that accumulates — never resets
Warm, conversational UI language
Risk score that turns daily check-ins into a real-time vulnerability indicator
Check-ins that feel like a conversation, not a form
Progress framing that survives setbacks
— DESIGN PROCESS
From research to a system that holds together.
01
02
03
04
Jobs-to-be-done mapping
High-fidelity prototype with Smart Animate
Lo-fi wireframes — 12 screens
Design system built before hi-fi
My first dashboard put three competing actions on one screen. Peer feedback was immediate: "I don't know where to start." I rebuilt around one primary action per screen from that point on.
Before wireframing, I mapped four core user jobs: track sobriety, manage a craving right now, log how I'm feeling, and connect with community. Each job became its own flow.
Color tokens, type scale, spacing system, icon set — all before high-fidelity screens. Every screen is a system decision, not a one-off.
Full interactive prototype: onboarding → dashboard → check-in → craving response → milestones. Transitions use Smart Animate to feel like a real iOS app.
— KEY DESIGN DECISIONS
Three choices that defined the product — starting with the system underneath the screens.
Decision 1 — Milestones replace streaks. CleanMind tracks total milestones across the entire journey. A relapse doesn't erase anything — it becomes a data point. The number always goes up. This came directly from the research and is the single most important UX decision in the project.
Decision 2 — The risk score system. Every daily check-in — mood, sleep, cravings, exercise, whether you attended a meeting — feeds into a real-time risk score. This wasn't just a feature decision. It was an architectural one: turning passive logging into active intelligence. A score of 68 doesn't just mean 'elevated risk.' It triggers a specific Next Best Action plan so the user always knows what to do next — not just how they're feeling.
Decision 3 — Warm visual language as a therapeutic choice. Sage greens, parchment off-whites, rounded typography — not just aesthetic choices. Research on therapeutic digital environments shows warmer visuals reduce psychological defensiveness. The color palette has a rationale, not just a vibe. This also informed the risk score UI — a gauge showing 68 'Elevated Risk' needed to feel serious without feeling alarming. Warm amber tones rather than harsh red.
— OUTCOMES
What this project proves.
12
5
4
Screens designed end-to-end
Apps competitively audited
Distinct user flows prototyped
The most important design decision wasn't which shade of green to use. It was asking: when someone's risk score hits 68 at 11pm, what do they actually do next? Answering that question designed the whole product.
"
— Mary Kate Larson
The biggest gap is the absence of moderated usability testing with people actually in recovery. Every decision is research-informed — but research about others, not feedback from real users of this specific app. The craving response flow is the highest-stakes screen in the product and deserves real validation, not just peer review.
I'd also push deeper into accessibility. Someone using this app in acute distress isn't reading carefully — that means larger touch targets, simpler microcopy, and WCAG AA compliance at minimum.
— REFLECTION
What I would do differently
Mary Kate Larson
© 2025 Mary Kate Larson · Boston, MA