Worrydolls. A magic cure for worries.
Role:
Concept/Design
Marketing
Built from ground up
Result:
300k+ active users a month, and growing fast
#1 in category in countries across the world
14,000+ ratings, rated 4.9/5
Anxiety rates are rising
Rates of self-reported anxiety among teenagers are sky-rocketing. In 2017, 41% of teenagers reported feeling “overwhelmed by all I had to do.” At the same time, social media turns each of our phones into a constant mirror and burden. It sometimes seems as if there is no where to be at peace. This is why I created Worrydolls.
Using a phone for good
In the modern world, your phone can often be a source of anxiety. But what if it was used to reduce anxiety? So much of UX is there to convince you to keep scrolling, keep clicking, and keep converting. These techniques can rely on rewards, but also on fear-of-missing-out, and anxiety-inducing incentive structures. These needed to be avoided if the app was going to work as a sincere listening ear or friend. In short, the UX had to be so simple and so genuine that it would assure the user that this app did not want to trick them or make them into a product. It only wanted them to feel calm.
The worrydolls needed to feel handmade, yet be at home in a digital world. This was solved by making their clothing collages out of colorful items from gardens, homes, and forests. This also helps them feel “small” like the traditional worrydolls.
Science and magic
Worrydolls is based on the Guatemalan tradition of the worry-doll, a tiny doll made of string or fabric. The dolls were usually given to anxious children, who would whisper their worries to the doll. Then, the doll would “worry” for the child.
In the world of the app, this concept is combined with methods of cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness. The app gives you a doll, and you type in your worry. Later, you can revisit the doll to tell it more about the worry, record that you are worrying, or let the worry finish. Once the worry finishes, you are asked whether it was as bad as you feared. Then, the doll lives in the sunny world of finished worries.
Simplicity and silence
The flows themselves were designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible. While they acknowledge user actions in a calm way, I was careful to avoid letting the app “reward” the user for worrying. Since such an incentive structure might actually increase stress, the app gives measured responses such as “thank you for telling me” rather than flashier success screens often associated with conversions.
World Worriers
The app’s simplicity had an unintended consequence. While its userbase has grown steadily in the West since launch in late 2019, it has gone viral in China and the Philippines. It has reached the top 10 overall iOS apps in China, and #1 in Health and fitness. It has also grown very popular throughout Asia, consistently topping charts in many countries. While it grew without translation, volunteers who loved the app reached out and offered to the translate it. Now it is available five languages, with more coming soon.
