Solace
A recovery app built for the people who never stop working.
Recovery shouldn't feel like another task.
A daily recovery app for trade workers, combining physical and mental support in one place.
People might open Solace when they're already tired, stressed, or in pain. The experience couldn't ask too much from them.
I started with research and kept coming back to one question: would this still feel easy on a hard day?
A simpler recovery experience built around short check-ins, practical exercises, and progress without pressure.
For many trade workers, pain is something they work through.
Physical strain is part of the job, but the impact doesn't always end when the shift does. Our research pointed to a bigger pattern: physical pain, stress, and mental health were closely connected, while support often came too late.
4× HIGHER
suicide rates than the
general population.
PAIN BECOMES NORMAL
When physical strain is part of every workday, recovery is easy to put off.
1 / 3 construction
workers report poor
mental health.
So we started asking:
What would recovery look like if it fit into their day, before things got worse?
Recovery isn't always the first priority.
After a physically demanding day, something quick and familiar can be easier than starting a recovery routine.
Most wellness apps ask for consistency before they've earned it.
Long onboarding, structured routines, and separate physical and mental tools add effort to an already difficult day.
Make starting small enough to actually start.
A stretch. A breathing exercise. A quick check-in. Recovery didn't need to begin with a complete routine.
Most recovery apps weren't designed around this kind of day.
Review
I reviewed wellness and recovery apps to see how they approached onboarding, physical recovery, mental support, and progress.
What kept showing up
- 01 — TOO MUCH TO START
Long onboarding and routines asked for motivation upfront. - 02 — BODY + MIND WERE SEPARATED
Most products focused on one or the other, rarely both together. - 03 — PROGRESS FELT ABSTRACT
Tracking existed, but didn't always connect to someone's actual day. - 04 — EXERCISES ASSUMED IDEAL CONDITIONS
Many routines weren't realistic on a job site or between shifts.
The problem wasn't a lack of features.
It was making recovery easier to begin.
SMALL BEATS PERFECT
Recovery had to be easy enough to return to, even after missing a day.
WORDS MATTER
“How are you today?” felt more human than asking someone to “track progress.”
DON'T PUNISH THE GAP
A broken streak shouldn't make someone feel like they failed. Progress needed to make room for coming back.
LEAVE ROOM FOR CHOICE
Users needed control over how they checked in, what they shared, and what recovery looked like that day.
Keep check-ins short and remove unnecessary decisions.
Bring stretching, breathing, and mental recovery into one daily experience.
Show progress without turning missed days into failure.
Exercises had to work without equipment, changing clothes, or leaving the job site.
Information Architecture
User Happy Path
Tested with real users. Iterated on what didn't work.
Onboarding
LO-FI
Started with a simple multi-select flow, but it didn't explain enough about what Solace was for.
Hi-fi V1
Added guidance and multiple input options. Testing showed I'd gone too far, there were now too many ways to start.
Hi-fi V5
Reduced it to one first decision: AI Assistant or Manual Selection.
Adding more guidance didn't solve the problem. Removing choices did.
Home
LO-FI
Progress and daily recovery lived separately.
Hi-fi V1
Brought them together so completing exercises directly affected progress.
Hi-fi V5
Testing showed people were missing tasks below the fold, so I reorganized them into Stretch, Relax, and Complete.
Progress became part of the experience instead of another thing to track.
Physical Recovery
LO-FI
Showing the full routine at once felt overwhelming, and static images weren't enough to explain each movement.
Hi-fi V1
I introduced video guidance and exercises based on real ironworker movements, making each task easier to understand and follow.
Hi-fi V5
Testing showed users were missing tasks below the first few cards. I reorganized them into clear sections so the full routine was easier to scan without extra scrolling.
Recovery that fits into the day instead of taking it over.
Solace brings check-ins, physical recovery, mental support, and progress into one daily experience — designed to be useful without demanding much attention.
2ND PLACE
Recognized at the BCIT Student Project Showcase for design quality and real-world relevance.
POSITIVE USER RESPONSE
Users found the routines easy to follow and the AI guidance helpful without feeling too prescriptive.
FROM PROTOTYPE TO SHOWCASE
The project moved beyond the screen into a complete product story including prototype, promotional video, and physical marketing materials.
Bringing the Solace experience beyond the product itself.
Concept, motion, editing, and final production for the project's promotional video.
I kept coming back to one question: would this still feel easy on a hard day?
That helped me avoid adding features simply because they were familiar UX patterns. Testing with people who had real recovery experience also challenged assumptions I wouldn't have caught on my own.
I'd define the visual direction earlier.
The illustration system came together later than the product structure, which made the high-fi phase less efficient. I'd also test more aggressively for low-light and high-stress environments.
Usability wasn't enough for this product.
Someone could complete a task perfectly and still leave feeling judged, pressured, or overwhelmed. Solace made me pay much more attention to how an interaction feels, not only whether it works.