Formative Study Report

: Team Assignment
Hongmin Kim, Hyunkyung Kim, Gaeul Han
School of Design and Human Engineering, UNIST
Depression is one of the biggest social problem as issues in our society, nowadays. This paper includes basic
knowledge of depression, formative research methods and results, and generated ideas. The formative research
aims to figure out what people in depression can do to reduce their depression through expert interview, exploratory
diary study and focus group interview. Based on the conclusion that derived from literature review and formative
studies, ideas are generated with persona and task analysis.

1. Introduction
Only in South Korea, about 7 millions of people received psychotherapy due to serious depression.
Following to the book Why am I depressed written by Rolf Merkle, there is a test sheet for checking the
level of depressed. This test includes 15 symptoms and indexes. The test classifies the subjects into four
groups, such as normal, mild depression, medium depression, and intensive depression. The book
strongly recommends people who is classified into intensive depression to visit hospital soon.
We tried to explore and design a thing that can reduce the feeling of depression and manage the
depression under medium-depression level, especially for who got 11-35 from this test sheet.
2. Background Research

2.1. Literature Study

Book: Why am I depressed ( )
written by Rolf Merkle
In this book, depression means that people who has depressed feeling more than 2 weeks. To treat the
depression, there are two main solutions. First, cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT) is used for light
depression that does not accompany medicine treatment. It is effective method that overcome the
negative thinking and feeling. This book mainly explains and gives help for CBT. Second one is medicine
treatment. It is used for heavy depression patients. Depressed people mostly worries about big 3 things:
self-affirmation as themselves and as human, current situations and people that exist around them ,and
future coming soon. They thinks that current situations and future is dark color. It is typical feature of
depression. Depression recalls themselves negative. They underestimates themselves and crabs their
value. Also, they thinks existing situations and life meaningless. They believe that future is never better
than now.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the primary sources of disability around
the world. It contributes to many physical and mental health complications.

2.2. Past Solutions

We can find some past solutions for releasing depressive feeling. There are 3 representative examples
for releasing depressed feeling: Stress ball, Sound+Sleep, and 100 happy days app.
2.2.1. Stress ball

Stress ball is a malleable toy, usually not more than 7 cm in diameter. But this product is bigger than
general balls. It is punched by the hand and can be squeezed and so on. It is used in physical therapy. It
helps to relieve stress and muscle tension or to exercise the muscles of the hand. It triggers some
exercise and movement. Also, it can be instant solution for anger rather than depression.

2.2.2. Sound+Sleep
Sound+Sleep offers 10 distinct sound profiles that are scientifically engineered to promote relaxation,
deeper sleep, and a sense of renewal. Unlike other white noise sound machines, it mixes together
lengthy, naturally recorded, high-definition sounds eliminating repetition. Chill out to soothing sound of the
ocean, rain, brook, or a cascading waterfall with one-touch volume control. Or drift off to sleep listening to
relaxing meadow, fireplace, city, or train sounds. It also offers white, pink, and brown noise, and a
meditation sound profiles as other options.

2.2.3. 100 HAPPY DAYS (campaign, service, website)

Users can participate voluntarily to this campaign as uploading a picture of happy thing each day with
hash tag(#). This service gather the user uploaded picture for 100 days and show them how you could be
happy in those days. It triggers positive thinking, because common symptom of depression is to think
negatively.

2.3. CONCLUSION
Even though the apps selected as the best apps, were just saying think positively or you can have
smiling mind. The solutions are too broad and these are not working. For example, store family and
friends phone number to provide suicide. Or, exercise is good for health, so exercise. However,
depressed people doesnt have any will to overcome and do something. Then, does the solution really
work? No, its just formal and theoric solution, not practical and realistic solution. Additionally, providing
theoretical information and giving tests whether you are depressed or not with bad UI. Also, according to
the past solution Sound+Sleep, we thought that sound can be key to reduce depressed feeling. So, we
decided to focus on Music therapy and to check that does really work or not.

Too much rely on theoretical information directly to provide

Existing solutions does not have consideration of users who are depressed. We have to know exact and
Change bad UI of depression apps, it can be app or not. But if it has some interface, then we have to
consider not only the contents but also UI. For communication with depressed people through our product
or app.

3. Methods
First of all, we have some questions for this project. Main question is What can help people reduce their
depressed feeling or lethargy? To answer this question, we have to think deeper questions: When do
people become depressed? What kinds of activities people do when they are depressed?
Also, we thought is music and sharing music can help people reduce depression? To find the answers for
these questions, we used expert interview, diary study and focus group interview. Expert interview would

give more professional information about general depressions causes, symptoms and theoric solutions.
And through diary study, we would get real daily life of depressed people and what they thinks in daily
routine. Finally, through focus group interview, we can ask real experiences about depression and more
realistic and effective ways to reduce the depressed feeling.

3.1. Expert Interview

1) Process
- Date: 2015/10/08 13:00-14:00
- Interviewee: Counselor in UNIST healthcare center
- Method: 1 to 1 interview and face to face interview
2) Research Questions & Answers

01. Where the depression that extremely many people feel in these days comes from?
Each people have different cause and it could be a little thing that even the person couldnt think as a
cause
02. What people act when they are in depression?
As the causes are different, their acts are all different. One thing in common is that, depressed people
think negatively, like I cannot do this or its going to be worse
03. What kinds of activities could reduce depression?
As the causes and acts are different, people have different way of reducing depression. Dont know
theoretical background, however, sharing and expressing themselves are definitely helpful as the
counseling does. Exercising. Every expert says exercising helps to reduce depression. But you know, if

a person really depressed, the person might not be able to exercise.

04. What about music as a therapy? Do you have any idea of it?
I just heard about music therapy but it may be helpful when people share music together. In terms of
sharing and expressing themselves as counseling told you before.

3) Result
People are all different, Cause are different, differently depressed, and different way to get out.
(1) Focus on one kind of cause
(2) Focus on one kind of way to get out
(3) Managing depression which can cover generally

In common, however, depressed people think negatively and they dont have an will to
overcome. We cannot consider all the depressed people, but we have to focus on more general
solution for them.

3.2. Diary Study

1) Process
- Date: 2015/10/07 - 10/09
- Participant: undergraduate students who feel depression often
- Method
: We used application Kakao Talk to get quick and instant reaction and feeling fro diary study. It is useful
to get and give the information indirectly and quickly. Also, it makes participants share their musics and
opinions. We gave some questions and get answers for 3 days.

2) Research Questions
- When you listen to the music that we have recommended, what/ when/ where did you do?
- How does your mood changed? Choose one and express the mood from these 5 options
: Too bad, bad, normal, good, very good

- Recommend one song to us.

3.3. Focus Group Interview

1) Process
- Date: 2015/10/09 19:00-20:30
- Participant: undergraduate students who feel depression often and who participated in above diary study
2) Research Questions
- When/where/why people are in depression
- What people do in depression?
- How people react to recommended new music?
- How music and sharing music change their feeling?

3) Result
Session 1: Depression

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Session 2: music and sharing

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- People do not want to share music than our hypothesis.

- Sharing: with close people or people that they want to know affects, not anonymous people
- Students usually feel depressed and listen music when they were alone.

3.4. Conclusion & Insight

Through the literature study, we can get an insight that have to find some indirect way to solve, and
consider depressed peoples state. It should not be formal and abstract solution.
And through the expert interview, it is hard to understand depressed people, because they are more than
normal people think. So, we cannot solve all the depression. We can deal with just light depressed people
or some lethargic general people around us.
Finally, through the diary study and focus group interview, we needs new direction not only music. That
can be various, but music does not really work for present depressed people. We have to consider more
general and effective way to release depressed feeling. It would be better that reduces stress or
depressed feeling rapidly for sustain this therapy. Without any rapid reaction, people are easy to think that
it does not work, it is just waste time and money. So, there should be some rapid and effective solution.
3.3. Survey

Our team tried to explore about how people get stressed and depressed, and how they feel and manage
for reducing the feeling of depression. Contrary for we tried to get qualitative result from expert interview,
diary studies and focus group interview, we tried to get quantitative data from the survey research.
Firstly we asked them to fill out the check list for diagnosing depression rate, then we asked them when
and why they feel depressed. Then we asked them how they feel and what symptoms have been
occurred for them when they feel depressed, and the survey ended with asking them how they manage in
the situation. Totally 53 respondents responded for our survey, and over 60% of people answered they
are in our target depression range. (11-25)
The meaningful results we get are about the reason why they feel depressed. We could find the word
alone a lot from the responses, hence we could infer one main reason of depression as loneliness. And
many respondents answered their solution for solving their depression with eating some sweet food or
meeting friend to communicate.
As a result, we found the reason and their needs for depression.

4. Idea generation
4.1. Persona

By following results of our researches, we set a persona named HyunMin Han for analyzing our future
results. HyunMin Han is a design student who are totally exhausted to her life and works. The key quote
of her is, I am too depressed and tired to do anything. I feel like Im useless and being alone. I need
something refresh.

4.2. Ideas
(1) Just Drive!
When we think about various solution for depressive feeling, some people want to leave or drive to
somewhere. Generally, people who feels the depression or lethargy has just feeling to go somewhere.
Even we dont know where we should go and which route is good to drive.
It make people can resolve their depressed or negative feeling as soon as possible. Also, user do not
need to hesitate where to go. They can just enjoy drive directly without any complex idea.
Past app or website for drive route provides recommended destinations and navigates the way.
Just Drive navigates the routes depending on users feeling. The routes are collected from other peoples
experiences. Someone can recommend his own drive routes that he often goes when he wants to relax.
First page, there is a Just Feel button. When user presses the button, then next page shows various
mental states, then user can choose users own feeling. For example, if user is depressed, then choose
depressed feeling, then user can drive random route that someone has registered before. There is not
only depressed feeling, but also other feelings: Love, Lonely, Angry and so on After driving, user can
evaluate the route and get some rewards. This random route is updated and sustained by users. And
User can decide whether go or not after seeing short black box video of driving the route or its pictures.
(2) Chocolate project (Fortune Choco vending machine)
When people are depressed, lots of people solve the feeling through eating some sweets. Also, people
want to get some touched words. We wants to provide both solutions with special experiences in normal

daily routine.
Depressed and lethargy feeling of contemporary men can be released through social communication and
some sweets.
The machine receives and collect peoples touching message. It can be divided as various feelings or
random, I dont know. If the user choose a feeling or press certain button, then the touching message is
printed or pressed on chocolate. Then, user can get touching chocolate. Also, some of the profits is
donated for depression or others. Then, it makes people happy: not only contemporary people, but also
another donated people.
5. Conclusion
Through the formative studies, our team realized that the idea we suggested were not so attractive for the
participants. Hence we newly set the persona and tried to find fundamental reason and needs of people
who are depressed. We will go further with the data collected with survey, and persona constructed with
the background of formative studies.