Clarity: Digital Planner / Research
Overview
Clarity was built on a foundation of in-depth research and personal experience to understand the challenges of organisation & time management, particularly for neurodivergent individuals. This process involved studying neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and Autism, struggles such as executive dysfunction & time blindness, and exploring existing planning tools to identify gaps in accessibility and personalisation. Through audience and user testing, Clarity’s high-fidelity prototype evolved to be more intuitive, adaptable, and user-friendly—ensuring a planning experience that truly works for the people who would need it most.
Understanding Neurodivergence
Neurotypical and neurodivergent brains work differently, yet society primarily caters to neurotypical needs¹. Our understanding of neurodivergence—conditions like ADHD and Autism—has only recently evolved, resulting in this unfair bias².
Many neurodivergent individuals struggle daily with essential life skills like organisation and time management due to executive dysfunction, time blindness, and more³. Existing systems often fail them in these areas, leading to stress, guilt, and a higher risk of mental health issues⁴. Despite the need for support, many lack awareness of their brain’s unique functions and access to helpful resources⁵.
Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction affects key mental skills like organisation, planning, and attention, making everyday tasks more difficult⁶. Those with executive dysfunction aren’t less intelligent—their brains simply process information differently and often require compensatory tools like alarms, planners, and lists.
Several challenges fall under executive dysfunction, including ADHD paralysis, time blindness, and object permanence. Novelty, however, plays a key role in sustaining engagement. Research shows that new experiences trigger dopamine release and enhance memory, making frequent routine updates or reward-based systems effective for maintaining motivation⁷. These findings show that there are three essential criteria to meet when designing for neurodivergent minds; structure, novelty, & accessibility.
Strategies for Neurodivergent Brains
Effective strategies include creating separate priority-based routines that allow for flexibility, setting frequent reminders, using visual cues, keeping routines visible at all times, and time-blocking in calendars⁸. Implementing these strategies can help neurodivergent individuals create sustainable, personalised systems for organisation and productivity.
Audience Testing Overview
Clarity's audience testing aimed to gather insights from its target users to refine the app’s UI and UX design through user-centred design principles. Key areas of focus included audience demographics & psychographics, feedback on the app’s proposed functions & aesthetics, and usability testing. The testing was conducted with participants who represented the intended audience; neurodivergent individuals, students & organisation enthusiasts.
The process used a mixed-methods approach, starting with a quantitative survey to gather broad insights, followed by qualitative interviews to explore user experiences in depth, and finally user testing of a low-fidelity prototype. These methods incorporated a variety of question types to assess user behaviours, attitudes, and preferences. The collected data confirmed Clarity’s relevance to its target users while revealing unexpected insights, such as the emotional connection participants had with planning tools and their strong preference for visual feedback and calming design elements. This made it clear that the UI & UX needed to prioritise intuitive navigation, include enhanced customisation options, and have interactive visual feedback.
Overall, this audience testing garnered well-rounded findings that helped to understand user needs, guiding the development of Clarity’s high-fidelity prototype both functionally & aesthetically to ensure a more intuitive and effective final product.
Bibliography
¹ McAllister, S. What is it really like to be neurodivergent? (Zurich, June 2023). https://www.zurich.com/media/magazine/2022/its-all-in-the-mind-what-does-it-mean-to-be-neurodivergent
² Holland, K. The History of ADHD. (Healthline, February 2015). https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history; National Autistic Society. The History of Autism. (National Autistic Society UK, 2022). https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism/the-history-of-autism
³ Belsky, G. ADHD and “analysis paralysis.” (Understood, n.d.). https://www.understood.org/en/articles/adhd-and-analysis-paralysis
⁴ R U OK. Tips to Help Support Neurodivergent People. (R U OK, n.d.). https://www.ruok.org.au/neurodivergent
⁵ Healthwatch. The challenges neurodivergent people face receiving care. (Healthwatch, August 2023). https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/blog/2023-08-22/challenges-neurodivergent-people-face-receiving-care
⁶ Belsky, G. ADHD and “analysis paralysis.” (Understood, n.d.). https://www.understood.org/en/articles/adhd-and-analysis-paralysis
⁷ Duszkiewicz, A. J., McNamara, C. G., Takeuchi, T., & Genzel, L. Novelty and Dopaminergic Modulation of Memory Persistence: A Tale of Two Systems. (Trends in Neurosciences, 2019). 42(2), 102–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2018.10.002; Finch, S. D. How to make a routine with ADHD (and actually stick to it). (Get in Flow, July 2021). https://www.getinflow.io/post/adhd-routines
⁸ Finch, S. D. How to make a routine with ADHD (and actually stick to it). (Get in Flow, July 2021). https://www.getinflow.io/post/adhd-routines; Low, K. (2022, April 19). Why Children With ADHD Need Structure and Routines. (Verywell Mind, April, 2022). https://www.verywellmind.com/why-is-structure-important-for-kids-with-adhd; Tuckman, A. ADHD minds are trapped in now (& other time management truths). (ADDitude, July 2019). https://www.additudemag.com/time-management-skills-adhd-brain/
