Overview
As part of our “Astrology Powered Life Technologies” brand strategy, I worked with our Product Strategist to create an App that translates the ancient art of Astrology, into a modern digital product aimed at a mass market. This has been a 4 year project, I am Creative Director and Lead Product Designer.
Challenge
Since approx 3rd millennium BCE, astrologers have employed a complex charting system that remains largely unchanged, requiring expert knowledge to interpret. The challenge was to redesign this ancient chart, and create a visually led experience suitable for a mass market. Our solution, the "Rosetta Stone" approach, which helped guide our brand ID, UX/UI and content process.
Research and Discovery
Through various workshops with astrologers, we gained a deeper understanding as to why astrology has been placed on the fringe of society and is largely inaccessible to the average person. Based on this we identified perception, knowledge and language gaps. To help bridge this gap we segmented the market into three groups: The Astrologically Unaware, The Astrology Enthusiast, and the Expert Astrologer. We then mapped out their current understanding and roadblocks, and began to carve out strategic space for how we would re-introduce the world of astrology to these target groups, via early adopters and tech influencers.
Ideation and Prototyping
During our brainstorming, we crafted a feature set list to serve each of our User Profiles, and developed a scoring system to translate the otherwise complicated astrological data (using live NASA data on planetary coordinates.) Breaking down the elements of an astrology chart, we uncovered new ways to display 12 potential elements (planets) across 12 categories (houses), all with their individual energy levels. After exploring various design solutions, we selected a layout suitable for a mobile app that effectively organized these inputs into something more understandable to a mass market. As part of our goal to simplify astrology, we renamed Charts to LifeMaps, Houses to LifeSpaces, and Planets to Energies.
Design Solution
We created a visual approach to our product led by the symbolism of light over darkness. Not only does this create a dramatic backdrop for our product, but it anchors it in the colours, tones and textures we see in space. Based on our visual platform, we developed a name and visual brand ID. This, in turn, influenced our approach to UI design which all works to capture and reflect aspects of energy and light. As a visual payoff, we also created artistically interpreted animations for all the 12 planets (energies). In terms of features, to enrich the experience, users can bookmark moments, save multiple LifeMaps, create RelationshipMaps, monitor energy stats over time, share maps, and set alerts for upcoming energy spikes. The finalized design solution is currently in development, scheduled for launch in Fall 2024.
