1 month (August 2021 – September 2021)
Break Free VR Game
App Development
UX/UI Design
A Little Background
Break Free is a responsive virtual reality game designed to help users manage anxiety and stress by transporting them to calming, immersive environments inspired by real-world destinations.
OVERVIEW
Personal Project: Design a calming virtual reality game that helps users manage anxiety and stress through immersive environments and mindful interactions.
Goal: Create an engaging, sensory-focused VR experience that allows users to escape the noise of everyday life and practice relaxation techniques through gentle exploration.
Methods: User Research, Competitive Analysis, Persona Creation, Moodboard, Wireframes, Interactive Prototypes, VR Interface Design, Usability Testing
Role: Sole UX/UI Designer & Researcher
Tools: Figma, Unity, Adobe Photoshop, Procreate, Miro
PROBLEM
Many people struggle to manage stress and anxiety in their daily lives, and traditional methods like meditation apps or therapy are not always engaging or accessible. Users need a more immersive and interactive way to calm their minds and regulate emotions—especially in overstimulating environments.
SOLUTION
Design an immersive VR app where users can:
Create a personalized avatar and safe profile
Explore serene, nature-inspired worlds based on global locations
Access breathing exercises, ambient sounds, and mindfulness prompts
Interact lightly with environments or choose a guided relaxation journey
Log emotional states and track mental well-being over time
SOLUTIONS
Your go-to escape for digital peace of mind.
Break Free offers calming, interactive VR environments that help users manage stress and anxiety. From guided relaxation to gentle exploration, Break Free creates a safe, sensory space to reset emotionally and mentally—anytime, anywhere.
SOLUTION 01
Immersive, calming environments
Explore beautifully designed virtual worlds inspired by nature and global landscapes—each crafted to soothe the senses and quiet the mind. Whether it’s a misty mountain, a quiet beach, or a sun-drenched garden, each space invites slow, mindful interaction.
SOLUTION 02
Mindfulness tools built-in
Break Free integrates calming audio, breathwork guidance, and journaling features directly into the VR experience. Users can follow structured relaxation journeys or simply let go with ambient soundscapes and gentle movement prompts.
SOLUTION 03
Personalized stress relief
With customizable avatars, mood tracking, and mood-based world suggestions, Break Free tailors each session to the user’s emotional needs. Whether you need to recharge, calm down, or reflect, Break Free adapts to support your mental wellness journey.
A closer look into our users
EMPATHIZE
To better understand our users’ needs, goals, and emotional triggers, we created a user persona—Jade—inspired by real-world insights on stress, digital wellness, and VR engagement.
Meet Jade – The Overstimulated Young Professional
📍 Location: Atlanta, GA
🎯 Age: 27
💼 Occupation: UX Designer at a tech startup
🧠 Mental State: Frequently overwhelmed, socially drained, and seeking accessible ways to decompress without feeling guilty for “doing nothing.”
“After a long day of meetings and back-to-back notifications, I need something that helps me shut off my brain—without feeling like I’m wasting time. Meditation apps haven’t worked for me, but I love the idea of disappearing into another world for a bit.”
Goals
Find healthy ways to cope with anxiety and sensory overload
Build a consistent digital wellness habit
Unplug from screens while still feeling engaged
Use immersive tech (like VR) for more than just gaming
Frustrations / Pain Points
Traditional meditation apps feel too passive or repetitive
Overstimulation from phone and social media makes her anxiety worse
Hard to find low-effort tools that offer real relaxation without guilt
Feels pressure to “stay productive” even when she needs rest
Needs
A calming, immersive environment that requires minimal decision-making
Experiences that engage her senses without being overstimulating
A sense of control and comfort, especially during moments of panic or burnout
A tool that helps her feel restored—not just distracted
IDEATE
Navigating through Break Free
Based on user research and key user stories, I created a user flow diagram to visualize how users will interact with the Break Free VR app to achieve emotional relief and mental clarity. The flow focuses on guiding users through personalized world selection, immersive relaxation features, and emotional check-ins—all designed to be intuitive, calming, and low-friction for users in moments of stress.
DESIGN
Designing for emotional ease
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
To begin the design process, I sketched low-fidelity wireframes in Procreate to visualize key interactions based on the user persona, flow, and relaxation-driven goals. These early sketches helped conceptualize how users would enter a calming VR environment, select their mood-based world, and access mindfulness features—keeping navigation intuitive, soothing, and stress-free from the very first tap.
VISUAL STYLE GUIDE
Before applying color, typography, and imagery, I curated a calming and immersive mood board to define the emotional tone of Break Free. The visual direction focused on serenity, sensory ease, and subtle exploration—essential elements for an experience centered around stress relief and mental wellness.
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
Building on the initial sketches, I developed mid-fidelity wireframes to refine the layout, introduce more defined UI components, and incorporate clear copy. These wireframes focus on enhancing usability through thoughtful application of visual hierarchy, spacing, and grid structure.
Highlighted User Flow:
From account creation to community connection, this flow walks users through signing up, discovering new wellness companions, and initiating a supportive conversation—all designed to reduce friction and foster engagement from the very first interaction.
Bringing it all together
Inspired by the mood board and guided by core visual design principles, I crafted a cohesive style guide that outlines the app’s key design components—color palette, typography, iconography, and UI elements—to ensure a consistent and emotionally resonant user experience across the VR journey.
Bringing it all together
Inspired by the mood board and guided by core visual design principles, I crafted a cohesive style guide that outlines the app’s key design components—color palette, typography, iconography, and UI elements—to ensure a consistent and emotionally resonant user experience across the VR journey.
Key UX Insights – Break Free
Designing Break Free has been an incredibly fulfilling experience.
As someone who values mindfulness and immersive digital experiences, I saw this project as an opportunity to create something I would genuinely use—an app that makes it easier to unplug, reset, and reconnect with oneself through virtual wellness spaces.
Serving as the UI Designer allowed me to deepen my understanding of visual and interaction design principles within the context of VR. With the foundational UX research and deliverables outlined in the brief, I was able to align design decisions closely with user needs and the core purpose of the app. I also gained valuable insight into designing for different breakpoints—recognizing that each device size requires a mindful approach to content hierarchy and spatial layout without sacrificing user experience.
Next Steps
If given more time, my immediate priority would be validating the design through usability testing. Conducting a first round of tests would help identify friction points in the user journey and surface opportunities to improve the experience—especially within VR, where intuitive interaction and comfort are key. From there, iterative refinements could be made to enhance accessibility, engagement, and overall user satisfaction.
More Works
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