SuperBetter - Workplace Wellness through Gamification
Created by award-winning game designer Jane McGonigal, the SuperBetter method is a proven framework that activates the psychological strengths that people display while playing games to build resilience in real life.
Through an alliance with Abound Wellbeing LLC, the SuperBetter at Work platform is a specially designed version for talent development and employee wellbeing programs. Available on computers and smartphones, SuperBetter At Work engages employees for a few minutes daily to build resilience, collaborate with allies, and develop critical soft skills such as emotional intelligence, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, decision-making, innovation, creativity, and problem-solving. Inside the SuperBetter world, goals are turned into epic wins, colleagues are recruited as allies, and obstacles are reframed as bad guys.
For the SuperBetter at Work project, I was entrusted with bringing to life a captivating, whimsical universe designed to engage users in a journey of personal growth and resilience. My responsibilities encompassed several key areas:
Concept Art and Worldbuilding: I developed the foundational visual concepts and overall aesthetic for the SuperBetter world. This involved creating vibrant, immersive environments inspired by natural elements and imaginative artifacts, balanced with subtle dark areas to symbolize real-life challenges such as anxiety and depression.
Character Design and Art Direction: I led the design and style direction for the platform's avatars, ensuring they were non-human, gender-neutral, and stigma-free, appealing to a broad audience. These characters, inspired by elements like rainbows and mountains, were designed to embody various strengths and positive habits, making them relatable and engaging for users.
Environment Creation: I crafted detailed, distinct landscapes for each zone within the SuperBetter universe, using bold colors, adorable critters, and nature-inspired motifs. These environments were designed to provide users with a personal, empowering space to explore and engage with the platform's content.
Iconography: I created a cohesive set of icons for the platform, focusing on actions and emotions. The icons were designed as cute, non-human blobs that remain functional and visually striking even at small sizes, enhancing the user interface and guiding user interaction effectively.
Creating the SB world.
For the SuperBetter at Work project, we crafted a series of immersive environments designed to create a unique and engaging user experience.
The challenge was to create an "out of this world" universe, slightly anchored in reality, blending colorful natural elements with striking artifacts. Each zone, filled with happiness and hope, also had to include areas of darkness to symbolize real-life struggles like anxiety and pain.
Following each individual use of the environments on the platform, we have developed specific approaches for creating different sceneries using a wide area of bold colors, tiny adorable critters roaming free, and extensive use of colorful nature-inspired elements. The darkness within was often illustrated as an obscure shaded character, a coal-covered menacing hand with claws, and even a distressed gloomy haunted house. Each environment emerged as a distinct place in the SuperBetter world and unfolded to create a personal universe and an empowering user experience.
Onboarding
This is the place where the user starts getting set up on the platform. They pick their character and areas they want to improve and create their account.
Hero HQ
This is the place where the hero goes to edit their Secret Identity, Epic Win, Life Areas, and Character. It should feel like a safe and hidden place for the users. They are the only ones who can see and edit this info.
Hall of Superpowers
This is where the user can go to see all their achievements and progress around their Hero Strengths, Skills, and Positive emotions. This is the place where they will see how they are becoming super better.
Adventure Library
This is the place where the user will go to browse the public adventures and choose the ones they would like to begin.
Ally Zone
This is the place where users can go to interact with others to offer support or update them on their journey progress.
Custom Avatars.
Each user has the choice to be substituted in the SuperBetter world by a custom avatar which will be responsible for guiding and helping them in their quest of becoming "superbetter".
The challenge consisted of generating non-human, non-specific gender, stigma-free, cute, but not childish creatures. The avatars should appeal to every gender. The avatars also needed to denote different strengths and attributes and to embody positive habits and goals that the users aim to achieve or relate to.
Defined by specific attributes and their unique role in the SuperBetter universe, the avatars required a great deal of attention in the development process. Once again, we relied on the inspiration provided by natural elements and used rainbows, mushrooms, and even a mountain to express "awe".
Butterfly
Symbolizes positive change and transformation.
Mighty Mountain
Symbolizes awe and the feeling of amazement.
Nymphai
Symbolizes mindfulness and being present in the moment.
Joe
Joe is the most curious character ever and symbolizes the desire to know or learn.
Rainbow
Symbolizes joy and happiness.
Mushroomy
Symbolizes love of learning and knowledge.
Fire Spirit
Symbolizes passion and perseverance.
Initiator
The initiator stands for taking the initiative in making things happen.
StoryTeller
Symbolizes communication skills and active listening.
Sun
The Sun stands for optimism and positive thinking.
Plant & Demon
Symbolizes life/work struggles and challenges.
Shaman
Symbolizes the connection with nature.
Silent guide
Symbolizes introversion and being reflective.
Dragon
Symbolizes power and wisdom.
Helper
The Helper pops up from time to time throughout the platform, to guide and help
the user.
Icons.
A series of icons were created to be used throughout the interface of the SuperBetter platform to highlight specific actions like taking quests and power-ups or to illustrate emotions and feelings like joy, compassion, and love.
Similar to the Avatars, the challenge consisted of creating a set of non-human, amorphous, cute blobs to be part of the icons set. We also needed game-like inanimate cute icons, that would highlight certain actions. It was important to make the icons pop at small sizes.
The same style and approach were used in creating the Avatars, sparking the creation of some funny colorful mini-blobs, that were brought to life by adding anthropomorphic features. Combined with bright bold colors and smart placement on the platform's minimalistic interface, the icons easily become a sight-sweeper focusing the user's attention directly on areas of critical importance.
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