The Overview

From Emotional Expression to Meaningful,Trustworthy Interaction.

Best of Show: Interactive Design award — Valencia College 2026

Mylo

AI Powered Wellness App

Design to feel, Built to Heal

MYLO is a concept project focused on supporting emotional well-being through an AI-powered art therapy experience. Built on principles of responsible AI, it explores how to design systems that feel emotionally supportive while remaining clear, trustworthy, and aware of their limitations.

The Challenge

How might we transform emotions through creativity while creating a safe, supportive experience in vulnerable moments?

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The Brand

Mylo was created for Eunoia Wellness Art Studio, a space where people reconnect with themselves through creativity and self-expression. It brings this vision into a digital experience designed to feel safe, human, and emotionally supportive.

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Target Market

People interested in mental wellness, self-reflection, and emotional growth, especially creative individuals who enjoy art, journaling, drawing, or visual expression.

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The Insight

Creativity helps regulate emotions. Expression builds awareness in how AI can support users with clarity, safety, and trust.

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The Role

Founder, Strategist Lead, Creative Director and UX/UI Designer. I developed it alongside Stefany Harada, who supported the prototyping and visual design, and Lina Reynolds, who led user testing and developed the beta version.

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The Approach

Mylo was built as a human-centered wellness concept where emotional support, creativity, and digital interaction come together. The focus was on making AI feel calm, clear, and trustworthy, especially when users are most vulnerable.

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The Exploration

Mylo reflects what I value most in design: empathy, innovation, and creativity as a tool for emotional transformation, using AI to support emotions in a way that feels human, safe, and thoughtful.

Mylo quote section artwork

Why it Matters

Draw it. Feel it. Understand it.

A safe space to draw feelings before putting them into words.

Mylo screen 1 Mylo screen 2 Mylo screen 3 Mylo screen 4 Mylo screen 5 Mylo screen 6 Mylo screen 7 Mylo screen 8

Why Art Therapy Works

The numbers behind the healing

A universal tool for healing and self-discovery

81%

Improved Mental & Emotional Health

79%

Increased self-esteem & self-image

77%

Improved communication & social skills

75%

Lower cortisol after 45 minutes of art therapy

73%

Reduced anxiety, depression, & stress symptoms

supported by research from Kaimal et al. (2016), the American Art Therapy Association, Stuckey & Nobel (2010), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), art-making has been shown to reduce stress hormones and positively impact emotional health, self-esteem, and communication.

Why Mylo is Different

While most AI responds, MYLO accompanies.

Designed to understand feelings, not just process language.

Mylo vs Others

Experience Highlights

Designed around emotional flow

These insights showed that trust in AI
comes from clarity, consistency, and interaction quality..

Personalize MYLO Draw Reflect Journal Receive gentle feedback Track growth over time
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Testing Prototype Insights & Signals

The feedback shaped the next iteration

Tested with users ages 5–74 to evaluate clarity, emotional tone, and usability.

User Feedback Quotes

  • “It feels calming and safe.”
  • “Customizing MYLO makes it personal.”
  • “It doesn’t feel robotic.”

Design Improvement

  • Refine the visual tone to better balance playfulness and maturity.
  • Expand the drawing space with more creative tools to support emotional expression.
  • Improve accessibility and readability by refining layout, spacing, and interface clarity.
Mylo prototype changes and testing refinements
Mylo quote artwork

Beta Version Results

Early usage revealed how the experience performs in real moments.

Real usage highlighted how AI response quality, speed, and clarity directly affect trust and continued engagement.

Initial Engagement Signals

Early data from the Mylo prototype showed 223 visitors and 1.1K pageviews, with users exploring multiple screens per session and spending over 2 minutes engaging with the experience.

What Needed to Improve

  • Make MYLO feel more human by improving warmth and response quality
  • Strengthen the drawing tool as a core way to express emotions
  • Fix technical issues, especially microphone recording and slow responses.
  • Reduce friction so users can access support quickly in real moments.

What we learn from Users

  • Trust depends on how AI responds, not just what it says
  • Slow or unclear responses break emotional connection
  • Drawing helped express emotions when words were hard to find.
  • Seamless access is critical in emotionally sensitive moments.

Explore The Full System

What’s Next

Mylo evolves through real use and continuous learning.

Refining how AI supports users
focusing on clarity, consistency, and trust in every interaction.

  • Include in app store and google play
  • Strengthening emotional memory across sessions
  • Improving AI behavior for clarity, consistency, and trust
  • Scalable community features
  • Responsible personalization
  • Expanding Family Mode to support shared healing and emotional growth
What is next for Mylo
Mylo quote artwork final

The Reflection

What Mylo taught me about designing with empathy

Mylo is the project where design and humanity converged most completely for me. Building a product around emotional wellness meant every decision — from color to copy to interaction — had to feel safe, honest, and human. That constraint made me a better designer.

UX Design

Safety is a Design Principle

When your users are emotionally vulnerable, friction isn't just annoying, it's a barrier to help. Before being useful, every interaction had to feel easy, safe, and human.

AI Product Design

AI needs a Human Voice, not a Robotic One

The challenge wasn't making the AI smart, it was making it feel safe. Tone, pacing, and language do more emotional work than any feature. That's what separates a tool from a companion.

Strategy

If the Product has Purpose, the Process Should Too.

You can't design for emotional health using purely rational frameworks. Mylo taught me that it’s not only about thinking and understanding, but about actually helping. That’s what creates trust.