Project: Confessions/Share your secret
The “Confessions/Share Your Secret” is a website that asks the visitor to share what’s on their mind. The design is created to model a therapist’s office or a yoga studio — a clean, bright place that calms the mind.
The visitors are given a choice whether they want to share the secret.
The user is able view the disclaimer after the interaction is completed.
If the site user responds that they don’t want to share, text informs them that it’s ok and the website interaction is over.
Background:
The project centers around the idea that people can unburden themselves by sharing a secret. Research by social scientist Michael Slepian (full disclosure: I briefly worked with him on projects at Columbia), has demonstrated that secrets can feel like a physical weight one’s holding. I thought about confession — and how if the concept is abstracted from religion, it’s basically a way to share one’s burden. So I wanted to create a simple site that would allow visitors a sense of relief.
Technical:
I started out in P5 JS editor, where used Visual Studio Code 3 to code the site working on three files: app.js, index.html, and style.css.
One of the biggest challenges was timing the elements. I used existing videos of a rock, background, and a video of rope being cut from the Adobe library (I licensed the use).
I couldn’t get the natural language processing API to work — originally my hope was to be able to “discern” the type of secret — and have the website suggest provide forgiveness or advice (primarily by directing the user to mental health resources).
Next iteration:
For the next iteration of the project, I would like to improve both the look and usability of the website, making the navigation a slightly smoother experience. I also would like to be able to offer mental health resources based on the user’s location. Ideally, I’d still like to use natural language API.
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