Dadle – Services for better depression care

OND Lab & New Design Studio Seoju Yun, Donghyeok Yoo, Dongjun Choe, Seungho Park-Lee & Hwang Kim
iF Design Award 2022
iF Design Award is one of one of the three most influential design awards which span multiple disciplines and receive submissions from more than 50 nations every year.

DADLE is a platform that helps users overcome depression through online group therapy and activities. Based on the user’s psychological test results and preferences, the platform recommends groups with similar challenges and a therapist with relevant expertise to increase the efficacy of the therapy. Group therapy sessions are conducted via video chat, while maintaining anonymity by replacing users’ faces with the characters of their choice. Various group activities strengthen the known benefits of group therapy, such as empathy, comfort, and bonding, that help fight stigma around depression and its treatment, which still abounds in Korea.

DADLE은 온라인 그룹 치료와 온/오프라인 활동을 통해 사용자가 우울증을 극복하게 돕는 플랫폼이다. 이 플랫폼은 사용자의 심리검사 결과와 선호도를 기반으로 비슷한 어려움을 겪는 집단과 전문성을 갖춘 치료사를 추천하여 치료 효과를 개선한다. 집단치료 세션은 화상채팅으로 진행되며, 이때 사용자의 얼굴을 각자가 원하는 캐릭터로 교체하여 익명성을 유지한다. 다양한 그룹 활동을 통해 공감, 위안, 유대감 등 그룹 치료의 이점을 강화하고, 한국에서 아직까지 개선되지 않은 우울증과 관련 진료에 대한 오해를 줄인다.

Idea

DADLE is a platform that helps treat depression by matching the right group of users and therapists. It makes it easier to enjoy the known benefits of group therapy, such as consolation, empathy, and bonding without the conventional constraints, such as time and space.

Form

Purple is sometimes thought of as a color representing depression, but it is used as an identity color for DADLE’s character to reduce stigma. There are illustrations throughout the service and tailored contents based on the user’s situation, which lower the objection and increase accessibility.

Function

DADLE provides professional psychological tests that serve as a reference for the therapy process. It also employs AI to recommend a suitable therapist and group members to the user. Users can set additional options to join groups according to their preferences.

Differentiation

DADLE’s AI helps treat depression by analyzing the activities of the group members. For the therapist, the AI notices the member’s emotional state and suggests proper counseling topics. For users, it records and manages emotional and health status to provides tips.

Impact

People with depression suffer from stigma abound in society, which prevents them from getting appropriate treatment. DADLE provides a platform for conducting therapy sustained in the group, conveying a message to society that depression can be shared and resolved together.

Dadle – Digital Service Design for Mental Healthcare/ Copyright © OND & NDS – UNIST

Dadle – Digital Service Design for Mental Healthcare/ Copyright © OND & NDS – UNIST

Dadle – Digital Service Design for Mental Healthcare/ Copyright © OND & NDS – UNIST

Dadle – Digital Service Design for Mental Healthcare/ Copyright © OND & NDS – UNIST

Dadle – Digital Service Design for Mental Healthcare/ Copyright © OND & NDS – UNIST