Helsa Helps

Client

Helsa Helps

Info

Role

Product Designer

Timeline

4 weeks

Focus

Digital Health

Star-up

B2C

Minimum Viable Product

Tools

Figma

Team

Product Owner
Project Manager

Context

The Project

Helsa is an online therapy platform built specifically for the LGBTQ+ community in the UK. The app connects users with psychologists who specialise in LGBTQ+ experiences, therapists who understand the distinct pressures of identity, disclosure, and belonging that mainstream mental health services often miss.

The NHS and LGBTQ+ charities do valuable work, but demand far outstrips capacity. Waiting lists are long and culturally competent care is hard to find. Helsa set out to fill that gap with a platform that felt genuinely safe from the very first screen.

"How might we address the gap in mental health services for LGBTQ+ individuals by providing tailored support that meets the growing demand beyond what the NHS and LGBTQ+ charities can offer?"

Outcome

Thanks to the high-fidelity prototype, which the program deemed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), the team secured funding from a venture capital-backed startup accelerator.

Part One:

Design Sprint

My role was to translate research findings into a user-friendly, clickable prototype, and to iterate it quickly enough to meet a hard deadline.

The Product Owner needed a working MVP prototype to submit a business plan for a VC-backed venture programme. That constraint shaped everything: we couldn't afford extended discovery, so research and design had to run in parallel, with each round of testing feeding directly into the next version of the prototype.

Week: 1 - 2

At the start of the project, Project Manager and I discussed the priorities and the flow we were going to build for the V1.

That would be a straightforward onboarding form and a series of Situational Took Kits based on real scenarios that that users could choose depending on their needs. It gave us something concrete to test, even if we knew it wasn't the final answer.

Week: 3 - 4

After collating insights from the first round of usability testing, I updated the prototype for a second round with 25 participants a mix of returning and new users. This is where the design shifted most significantly.

Testing showed that users felt unsure if they were choosing the right Tool Kit and the lack of human interaction made them loose the sense of commitment. That single insight drove the biggest change in the prototype: replacing the static flow, with a conversational chatbot flow, which made the same questions feel safer to answer and that directed the user to tailored options of therapists they could choose from.

The final prototype was meaningfully different from V1, not a polish pass, but a structural rethink grounded in what participants told us.

Persona

Patrick

Zack moved to London five years ago for a digital marketing career and a more diverse community.

Professionally successful, he's still cautious about opening up about his sexuality with colleagues. He struggles to find genuine connection in a city that can feel distant, and while he knows he'd benefit from talking to someone, finding a therapist who actually understands his experience.

Goals

Zack wants deeper connections, on his own terms. He's looking for a therapist who gets the LGBTQ+ experience without him having to explain it from scratch , and tools that help him reflect between sessions, not just on the day.

Frustrations

Previous therapy felt generic. He's tried mainstream platforms but felt like the context of his life was always an afterthought. He's also financially cautious and needs to feel confident a platform is right for him before committing.

Part Two:

Visual Board

WeIl aimed to create an app that felt warmth, safe, and confidence as the tonal pillars, steering us away from the clinical aesthetic common in health apps and toward something that felt more like a trusted space than a medical product.

Part Three:

Version 1 | Feature #1

Onboarding

The V1 used a standard multi-step form to collect user information. It worked logistically, but testing revealed a clear problem: users hesitated or abandoned at the point where we asked about identity and mental health history. The form framing felt too clinical for questions that personal.

Version 1 | Feature #2

Tool Kit

This feature offers a range of self-reflection programmes on topics like identity, anxiety, and relationships. Users are guided through structured journeys designed to reinforce positive patterns and reduce negative ones between therapy sessions.

Users felt that weekly sessions alone weren't enough, and they wanted something to engage with in the days between appointments. Integrating the Tool Kit with the therapists creates a continuous support loop.

Version 2 | Feature #3

Chatbot and Matching

The final prototype's biggest structural change from V1 was the introduction of a chatbot-led onboarding and matching flow.

The final version leads with a chatbot that asks questions to understand emotional state, preferences, and the kind of support needed, then recommends therapists who specialise in the relevant areas.

This conversational approach makes the sensitive parts of onboarding feel more natural, and it produces better matches because the system understands context before surfacing options.

The result is a more supportive entry point that feels personal rather than transactional.

Key Learnings

Video Therapy

80% of participants expressed a clear preference for video therapy over messaging or async formats. This was stronger than expected and directly influenced how we prioritised the session-booking flow — video needed to be the obvious default, not a buried option.

Complementary Tools

Testing confirmed that the Tool Kit wasn't just a nice-to-have — users actively wanted structured support between sessions. Features like guided programmes and check-ins proved as important to the perceived value of the platform as the therapy matching itself.

Pre-diagnosis Questionnaire

Participants repeatedly asked for a short assessment before being shown therapist options, something to help them understand what kind of support they needed before they had to choose.

Helsa Helps

Client

Deloitte UK

Helsa Helps

Client

Deloitte UK

Part One:

Design Sprint

I led the assessment of the existing colour system and collaborated with cross-departments.

These pain points highlighted a fundamental issue: our colour system was creating barriers rather than enabling efficient, accessible design and development.

The feedback demonstrated an urgent need for a more structured, semantic approach that would serve both design creativity and development efficiency while prioritising accessibility from the ground up.

Week: 1

I initiated the project by analysing the current guidelines to evaluate their accessibility and the roles that we currently assign.

Also, I interviewed about 10 designers and 5 developers about the implementation and criteria for the colour choice, how the colour palette was being implemented, and any pain points they encountered regarding keeping consistency.

Week: 2

After collecting the findings from the user interview and identifying the main opportunities, my second task was to collaborate with Deloitte’s Branding team on how to adapt the current colour palette for web use.

The existing colour palette was first thought for a printing perspective and lacked the flexibility for web applications.

Week: 3

Once the overall basic designs were set, I ran 5 usability testing sessions to test if the features were usable and useful. Any insights and feedback on them considered and if needed changed before development and delivery.

Persona

Patrick

Zack, Moved to London 5 years ago for a digital marketing career and a more diverse community. Professionally successful but hesitant to open up about his sexuality to colleagues. Struggles to find close friends in London's somewhat distant culture. Seeking more happiness, worries about his social life and future relationships.

Goals

Zack is a social but self-conscious young professional seeking deeper connections, both personally and professionally, while embracing self-acceptance and striving for career advancement.

Frustrations

Zack is financially squeezed yearning for authentic friendships but constantly thwarted by city flakiness and the struggle to build meaningful connections beyond the surface.

From idea to impact

What are we building?

Send me an email

From idea to impact

What are we building?

Send me an email

Rodrigo Fernando