The team got pregnant with the idea of creating a character. For students to develop comprehensive communication skills, they needed support learning to express a breadth of emotions. With emoji, the team recognized that nuance was limited. The product design team then added emoji that helped students categorize their emotions and identify their feelings. Their difficult experience of choosing the right words reinforced their hesitation to share their feelings.
#EMOTION FACES FULL#
The problem was that children did not always understand the full meaning of the words they had to choose from to identify their emotions. In early iterations of Microsoft Reflect, students were asked to choose words that identified how they felt. “It’s hard to tell your teacher, ‘I’m overwhelmed’ when you don’t know what overwhelmed looks like,” said Principal Product Manager Elad Graiver. And anxiety around asking for help adds another layer of difficulty. While it is often presented as achievable for everyone, many people don’t have the time, resources, or sense of safety they need to begin taking mental health steps independently. The pursuit of mental health and self-awareness is challenging. But emotions can be hard to identify, understand, and express. Since the 1960’s, research has shown a distinct correlation between a child’s feelings and their academic performance.
![emotion faces emotion faces](https://img.izismile.com/img/img2/20100108/asian_baby_00.jpg)
![emotion faces emotion faces](https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-npe4l/products/555/images/1631/M-MZ-SMIL---High__27907.1498757701.1280.1280.jpg)
In Microsoft Reflect, this is the interface that students experience.ĭesigning for Mental Health Emotions impact everything: your health, decision making, relationships, and self-esteem.