Mindfulness Apps - Meditation Helper, The Mindfulness App and Enso

This post is part 3 of the mindfulness apps blog posts.  Here I write about apps that are specifically geared towards meditation in their design and visuals. 

Meditation Helper 

Meditation helper is a very barebones app but I thought it important to feature nonetheless as it was listed as a useful one.   The premise is pretty simple - the user sets a timer for bells to ring at the start and the end of meditation.  The bell is a well-known mediation aid, as the sound is natural and fades out slowly which forces the listener to focus hard on the sound.  Usually a breath is taken three times during the ringing of the bell, so it is a starting point for the meditation.  

I can't say I love the interface here as it is not visually appealing at all.  However, the point of the app is to help the user meditate, so it would follow that there is no use for images or well-chosen text.

The Mindfulness App by MindApps

This app is streamlined to focus just on meditation, without much extraneous information as seen in Headspace and MentalWorkout.  The interface is really suited to smartphones with much of the same type and similar menus designs to the iPhone interface.  The header type is slim but because the letters are tall it reads easy and appears kind of gentle.  This app is more suited to people who are aware of mindfulness meditations and the benefits they bring, hence the minimal approach.  I don't see my own work following this look as a whole, although that glowy dotted circle on the blue background is really relaxing to look at!

Enso

Enso is much like the apps above, but a lot more pretty in design in my opinion.  It is designed to work well with the iPhone interface in particular, with similar on-off sliders and breaking up of sections.  What I really like is the way the timer is set up and presented (middle and right screenshots) - much more visually fitting than a timer countdown.  The simple, sleek visuals are something I hope I have time to explore too, because while I'm taken with the personable, quirky visuals as shown in the Headspace app, I also think there is potential to create something that is very stylish as it may appeal to the target 18-35 market who would perhaps like their apps to feel "grown up".

References

Kazmucha, Allyson. 2014.  Imore website. "Best meditation apps for iPhone: Clear your head and relax better than ever!" [online] Available at:

http://www.imore.com/best-meditation-apps-iphone-omvana-headspace-breathful-and-more

[Accessed 19th Jan 2015]

Unknown, 2014.  iTunes website. "The Mindfulness App" [online] Available at:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-mindfulness-app/id417071430?mt=8

[Accessed 19th Jan 2015]

Tlaka, Stephany.  2014.  Mindful website. "Mindfulness: Apps for That?" [online] Available at:

http://www.mindful.org/mindful-magazine/mindfulness-apps

[Accessed 19th Jan 2015]