HuskyHush
Helping UW students take the first step toward mental health support through anonymous conversations with UW Peer Health Educators.
Timeline
Sep 2025 — Mar 2026
5 months
Client
UW LiveWell
Role
Product Designer
Teammates
Miwoo Cho
Ashley Zhang
Overview.
Context
For our HCDE Foundations capstone, our team partnered with UW LiveWell, the University of Washington's health promotion and mental wellness organization.
Together, we set out to understand why students hesitate to use campus mental health resources, even when they're readily available.
As our research progressed, we identified an opportunity to build on one of LiveWell's existing programs: Peer Health Educators (PHEs). PHEs are trained undergraduate and graduate students who provide peer-to-peer wellness support and connect students with campus resources.
We explored how a digital experience could make the program more approachable and easier to access.
The Problem
77%
of college students experience moderate to severe psychological distress
But only…
14%
of them report having tried a campus mental health service.
The Opportunity
How might we make taking the first step toward seeking support feel approachable, private, and safe?
The outcome
A peer support app that helps students connect anonymously with Peer Health Educators.
Research.
Before designing anything, we wanted to understand:
Why do UW students hesitate to use mental health resources, even when they know they exist?
What's already here?
UW Well-Being
The university website's mental health page
Headspace
A general mental health app
Anonymous advice forums
Existing solutions focused on delivering information—not lowering the barrier to seeking support.
Conversations with students
6 interviews, 30 minutes each.
We explored how students navigate stress, perceive campus wellness resources, and what keeps them from seeking support.
Across interviews, clear patterns began to emerge.
Three key insights
that shaped every design decision that followed.
Students didn't know where to start.
Students knew resources existed, but many felt overwhelmed by the options and unsure where to begin.
Design implication
Guide students toward an approachable first step—not another resource list.
Friends came before professionals.
Students almost always turned to friends before considering formal counseling because it felt more relatable and less intimidating.
Design implication
Peer connection became the foundation of the experience.
"My problems aren't serious enough."
Many students associated counseling with crisis situations and worried their own concerns weren't significant enough to justify asking for help.
Design implication
Every interaction needed to feel supportive, low pressure, and free from judgment.
Ideation.
Our research led to
Four design requirements.
Reduce the emotional barrier to asking for help.
Make support feel safe and socially approachable.
Complement existing campus services.
Start with peers before professionals.
Guided by these design requirements, we explored a wide range of concepts before narrowing our direction.
Peer-led workshops
Map + buddy system
Student reddit
Event calendar
Mental health pen-pal
Personal resource list
One solution stood out.
Anonymous Peer Support with LiveWell Peer Educators (PHEs)
UW LiveWell's Peer Health Educators (PHEs) are trained undergraduate and graduate students who provide wellness support and connect students with resources.
Rather than creating a new system, we built on one that already existed. LiveWell's Peer Health Educators offered a credible foundation—but students weren't using them. Our challenge became: how might we make peer support easier to start?
Design.
work together to lower the barrier to seeking support.
Finding the Right Support
Browse Peer Health Educators based on specialties, interests, and availability to find someone they feel comfortable talking to.
Anonymous Conversations
Connect privately with a Peer Health Educator through low-pressure one-on-one conversations.
Personalized Profiles
Control what information is shared while giving Peer Health Educators enough context to provide meaningful support.
Campus Events
Discover workshops and campus events that encourage continued engagement beyond one-on-one conversations.
We gathered feedback from students and UW LiveWell stakeholders throughout the design process.
One question came up repeatedly:
"How do I know this is actually safe?"
In response, we introduced
Trust, clarity, and safety features
Report
Gave students a clear way to report safety concerns and inappropriate behavior, reinforcing trust and accountability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gave students a clear way to report safety concerns and inappropriate behavior, reinforcing trust and accountability.
Final Product.
HuskyHush brings together anonymous peer support, campus resources, and wellness events into a single experience that helps students take the first step toward seeking support.
Outcomes
100% task completion
during final usability testing.
71% of participants
said they would try HuskyHush
Presented final design
to UW LiveWell stakeholders.
Developed high-fidelity prototype
ready for future validation.
Reflection.
Designing for mental health means reducing emotional barriers.
I began this project thinking students needed better access to mental health resources. Research revealed the real challenge wasn't awareness—it was overcoming the hesitation to take the first step. That shift changed how I approach design: solving the right problem matters more than building the right feature.
Balancing user & stakeholder needs
One of the biggest lessons from HuskyHush was balancing user needs with stakeholder priorities. Feedback from both students and UW LiveWell led us to strengthen trust through reporting, moderation, and clearer expectations—reminding me that successful products are shaped by multiple perspectives.
Looking Ahead
Given more time, I'd validate the experience with a larger and more diverse group of students, design the moderator experience for Peer Health Educators, and continue refining the trust and safety features before implementation.
