Immediate Crisis Support Connection
Design a calm mobile experience that connects a person in emotional crisis with trained human support and urgent local help.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
A person in crisis may have limited attention, uncertain connectivity, privacy concerns, or immediate danger. The product must support rapid human connection rather than trying to persuade, diagnose, or manage the crisis through automated conversation.
User context
Jordan opens the service late at night and indicates that staying safe feels difficult. They want to talk by text, cannot speak aloud, and have not granted location access.
Product problem
The experience must assess immediate danger with very few questions, offer an appropriate human channel, and keep emergency options available throughout without creating false promises about response time.
Objective
Create immediate safety triage, trained counselor connection, emergency escalation, and continuity after a dropped session.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Fast immediate-danger check
- Choice of human support channel
- Queue and connection state
- Emergency service handoff
- Session recovery
Screens and states
- Immediate help entry
- Safety question
- Support channel choice
- Waiting and connected states
- Emergency handoff
- Reconnect state
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Jordan chooses immediate support
- 02
They answer whether there is immediate physical danger
- 03
They select text with a trained counselor
- 04
A clear wait estimate and emergency option remain visible until connection
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Offer emergency calling or text options immediately
- Use plain direct language
- Connect to trained human responders
- Explain privacy and data use before collecting details
- Preserve a safe reconnect path if the session drops
- Support screen readers and low cognitive load
Constraints
- The product does not diagnose or replace emergency services
- Response availability varies by region and time
- Location may be unknown
- A shared or monitored device may be in use
Reality check
States worth considering
Ready-to-use content
Mock data
Use this content to test hierarchy and realistic data states. You can expand it when the concept needs more depth.
Support availability
- Text with a trained counselor, estimated wait 4 to 7 minutes
- Call a crisis counselor now
- Contact local emergency services
- Language support: English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Finish line
What to deliver
- Six mobile-first states covering entry through connection or escalation
- A crisis-safe content and accessibility rationale
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Unica One & Crimson Text
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Unica One & Crimson Text
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.