# Slingshot AI

Canonical page: https://www.gabrielvaldivia.com/work/slingshot

> Personalized AI counselor

- Date: Feb - Apr '24 (10 weeks)
- Client: Slingshot
- Services: Product Design, Web Design, Pitch Decks

## Overview

Slingshot's mission is to develop first-of-its-class AI models for mental health. I worked with the founders and engineering team to design and launch their first consumer product, Ash: a voice-based AI therapist that brings mental health to anyone with a mobile phone. The app uses natural language to simulate therapy sessions with a trained professional over voice and text.

## Team

- Neil Parikh — Founder
- Daniel Reid Cahn — Founder
- Kristian Freed — Engineering
- Guilherme Freire — Engineering
- Sebastian Martinez — Engineering

## Case study

[Visual: Slingshot AI - hero](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-0.png)

## Onboarding

The goal of the app's onboarding was to collect the relevant data for Ash to understand how to best help each user. After several explorations, we landed on a small survey that quickly jumped users into the first session with their coach.

[Video: Slingshot Onboarding](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-1.mp4)

## Session duration

The team wanted to encourage 15 minute sessions with Ash and a natural way to wrap up each session. However, a countdown clock felt stressful in this context. I explored a few ways to represent the passage of time without relying on a countdown clock.

[Video: Slingshot duration 1](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/7sv8LeTuo4TfJu9KlwA6zOrTzA.mp4)

[Video: Slingshot duration 2](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/Ssjwy8e3EMDvThfw2SWAtzxiEzg.mp4)

## Modalities

The Slingshot team was ahead of its time exploring multi-modalities when interacting with LLMs. The goal was to support text, tap-to-speak, and hands-free audio to encourage natural and convenient ways to interact with your AI coach.

[Video: Using a single button to communicate 3 states: idle, listening, and thinking](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-2.mp4)

[Video: Early exploration of starker speaking (light) and listening (dark) states](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-3.mp4)

[Video: Demo of switching between 3 modalities: tap to speak, hands-free audio, and text](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-4.mp4)

## Website

For Ash's website, we focused on finding imagery that conveyed the feeling of using the product. I explored a few different illustration styles but ultimately landed on a more abstract visual treatment.

[Visual: Slingshot AI - image 2](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-1.png)

[Visual: Slingshot AI - image 4](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-3.png)

[Visual: Slingshot AI - image 3](https://pub-0c00865d02c1476494008dbb74525b2a.r2.dev/slingshot-2.png)

## Attribution

Credits and collaborators are listed as provided on the canonical case study. This page does not claim that Gabriel was the sole creator of the project.