Illustrating A Brain-Gut Relationship for Nerva

Nerva is a hypnotherapy app by Mindset that helps you manage your IBS symptoms at home without symptom-tracking or diet changes. The app uses a six-week psychology program developed by doctors that helps you rewire your gut-brain connection. Clinically proven in a study at Monash University (creators of the low FODMAP diet), this approach was found to be just as effective as their gold-standard elimination diet for both food and stress-triggered symptoms. Gut-directed hypnotherapy can teach you how to use your brain to ignore pain signals from your gut. Nerva was recently awarded the ‘App of the Day’ award on Apple’s App Store.

• Illustrations
• Graphic Design

Nerva won the ‘App of the Day’ award on Apple’s App Store and needed an illustration to celebrate the same. Its hypnotherapy program for IBS was a new concept that required a light and crisp illustration. This illustration needed to convey the idea behind the program, the brand identity, and the value of easily accessible app-based healthcare.

Brucira needed to design an illustration that portrayed the friendliness of the brand as well as the convenience of healthcare that is scientifically accurate but not sterile.

1. Sketches

We began by sketching our ideas out in pencil to get the client’s feedback. We wanted to make sure that the designs we were illustrating were right for the context. So, we presented two different approaches. We kept the core message the same and brought out visible differences in the sketches for the client to choose from.

The first option involved figurative drawings with subjective modification and the second one involved personified drawings of the gut and the brain. The idea was to focus on exploring the relationship between the two characters. We captured this by showing the gut and brain high-fiving.

2. Colourising

Then, both sets of illustrations were coloured with two variations each. The design team chose colours that would reflect the brand’s friendly and approachable nature.

3. Feedback

When we heard back from the client, there was a clear winner — the personification of the brain and the gut was loved by almost everyone. We kept that in mind as we made a few more changes to the layout to ensure the overall composition was visually appealing.

The dedicated thought process behind the illustration and a correct colour scheme led to the final product shown below. The illustration was eye-catching and attractive while showcasing Nerva’s main goal: better gut control for IBS.

Brucira’s simple yet alluring concept for the Nerva ‘App of the Day’ illustration perfectly encapsulated the heart of the hypnotherapy program. The personified versions of the brain and the gut gave the app a friendly, approachable, and easy-to-understand nature for both new and existing users.

https://www.mindsethealth.com/nerva