erica lee


PillPal



Health engagement and accountability



TEAM

Individual Project



MY ROLES

UX + UI Design



TOOLS

Figma

Invision Studio

Illustrator



TIMEFRAME

3 months



Project Overview



Previously, I had worked on PillPal as a system between a smart pill box and an app designed to help users stay on top of their health and medication. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to fully build out each component, but the app design was always something I wanted to come back and refine. So after carving out some time, I finally sat down and set to fully flesh out the app experience as a stand alone component.


→ Previously on PillPal



Research



Fortunately, from the previous research that we had conducted (methods include ethnographic interviews, cultural probes, and a participatory workshop), I had a good amount of insights and a set of goals to meet in terms of the user experience. On top of that, doing some competitive benchmarking helped with recognizing patterns and what's working/not working with current medication reminder apps.



INSIGHTS



  1. Integration
    Taking medication is a routine that has to mold into your current lifestyle. A key aspect of this is traveling and adjusting the intake schedule.

  2. Accountability
    Just like hitting the snooze button on an alarm, sometimes, it can be fairly easy to miss days, especially if it's a new habit.

  3. Ease of use
    Adding all the medication information necessary is a tedious process.



DESIGN GOALS



  1. Encourage building a community of support.

  2. The user should feel they have control at every stage of the product.

  3. Streamline the process of adding the routine of medication taking into the user's life.

  4. Evoke a sense of trust and reliability.



Design Process



At this stage, it was a combination of improving upon what was already created and also adding new features that would help make PillPal unique.



IDEATION



Rough Sketches



I started out with sketching out simple layouts on paper as to not get caught up on the aesthetic design, but rather focus on the experience and identify a navigation style.



Rough Prototype



This stage was about transitioning paper sketches to the digital realm and starting to perfect the pixels.



STYLE GUIDE



After creating the rough prototype and before moving onto to some user tests, I created a working style guide to help me define some early aesthetics. One of my design goals was the evoke trust and reliability and I wanted the guide to reflect this without being the traditionally sterile health application aesthetic. At this stage, I had also created the logo that would be used for the product.



USER TESTING



After a rough prototype, I did some usability tests with 3 individuals who were currently taking medication to evaluate what was working so far and what tweaks still had to be made. These are the developments that were made:



Bringing more visibility to decisions that were made



As a medication reminder app, the product's job is to be great at reminding and I realized that after doing a new task, it wasn't always clear that there was a result. So I made sure to indicate that visually by including an unobtrusive notification bar where new items would be clearly indicated.



Making the prescription refill process efficient and quick



Originally I had it so user's would have to go through the process of filling out information again for another refill. It was a glaring issue that I had missed, but that's why we have user testing! So I made it easier to just simply reuse the information that was already inputted. Although a simple change, it makes a huge difference in the experience when tapping one button can save you a lot of repetitive work.



Giving the option to skip



Another simple change, but it goes hand in hand with giving control to the user.



Product



PillPal is created to be your guide along the journey. It does its best to streamline the prescription to intake reminder process, tying in friends and family to hold you accountable, and integrating with your lifestyle.



Streamlining medication schedules



PillPal makes it easy to scan pharmacy issued barcodes and make updates to your schedule.



Including family and friends



Include family and friends to keep them informed and you accountable.



Travel with confidence



Travel with confidence by using our travel planner feature. PillPal makes it easy to adjust your medication schedule while you enjoy your vacation.