Client
AstraZeneca
Dates
2023
Role
Vision and Design
"Combining live health data with personal commentary makes it so much easier to keep my loved ones informed." - Research Participant and Patient
Role: Product Design Lead
Team Members: VP of Design, Senior Software Engineers (x2), Senior Product Manager
TL;DR:
I led the research, design, and delivery of a mobile app aimed at supporting individuals remaining steadfast in their recovery journey while facing critical health challenges. Collaborating with AstraZeneca’s head of design, I strategized, iterated, and created a visually engaging and intuitive UI, establishing AstraZeneca’s foothold in the consumer health space. The project highlighted my ability to use a flexible framework to craft impactful solutions that are adaptable across different product initiatives and stretch my creative muscles.
In 2023, AstraZeneca embarked on its first major consumer-oriented project, shifting from corporate and medical research to a product tailored for individuals. Our goal was to design a digital tool that could support people through complex health journeys, addressing needs like managing health data, cataloging day-to-day experiences, and sharing updates with loved ones. This audience was a large but underserved group, often lacking accessible, user-centered tools for emotional and practical support during their health crises.
As Product Design Lead, I was tasked with developing a scalable product strategy that could address these needs through practical, innovative, and visually engaging digital solutions. My process involved leveraging a user-centered framework that informed every design decision and could be applied to future consumer health products.
A showcase of some of our final marketing assets
To fully understand the challenges faced by our target audience, I engaged in extensive research and interviews with patients managing significant health conditions, from cancer to mental health issues. Spending time directly with these individuals, I identified several core pain points: difficulty tracking health data, forgetting to catalog their experiences, and feeling isolated from their support networks. These insights revealed that the absence of such tools often led to increased feelings of helplessness and isolation. Working with these insights, our team designed MVP features tailored to this audience’s unique needs:
Quick Video Recording: Enabled patients to share real-time updates quickly.
Sentiment and Health Data Scanning: Used facial recognition to track emotional and physical health indicators.
Catalog and Share Functionality: Allowed patients to log experiences and share them with loved ones in a controlled, view-only mode.
These features went through iterative cycles of critique and testing, ensuring they not only resonated with users but also provided meaningful support in challenging times. This iterative process allowed us to stay responsive to feedback, keeping the user’s needs and preferences at the forefront.
"I feel like I can fill everyone in so much easier now ... and the app feels like something I'd want to keep coming back to."
-Patient, Research Participant
Key mobile app screens
With a firm understanding of user needs, I partnered closely with AstraZeneca’s head of design to establish a cohesive vision for Reflect—a mobile app that would blend user-centered functionality with an engaging and high-quality UI. Given free rein to explore and innovate, I crafted a design language that was not only intuitive but also visually supportive, reflecting the dignity and resilience of users facing health crises.
To build consistency across the app’s touchpoints, I developed a modular, scalable system of UI patterns. This system allowed us to scale our designs for future initiatives within AstraZeneca’s consumer health strategy. The high degree of polish and functionality in these UI components instilled trust and engagement, ensuring that users felt supported, not overwhelmed, by the app’s features.
Reflect, now in development for both iOS and Android, has already undergone early testing with our initial user group. Participants consistently rated the app highly, citing ease of use, meaningful functionality, and an intuitive interface. Many expressed a strong willingness to recommend the app to others navigating similar health journeys, underscoring its practical and emotional value.
This project has not only demonstrated the value of a user-centered, scalable design process but also showcased the potential for AstraZeneca to create impactful consumer health tools. The backlog of ideas generated through testing ensures that Reflect will continue to evolve, staying responsive to user needs as we refine the experience.
My role in Reflect was pivotal, from research to strategic design, allowing AstraZeneca to take its first major step into the consumer health space. By building a modular and scalable UI system, I ensured that the framework we created could be applied to future projects, establishing a repeatable, high-quality approach to user-centered health solutions. This project highlighted the impact of thoughtful, empathy-driven design, setting a new standard for AstraZeneca’s digital health initiatives and showcasing the power of visually and functionally engaging interfaces that resonate deeply with users.
For a more detailed breakdown of this project, please reach out; I would be happy to share metrics, quotes, design iterations, detailed insights, and more.
