Duration
2 Months
Adobe XD | Adobe Illustrator | Adobe Photoshop
Tools
The story behind the app
The inspiration behind designing this app is personal and stemmed from my wife's experience with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy.
After her diagnosis, the doctor advised her to follow a strict diet and to monitor her blood sugar levels daily. Upon returning home, we searched for a mobile app to help us track her values and provide more information.
However, we found that the available apps were incomplete, with limited features and information. This led me, with my wife's help, to design an app specifically for individuals with diabetes.
The primary goal of this app is to help users manage their blood sugar levels effectively. It aims to provide comprehensive information and features to support individuals with diabetes in making informed decisions about their health and well-being.
USA
51 million
South
America
32 million
Africa
24 million
Europe
61 million
Middle East
73 million
Asia
90 million
Western Pacific
206 million
Design Process
Empathize
Define
Prototype
Test
Mdyfy
The problem
People with diabetes make important daily decisions to stay healthy and thrive. They must follow daily tips for a nutrition diet to regulate their blood sugar. Unfortunately, today's fast-paced lifestyle makes it very difficult to manage all of this. People often forget to track the data and information, resulting in a negative impact on their health.
People with diabetes make important daily decisions to stay healthy and thrive. They must follow daily tips for a nutrition diet to regulate their blood sugar. Unfortunately, today's fast-paced lifestyle makes it very difficult to manage all of this. People often forget to track the data and information, resulting in a negative impact on their health.
The goal
Research
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Around 537 million adults are living with diabetes.
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This number is predicted to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045.
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Over 3 in 4 adults with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries.
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Diabetes is responsible for 6.7 million deaths in 2021 - 1 every 5 seconds.
Day-to-day activities
Individuals with diabetes should typically follow a daily routine that includes monitoring blood glucose levels, taking medications as prescribed, following a balanced diet, engaging in regular physical activity, and maintaining overall health.
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Check blood sugar when waking up.
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Eat a balanced breakfast.
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Check blood sugar after breakfast.
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Check blood sugar before lunch.
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Have a balanced lunch.
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Check blood sugar after lunch.
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Walk for 10-20 minutes after lunch.
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Have a healthy snack
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Check blood sugar before dinner.
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Eat a balanced dinner
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Check your blood sugar before you go to bed. Insulin taking before meals or after meals depends on the individual.
Interviews goals
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I want to know the common challenges people face in the regulation and management of blood sugar levels.
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I want to find out the most important daily routines for better health and wellness.
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I want to learn how people track their blood sugar data in their daily lives.
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How can technology and smartphones be leveraged to improve the daily lives of individuals with diabetes?
Interviews
Aggregated empathy map
Interviews questions
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What is most important for better health and wellness when you have diabetes?
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Is daily management and tracking of blood sugar levels challenging, and if so, why?
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What specific challenges do you face in this process, and how does it make you feel?
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Do you use your phone for managing and monitoring blood sugar levels?
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Do you record your blood sugar data, and if so, how?
Says
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To have a healthy pregnancy, it's important to maintain a balanced diet that provides essential nutrients for both the mother and the baby.
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Regular monitoring of blood sugar levels is necessary, both before and after meals.
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Daily online searches for diabetes-related information, healthy recipes, and suitable foods are part of my routine.
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I keep a notebook to record blood sugar values after each meal.
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Discipline is crucial for maintaining good health.
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In our fast-paced lifestyle, we often forget to record blood sugar values.
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Occasionally, I forget either my notebook or measuring device.
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Upon diagnosis, doctors often provide a notebook for recording blood sugar values.
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At times, I lack the motivation and discipline to stay physically active.
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I tend to eat the same foods as I'm unsure what to eat.
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It's challenging to carry both my device and notebook for recording blood sugar values.
Think
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Is this meal suitable for people with diabetes?
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After this lunch, I don’t feel like going on a walk.
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I crave sweets, juices, and white bread.
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Not again, I forgot my notebook at home
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Where can I find useful information about diabetes?
Does
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Pregnant women with gestational diabetes
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Young hard-working women with diabetes from youth age.
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A student with an unhealthy lifestyle and no physical activity.
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A former policeman who enjoys pension days.
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Young fitness trainer.
Feel
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Nervous and impatient.
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Confused due to the lack of information about food.
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Nervous and panicked.
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Frustrated because he cannot eat his favorite meals.
Cyrine Farhat, Lebanon
I had to suddenly take charge of my life and make important daily decisions to stay healthy and thrive. I felt more tools were needed to empower people affected to take control of their diabetes positively.
When it comes to consultations with health professionals, there is only one thing that every person with diabetes is looking for – to come away feeling that little bit more positive and live more confidently. A little extra self-belief can help everyone live a better day.
Charlie Churchill, UK
I think the most important things to focus on to improve the lives of people living with diabetes in my country are nutritional education and guidance on how to administer medication and self-monitor the condition.
Tazul Islam, Bangladesh
Testimonials
User flow
Information Architecture
Digital wireframes
Tracking the blood sugar values
All of the interview participants noted that they have problems with tracking their blood values daily. The reason is that they forget the notebook at home.
Solution
Creating a system for tracking blood values and meals.
Pain points
Nutritional education and guidance
Participants expressed confusion about meal choices and timing, often resorting to repetitive options. Browsing the internet for fresh, healthy meal ideas could provide helpful variety.
Solution
Tips and food receipts recommended meals and snacks.
Motivation and discipline
While motivation and discipline are crucial for a healthy life with diabetes, participants sometimes face moments of demotivation.
Solution
Activity alert, Daily walk, activities for regulating the blood sugar.
Information
All participants acknowledged the need to rely on internet searches for diabetes-related information.
Solution
Diabetic forum links to diabetic organizations and foundations.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Usability testing 2
Research goals
What is the participants' opinion on the look and functionality of the application?
Did the participants use the app intuitively or do they need to think before taking action?
What is good in the app and what must be improved?
Methodology
Moderate usability study
Participants
6
Findings
Generate report
Participants consider generating a report as one of the best features. They believe that these reports will be useful when they go to a doctor for a consultation.
First impression about the app
The participant's first impression of the app is confusing. All of the participants pointed out that at the first and second screens they could not understand the app's function. Nothing suggests that it is an application for diabetics.
What is an activity alert
Participants did not understand the function of the activity alert feature. Plus they didn't know where can find information about it.
To aggressive and strong main color
The red color is too striking. Some of the participants said that to use the app, they will have to decrease the phone light.
Insulin
Some people with diabetes note that they take insulin daily and it is important for them to monitor how much insulin they are taking.
Together feature
Participants were satisfied with the together option. They think it is a kind of forum where they can get information, ask a question, or comment on a topic. Plus is good for connecting and motivation.
Final designs
Personas
Personal motto
“Family is not an important thing. It's everything.”
Goals
● Have a great career as a lawyer
● To help people
● Live healthy life
● Have a happy and big family
● Have a friends
● Have a marriage
Frustrations
● She has no free time
● She can not cook for her family
● She can not eat everything during her pregnancy
● Her career as a lawyer is on hold.
Rosana, a dedicated lawyer, has spent her life pursuing her career in law to become a great lawyer. However, she values her family above all else. She enjoys spending quality time with her husband, often going to restaurants to sample different cuisines. When she became pregnant, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, a new and challenging condition for her. Especially challenging because her pregnancy also brought an increased appetite. Now, she must be careful about what and when she eats.
Rosana.K
Age: 30
Education: Faculty of Law
Hometown: Paris
Family: Married
Occupation: Lawyer
Martin.T
Martin, an ambitious student at the Faculty of Economics, has a passion for traveling and experiencing different cultures. His dream is to become a university professor. As a young man, he is an advocate for fighting environmental pollution and global political polarization. Despite his busy schedule, he enjoys spending time with his friends, often dining out. Unfortunately, he was recently diagnosed with diabetes, which has changed his dietary habits.
Frustrations
● Can not travel due to the coronavirus pandemic
● Can not taste different food due to his diabetes
● Environmental pollution
● Global political polarization
Goals
● To eat and taste different food.
● To travel around the world
● Want to become a university professor
● Want to travel and meet different cultures
Personal motto
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”
Age: 25
Education: Faculty of Economics
Hometown: Bratislava
Family: Single
Occupation: Investing
Main features
Activity alert
Daily activity can help reduce blood sugar. The users can turn on the activity alert in order to reduce their blood sugar.
Tracking blood sugar values and meal details
Taking notes and tracking the blood sugar values and meal details during the day, week, and year. This is one of the most important things in the process of regulation of blood sugar.
Tracking personal therapy taking
Tracking therapy is taken before or after the meal. This way users will be able to track the relationship between the meals and therapy.
Generating detailed reports
Generating detailed reports for specific periods. Benefits from these detailed reports will benefit the users and the doctors.
Detailed statistic
Weekly, monthly, yearly, or specific period statistics. Users can see the movement of their blood sugar values at any time.
Nutrition recipes and tips
The users can save their favorite diabetic meals and get new nutrition info and tips.
With this feature, the users can share their experiences, advice, or information related to diabetes. Plus, they can get the motivation and inspiration of other users.
Together
The users have a link to all of the most important diabetes organizations and foundations.
Diabetes organizations and foundations
Usability testing
Research goals
Did the users understand the main function of the app?
Do the app will be usable for them?
Did users feel confused during the use of the app?
How to improve the functionality and the look of the app.
Methodology
Moderate usability study
Participants
4
Easy to use
For the participants in the study, the use of the application was simple and useful. For all of them, the whole process of entering values was already familiar.
Activity alert
The participant was confused about what is activity alert and didn't know where they could read more about it.
Statistic
The participants thought that the numbers and the charts in the section with statistics should be bigger. Because they are too small it was hard for them to read the numbers.
Ten-minute walk
For the participants in the study, the use of the application was simple and useful. For all of them, the whole process of entering values was already familiar.
Next features
Bluetooth measuring devices
For further development of the app, the devices could be connected to our phones. This way the data would be registered automatically and users would not lose time entering and gathering the data.
Appointment calendar
It would be useful for users to have a calendar of doctor appointments. Additionally, they can put a reminder so that they do not miss an appointment.