Glucopix makes everyday diabetic duties such as documenting glucose levels and finding diabetes-specific solutions, much easier and more efficient. The project’s goal is to make a significant step forward to diabetes management by giving a powerful digital tool in the hands of the patients. This case study is also the basis of my thesis titled The Significance of Mobile UI/UX Design in Diabetes Care.

Challenge ¹

Everyday issues of diabetes management

As a diabetic, I had the advantage of knowing the difficulties of everyday treatment processes. Applications either aim for solving unimportant problems or are solving too many problems at once. People are struggling with an overly complicated flow of keeping the right balance of carbs and insulin in their body. They also need to measure and document them. They spend an inordinate amount of time on these methods, which are boring and unadaptable to modern lifestyles. Users need to get along without having a bloodbath, metaphorically.

I've been using lots of diabetic apps in the past. None of them could completely adapt to my lifestyle and simplify my daily actions the way I wanted them to.

Process ²

My design process for Glucopix

I'm looking at my design approach more holistically after done the heavy lifting of guerilla user research. As I’m a diabetic, I could use my additional, real frustrations and experiences throughout my process. Some of my decisions are solely based on my assumptions. Here is a loose outline of how I tackle this design problem.

The stages of my process are Ideation, User Research, Personas, Features, Wireframes, Visual Elements, User Interface and Prototype.

User Research & Questionnaire

During my time at the doctor's waiting room and hospital, I was able to talk to diabetic patients and take notes of their frustrations and motivations. The most important learning came from the least expected source, my doctor. Young diabetic patients tend to feel ashamed of their diabetic treatment in groups. They feel uncomfortable when it comes to measuring and documenting blood glucose levels.

User Personas

I’ve created simplified user personas to help me design for a specific somebody, rather than a generic everybody. Although there are many different archetypes, psychologist Carl Gustav Jung defined 12 primary types that symbolize basic human motivations. These imaginary users have diverse personality traits and values. They come from different cultures and backgrounds.

I'm showcasing 4 of the mentioned 12 archetypes.

Feature Map

By being aware of my problems with my diabetic methods, I've been a step in front. There are 6 main features dealing with motivation, guidance and visual appearance. Add, history, reminder and graphs features are focused on user data. The feature challenges makes the experience gamified, while adviser is a tool for finding helpful sources for specific topics.

Wireframes

The structure follows the same visual hierarchy on each screen. The unique navigation system on the starting screen aims for better readability and usability. As all features have dedicated colours, the navigation serves as a rainbowish visual element that attracts the eye.

Visual Hierarchy & Components

Putting together a page including all the agreed design items creates a visual reference for the product. This will also break a comprehensive document into more manageable parts. An initial and approximate colour palette can speed the process up dramatically.

User Interface

Pixels and vibrant colours are strong brand elements. These colourful lego pieces form a rainbowish visual effect. They make the whole user experience bright and joyful by capturing the user’s attention.

Website & App for watchOS

In order to make the app fully adaptable to different lifestyles, a watchOS alternative is essential. This handy tool has only the most crucial user actions like adding glucose values or checking history. I have also designed a website concept for a detailed explanation of the product.

For the best experience on mobile devices please install the prototype on your home screen.

Solution ³

An efficient and joyful experience for diabetic patients

Users want to spend as little time in the app as possible, therefore the experience needs to be efficient. Colours not only work as a strong feature differentiator but also give a joyful user experience and engage the user. Glucopix is a tool for diabetic people that gives handy advises, keeps the user motivated and most importantly, makes it easy to document and manage glucose levels.

Glucopix is featured in the Interaction Gallery and Student Show Gallery on Behance.