Case Study · 3 Months · UI/UX Designer
A personalised mobile companion that guides patients through their surgical journey with clear, timely, and emotionally supportive information — reducing pre-surgery anxiety, improving instruction adherence, and cutting the repetitive support burden on clinical staff.
The Problem
Patients forget 40–80% of medical information immediately after consultations. Printed post-op leaflets are misplaced, misunderstood, and emotionally inert. Anxiety peaks in the 24–48 hours before surgery — precisely when patients most need guidance — yet the existing system offered nothing at that moment. The downstream cost was measurable: clinical staff spent significant time answering the same basic questions repeatedly, diverting attention from complex cases.
"We answer the same five questions about post-surgery care at least 20 times a day. If patients had access to this information when they needed it, we could focus on more complex cases." — Dr. Martinez, Orthopedic Surgeon
Research
I conducted patient interviews across orthopedic, cardiac, and general surgery cohorts — plus separate sessions with 5 clinicians (3 surgeons, 2 nurses). Journey mapping documented emotional highs and lows from diagnosis through recovery. I intentionally prioritised qualitative methods to surface the emotional stressors — fear, uncertainty, information overload — that are invisible in clinical documentation but directly drive patient behaviour.
Two personas anchored every subsequent decision. Julie Brooke (38, pre-ACL surgery) was emotionally anxious, motivated to "do everything right," and easily overwhelmed by dense medical language — she needed progressive disclosure and reassurance. Dr. John Martson (45, orthopedic surgeon) was time-constrained and frustrated by repeated questions — he needed the design to reduce his communication burden without adding clinical risk. Crucially, because Julie was cognitively overloaded, advanced customisation and dense dashboards were actively deprioritised in favour of guided defaults.
A clear IA ensured users always knew where they were, what to do next, and what mattered most right now. Live clinician chat was explicitly excluded — not because it wasn't desirable, but because clinical risk, scalability, and regulatory complexity made it unfeasible. Deciding what not to build was as important as deciding what to include.
Design
The design system prioritised a calm, reassuring aesthetic while maintaining medical credibility. Every colour, typography choice, and interaction was grounded in psychological design principles — not aesthetic preference. Low-fidelity wireframes validated hierarchy and flow first; only after user testing confirmed the structure did I move into high-fidelity.
Outcomes
"For the first time, I felt like I knew what was happening to my body." — Patient, usability testing
"Andrew's empathetic approach to design was exactly what this project needed. The app has dramatically reduced pre-surgery anxiety calls to our nursing staff." — Dr. Emma Wilson, Director of Patient Experience