Remedy

| TREATING PAIN THRough MINDFULNESS

In 2018, the CDC reported that just over 20% of American adults suffer from chronic pain. Many patients aren't aware of the recent developments in pain research which addresses the psychological impacts of chronic pain. Remedy seeks to help users suffering from chronic pain find relief through a holistic treatment regimen based on these new studies.

ObjectiveS

—Increase new users through the onboarding flow on the iOS app
—Foster trust in new treatment methods by providing context & structure
—Defining a clear value proposition to align user expectations & goals
—Explore future features and develop a product road map

Role

As a contract designer, I worked on this project end-to-end with a team of other designers. During an 8-week period, I conducted +25 in-depth user interviews that informed everything from UX copy to branding in the onboarding flow. These findings eventually culminated in a full re-branding of the platform from PainFree to Remedy. In the later stages of the project we had the opportunity to prototype and refine our wireframes before delivering them to the client. Our research deck can be found here.

Understanding the landscape

Our initial step was to delve into the mindfulness and wellness space to extract best practices for onboarding, which included competitor and comparator analysis. We did highlighter testing to identify sources for content that would resonate with users.

At the same time, we also conducted usability tests of the current app. Nearly all of the users struggled to make it through onboarding to the dashboard. Users cited a disconnect in tone and messaging within the initial screens as the reason for disengagement.

"Waste of two minutes, thanks for the words —but it didn’t do much for me."
—Joshua | 36 | professional | back pain

Establishing trust

The majority of our users expressed skepticism at the idea that meditation and mindfulness would help them manage their pain. So our first priority was building trust with users and presenting new research in a digestible format without discounting the lived experience of users suffering from chronic pain.

Keeping a consistent, clear message across all design elements creates trust between the user and the product, which meant that a brand strategy had to be created and implemented.

brand identity

Based on qualitative research and stakeholder input, we decided to move away from PainFree. Users felt that PainFree was too pain-focused. Eventually landed on Remedy because it encapsulated the purpose of the app— to relieve chronic pain.

After establishing our brand values, we used the data to select brand colors, content, art direction. We worked through several iterations to finalize a branding & style guide that is implemented throughout the app.

Providing a unique value proposition

Users were unclear about the benefits that Remedy offered. By making this clear and straightforward, we were able to build user confidence in the product.

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carousel

The carousel establishes the context for new users that experience chronic pain in the initial screen. Users are then presented with the value proposition, which describes how users might benefit from engaging in the product. Providing scientific evidence on the final screen helps convince skeptical users to continue through the onboarding process.

Asking for information

The information presented in the carousel sets up a framework that motivates users to share their personal information in exchange for experiencing the content on the platform.

Guiding Expectations

During our interviews, users had difficulty navigating the various features within the app. We found an opportunity to give users a mini-tour of the app right after they create an account.

Coachmarks

Before letting users explore on their own, we created a series of screens that would appear after users interact with the navigation bar to inform users about the content behind each tab. Core curriculum is introduced last to encourage users to begin the program immediately afterwards.

Experiencing the content

We broke down the features within the app into four tabs. This enables users to understand and locate content that is relevant to their current goal.

Dashboard

Users browse through content by swiping through cards on the carousel. This is consistent with the interaction experience during the initial onboarding screens.

Swiping through the cards give users an idea of what to expect in future lessons. Users are also able to repeat sessions if they want. Including personal user stories on the dashboard becomes a form of social proof, further strengthening user trust in the product.

Encouraging user engagement

Getting users to use the app on a daily basis is critical to reducing the effects of chronic pain. After users successfully complete their first session, they are more likely motivated to set a reminder to engage with the app in the future.

reminders

Users tend to like to follow through with the commitments they've set. This allows the app to send push notifications to users and encourages them to return to the app during their specified time.

Final Thoughts

The founder was really excited to see our final presentation. Arun is still in the process of implementing some of our design recommendations as he flushes out the rest of the exercises.

Understanding user biases and perceptions of meditation as a method to treat chronic pain was critical to the success of this project. Crafting an onboarding experience that provided just enough information without sounding patronizing was an interesting challenge. 5 out of 6 people said they would likely continue with the core curriculum after the first lesson.

Incorporating several rounds of testing throughout the process helped validate our design direction and kept us tuned into the needs of our users.