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Wellbeing App

Wellbeing App

B2C

User Research & Insights

Product Strategy

UX + UI Design

User Testing and A/B tests

Design Iterations

Created with the guidance of trusted NHS healthcare experts, this mobile app is designed to serve as a ‘Wellbeing Companion’ to help patients adopt healthier daily routines. It reinforces micro-doses of healthy behaviours, understands individual wellbeing needs and provides AI-enabled habit stacking tools , preventing rising chronic illnesses in the UK. Early research showed low adherence to existing digital health programs, so increasing engagement was a core goal.

Created with the guidance of trusted NHS healthcare experts, this mobile app is designed to serve as a ‘Wellbeing Companion’ to help patients adopt healthier daily routines. It reinforces micro-doses of healthy behaviours, understands individual wellbeing needs and provides AI-enabled habit stacking tools , preventing rising chronic illnesses in the UK. Early research showed low adherence to existing digital health programs, so increasing engagement was a core goal.

Created with the guidance of trusted NHS healthcare experts, this mobile app is designed to serve as a ‘Wellbeing Companion’ to help patients adopt healthier daily routines. It reinforces micro-doses of healthy behaviours, understands individual wellbeing needs and provides AI-enabled habit stacking tools , preventing rising chronic illnesses in the UK. Early research showed low adherence to existing digital health programs, so increasing engagement was a core goal.

Timeframe

Timeframe

Timeframe

2024 / 5 months

2024 / 5 months

2024 / 5 months

Client/Industry

Client/Industry

Client/Industry

NDA/ Health tech

NDA/ Health tech

NDA/ Health tech

My Role

My Role

My Role

Lead Product Designer

Lead Product Designer

Lead Product Designer

Team

Team

Team

UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing

Product Designer, Product Owner, Innovation Consultants, AI engineer.

UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing

Product Designer, Product Owner, Innovation Consultants, AI engineer.

UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing

Product Designer, Product Owner, Innovation Consultants, AI engineer.

🔒 Please note, due to confidentiality agreement, certain project details including client name, AI content and full UI kit, cannot be publicly shared until the app is launched. This case study highlights core concepts developed during the project, and some designs showcased have been modified.

🔒 Please note, due to confidentiality agreement, certain project details including client name, AI content and full UI kit, cannot be publicly shared until the app is launched. This case study highlights core concepts developed during the project, and some designs showcased have been modified.

👉🏻The client approached us with a bold question:

How can we create a digital intervention that empowers people to take charge of their wellbeing journey and drive lasting positive behaviour change?

The Real Problem

The correlation between reactive care, UK's rising chronic illness rates and shortage in healthcare resources.

The correlation between reactive care, UK's rising chronic illness rates and shortage in healthcare resources.

The correlation between reactive care, UK's rising chronic illness rates and shortage in healthcare resources.

People are living longer, but most approaches in healthcare still focus on treating illness after it appears rather than preventing it. With chronic diseases on the rise, reactive care is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain in the UK. This creates a strong opportunity for proactive wellbeing solutions that help people stay healthy before issues develop.

As part of the NHS’s long-term shift toward preventive care, interest in early-risk identification has grown. Using predictive AI and lifestyle data, early signs of potential chronic conditions can be spotted without providing medical diagnosis to support users with holistic guidance on mental health, physical activity, daily habits and environmental factors.

This enables people to take small, consistent steps that reduce long-term health risks and improve overall wellbeing.

People are living longer, but most approaches in healthcare still focus on treating illness after it appears rather than preventing it. With chronic diseases on the rise, reactive care is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain in the UK. This creates a strong opportunity for proactive wellbeing solutions that help people stay healthy before issues develop.

As part of the NHS’s long-term shift toward preventive care, interest in early-risk identification has grown. Using predictive AI and lifestyle data, early signs of potential chronic conditions can be spotted without providing medical diagnosis to support users with holistic guidance on mental health, physical activity, daily habits and environmental factors.

This enables people to take small, consistent steps that reduce long-term health risks and improve overall wellbeing.

20%, or 1 in 5

GP appointments are for non-clinical reasons.

40%

of emergency hospital admissions for chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and heart disease could be prevented with effective preventive care.

Product Strategy

We embedded ourselves with NHS healthcare practitioners (GPs, social prescribers, primary care, health coaches), sport trainers, and patients in the the North East of England, to understand people’s experiences with health & wellbeing apps. This helped us to identify what is missing, which data insights are needed to encourage healthy behaviours and how it can manage chronic illnesses.

We embedded ourselves with NHS healthcare practitioners (GPs, social prescribers, primary care, health coaches), sport trainers, and patients in the the North East of England, to understand people’s experiences with health & wellbeing apps. This helped us to identify what is missing, which data insights are needed to encourage healthy behaviours and how it can manage chronic illnesses.

Turning barriers into opportunities

I helped shape the Product Strategy alongside my team at UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing, approaching these problems through longevity lens, aiming for a solution to "enable longer, healthier lives" with improved wellbeing outcomes. Early research showed low adherence to existing digital health programs, so increasing engagement was defined a core goal.

I helped shape the Product Strategy alongside my team at UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing, approaching these problems through longevity lens, aiming for a solution to "enable longer, healthier lives" with improved wellbeing outcomes. Early research showed low adherence to existing digital health programs, so increasing engagement was defined a core goal.
I helped shape the Product Strategy alongside my team at UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing, approaching these problems through longevity lens, aiming for a solution to "enable longer, healthier lives" with improved wellbeing outcomes. Early research shows low adherence to existing digital health programs, so increasing engagement was a core goal.

Barriers

Barriers

Barriers

Opportunities

Opportunities

Opportunities

! Reactive care

! Reactive care

! Reactive care

✓ Interventions that promote behaviour change to "Proactive, Preventative care"

✓ Interventions that promote behaviour change to "Proactive, Preventative care"

✓ Interventions that promote behaviour change to "Proactive, Preventative care"

! Overloaded healthcare system

! Overloaded healthcare system

! Overloaded healthcare system

✓ Data-informed AI analytics support in creating (personalised) people-first wellbeing journeys

✓ Data-informed AI analytics support in creating (personalised) people-first wellbeing journeys

! Poor digital health literacy

! Poor digital health literacy

! Poor digital health literacy

✓ Guided, easy-to-understand insights and adjustable goals that support informed progress

✓ Guided, easy-to-understand insights and adjustable goals that support informed progress

Product Goals

Patient-facing

Empower people to take a more proactive role in managing their wellbeing

Healthcare worker-facing

Support in reducing non-medical diagnosis with a preventative digital intervention integrated in their workflow

My Approach

  • Led design direction and collaborated with the product owner, innovation consultants, and healthcare professionals to research, shape product strategy, steering UX/UI design


  • Secondary Research around achieving goals, healthy habits, building routines, and scientifically backed approaches to form good habits and behaviour change.

  • User needs -> People's aspirations

  • Grounding AI tone in empathy, trust and accessibility


  • Next, facilitated two co-discovery workshops with healthcare experts, and relevant citizens, with diversity across age, digital literacy and wellbeing journeys, to gain real-life insights on these subjects and humanise the app experience.

  • Iterative design and usability testing sprints

  • Led design direction and collaborated with the product owner, innovation consultants, and healthcare professionals to research, shape product strategy, steering UX/UI design


  • Secondary Research around achieving goals, healthy habits, building routines, and scientifically backed approaches to form good habits and behaviour change.

  • User needs -> People's aspirations

  • Grounding AI tone in empathy, trust and accessibility


  • Next, facilitated two co-discovery workshops with healthcare experts, and relevant citizens, with diversity across age, digital literacy and wellbeing journeys, to gain real-life insights on these subjects and humanise the app experience.

  • Iterative design and usability testing sprints

Workflow

Survey

Survey

Conducted a qualitative discovery survey to understand people's opinions and experience with wellbeing apps

Focus Group 1

Ran a workshop with 20 participants to understand 'patient perspective' on digital health and AI

Focus Group 2

Ran a workshop with healthcare professionals to understand any risks associated with digital wellbeing journeys

Design Scoping

Identified 5 key user groups and produced actionable insights to flesh out core app features

Design Phase 1

Tackling UX for onboarding and core flows for first-time and returning users with mid-fidelity designs

Design Phase 2

High-fidelity UI/UX Design of core features and implementing gamification

Usability Testing

Moderated 1:1 usability testing sessions with ~9 users focusing on UX, efficiency and desirability of the app

Design Phase 3

Based on analysis and prioritised insights, designs were iterated to refine flows and UI

Design Handover

Final prototypes and style guide documentation handed over for development

User Research & Insights

Participatory Research

Participatory Research

Participatory Research

Discovery Survey

To ensure we solve the right problem and user needs from the get go

108 people (ages 31–85) across UK completed a qualitative survey on Voice® to share their attitudes & opinions on improving wellbeing and existing digital solutions. Through analysis, we identified the topics to probe into more deeply in focus groups and challenge unfounded assumptions.

Key Insights *

High digital familiarity

Most respondents were wearable users who use health or wellbeing apps regularly.

Most respondents were wearable users who use health or wellbeing apps regularly.

High digital familiarity

Health awareness priority

Health awareness priority

High percentage of users rated “understanding my own wellbeing” as very important

High percentage of users rated “understanding my own wellbeing” as very important

Adoption barrier

Adoption barrier

Both wearable and non-wearable users cited lack of personalisation, meaningful insights and real outcomes as the main barrier.

Both wearable and non-wearable users cited lack of personalisation, meaningful insights and real outcomes as the main barrier.

Age related challenges

Age related challenges

Isolation and changing physical needs impacting how they maintain their wellbeing over time.

Isolation and changing physical needs impacting how they maintain their wellbeing over time.

*Please note actual numbers are hidden for confidentiality reasons.

*Please note actual numbers are hidden for confidentiality reasons.

Focus Group

Balancing patient needs with those of healthcare professionals

Discovery Focus Group with relevant Patients

Participants
Diverse patient representatives, ranging from wearable savvy to limited digitally exposed users, recruited via Voice® - citizen research & engagement platform.

Key Insights*
Despite differences in lived experiences, participants shared these goals:

✅ Create and follow personal goals

✅ Access to professional advice and coaching
✅ Social engagement to overcome isolation

*Generalised due to confidentiality

Roundtable Discussion with Healthcare Professionals


Participants

Experienced NHS general practitioners, social prescriber, care coordinators, and health coaches.



Key Insights*
Healthcare professionals see value in a wellbeing app that measures non-medical diagnosis, wearables data and professional consultation, with the key goal being patient independence and proactive wellbeing. We built a strategy to seamlessly fit this app's user flow in their existing healthcare workflow.

Healthcare Professional Perspective (HCPs)


Experience Range: GPs, social prescribers, care coordinators, health coaches

Key Insight:
HCPs see value in a non-medical app that empowers patients to stay engaged through non-medical assessment and goal setting, aligning with broader preventative care and patient independence.

Identified where this app can be fit into the current system.

Design Strategy

After analysing both focus groups, I created the feature grounded in patients' needs and clinical realities, with focus on following strategies:

Non-medical diagnosis

Habit stacking suggestions

Personalised AI nudges

Community Engagement

User Segments and Targeting

Armed with these insights, five key user segments were identified with varying lifestyle, abilities, and expectations. The MVP prototype is designed with personalisation to onboard all these user segments.

Dissatisfied Wearable Users

*Limited information shown due to confidentiality

The app is designed keeping in mind this user segment of 'Dissatisfied Wearable Users' who feel dissatisfied with health metrics provided by current devices and are looking for more useful data insights, interpretations and guidance. They are seeking more holistic, actionable support for their wellbeing journey — one that helps them understand their overall wellbeing and empowers through structured, goal-driven chapters, to help make lasting lifestyle changes with clarity and confidence.

The Solution

The Solution

The Solution

UX + UI Design

Habit stacking toolkit co-created with trusted clinicians

This app is designed to not feel like tracker, but as a digital wellbeing companion. The toolkit features goals and themed chapters such as building energy, restoring balance, strengthening mind. These are grounded in evidence-based techniques to reinforce healthy habits and behaviour change. Developed with healthcare experts, the progression and nudges focus on small, sustainable wins instead of drastic overhauls, driving engagement, retention and long-term motivation.

Access to 'Collective Wellbeing' through offline community activities

Staying well isn’t just about individual habits — it’s also about connection. This feature signposts local activity providers to offer group wellbeing sessions to people with shared interests such as walking groups, gentle exercises, stress management meet ups, etc.

Digital Health Log connecting everyday actions with real wellbeing outcomes

Over time, its AI integrates physical activity tracking + emotional wellbeing check-ins to help users make sense of how their daily habits are impacting wellbeing. Empathic AI nudges empower users with greater self awareness, helping them take informed steps toward lasting improvement.

User Testing

User Testing

User Testing

User Testing Summary

User Testing Summary

Validating UX, effectiveness and desirability with high-fidelity prototypes

Recruitment
A mixed cohort of new and few returning (participants from focus group) users were recruited for comparative insights.


Methodology
• In-person moderated testing sessions

• Task-based scenarios (setting a wellbeing goal, completing a check-in assessment, interpreting a health insight)

• Think aloud protocol to capture reasoning and frustrations

• Post test surveys to measure user satisfaction, desirability and perceived usefulness.


Key Metrics
Task completion rate, user satisfaction, system usability scale (SUS) and desirability.


Key Findings

⚠️ Risk of early dropout was identified due to high number of initial daily goals.

👉🏻 Feature enhancement: Implemented a progression flow that adapts as users build motivation and consistency. 'Starter mode' of 1–2 goals with gradual scaling.


💡Insight: Habit building must feel easy, not burdensome.

⚠️ Users questioned the relevance of certain AI insights and wanted clarity on how they were generated.

👉🏻 Feature enhancement: All AI insights now have simple causal labels such as [hidden] so that users clearly understand the reasoning. Also, introduced a "was this helpful?" feedback loop to enhance future iterations.


💡Insight: Trust is earned through transparency.

Task Completion Rate

~89%

System Usability Scale (SUS)

78 (good)

User Satisfaction (Likeart scale)

Before improvement

3.9%

After improvement

4.6%

Desirability

Common words: Supportive, helpful, reassuring, intuitive

Common words: Supportive, helpful, reassuring, intuitive

Conclusion

Conclusion

Following two rounds of user testing, the redesign produced clear improvements in usability and perception metrics. User satisfaction increased, and transparency around AI insights reduced confusion and increased trust. Desirability feedback was strongly positive with users describing the experience as supportive, helpful, reassuring and intuitive.

Although MVP was focused only on B2C patient-facing intervention, gathering feedback from both patients and trusted healthcare experts early in the design process helped with product positioning. This ensured the app remained clinically grounded and aligned with real-world workflows. This approach enabled us deliver meaningful value with strong adoption potential.

Following two rounds of user testing, the redesign produced clear improvements in usability and perception metrics. User satisfaction increased, and transparency around AI insights reduced confusion and increased trust. Desirability feedback was strongly positive with users describing the experience as supportive, helpful, reassuring and intuitive.

Although MVP was focused only on B2C patient-facing intervention, gathering feedback from both patients and trusted healthcare experts early in the design process helped with product positioning, This ensured the app remained clinically grounded and aligned with real-world workflows. This approach enabled us deliver meaningful value with strong adoption potential.

Following two rounds of user testing, the redesign produced clear improvements in usability and perception metrics. User satisfaction increased, and transparency around AI insights reduced confusion and increased trust. Desirability feedback was strongly positive with users describing the experience as supportive, helpful, reassuring and intuitive.

Although MVP was focused only on B2C patient-facing intervention, gathering feedback from both patients and trusted healthcare experts early in the design process helped with product positioning, This ensured the app remained clinically grounded and aligned with real-world workflows. This approach enabled us deliver meaningful value with strong adoption potential.