The student IP for this studio was acquired by ResMed, which was super exciting!
The sponsors tasked us with exploring and transforming the CPAP experience for a specific user group.
1. Led direction of UX research, narrative, and design direction
2. Designed design components and prototypes for proof-of-concept ecosystem
3. Collaborated with industrial design team to transform form factor and CMF of physical console and integration with concept direction
4. Organized findings into executive summary for stakeholders & reports for review
Due to the time and resource constraints in this studio, we only developed proof-of-concept interface features; For next steps I would love to push the concepts even further into a cohesive prototype.
Patients are a protected group, so our ability to conduct any testing was restricted until later in the development process. This meant we first had to rely on secondary research, empathy exercises, and interviews with non protected interest groups to develop our user journey and initial concept.
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Our ResMed sponsors visited from Australia & San Diego to view our final. Super exciting!
A CPAP machine is the primary treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA,) a condition where your breathing repeatedly stops or becomes shallow during sleep. CPAP patients are often typecasted by "typical" characteristics, which can lead to delayed and less frequent diagnosis in those who present differently.
A CPAP machine is the primary treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA,) a condition where your breathing repeatedly stops or becomes shallow during sleep. CPAP patients are often typecasted by "typical" characteristics, which can lead to delayed and less frequent diagnosis in those who present differently.
Certain training factors, such as heavy weightlifting or excess development of "thick neck" muscles can make some athletes more likely to develop OSA. There are negative perceptions surrounding CPAP treatment as well as lifestyle conflicts in the high performance patient that can delay diagnosis and add barriers to treatment adherence. [1] [2]
The process for seeking the right CPAP treatment is rather cumbersome and unpersonalized, making it difficult for well-meaning patients to follow through with treatment.
Patients who are regularly on the go or away from home will be tethered to an outlet, and face having to own multiple machines for travel and home use.
Perception influences treatment adherence, and the less a patient "fits into" the profile of the typical OSA patient, the more likely this perception, coupled with the fear of a long-term lifestyle change will impact adherence.
D1 college football player
Often travels for competitions, training, conferences, and extracurricular activities
Hesitant about CPAP interfering with his training routine, lifestyle, and long term performance goals.
"It's definitely an uncomfortable lifestyle adjustment for me especially since I'm never home and don't have a regular schedule every season.”
Not Nap Friendly: The average patient tends to forgo using CPAP during naps/ a shorter night's rest. But any hour spent sleeping without CPAP detrimentally affect performance
Outlet-Reliant: The console is not necessarily optimized for maximum portability and "nap-friendliness," as even travel sized CPAP is outlet-reliant.
Irregular schedule for high-performance individuals: Athletes and other on-the-go patients may tend to nap more frequently throughout the day. Working around CPAP thus becomes more inconvenient compared to the average person.
We conducted design sprint workshops and used a proportion study of ResMed's existing mini console. Our goal was to combine the functionality of a full sized CPAP machine with the portability and convenience of a travel sized one, catered towards on-the-go patients.
Avoid Screen-Reliance: Our top goal was to actually avoid adding more screen interaction, as it wouldn't be conducive to sleep-friendliness.
Refine Existing Interactions: Increase selection accuracy with minor refinements.
Reduce Color Vibrancy: Soften high vibrancy color palette, reducing distraction that may occur prior to resting.
Stay True to ResMed's Essence: Preserve general color, theme, and iconography of ResMed design
Circular buttons didn't take advantage of larger surface area and felt constrained during testing
Modular buttons = more active surface area for accurate selection, but the color contrast of such muted colors against a dark background was suboptimal re: degenerative vision concerns and nighttime use.
Circular buttons didn't take advantage of larger surface area and felt constrained during testing
Modular buttons = more active surface area for accurate and convenient selection, especially during late night or early morning, but the color contrast of such muted colors against a dark background was suboptimal for those with degenerative vision concerns.
Lower contrast and muted colors makes interaction more sleep and relaxation friendly
As patients are considered a protected group, we relied on results from internal testing and heuristic analysis in the early stages of development. We later conducted usability testing sessions with users to validate our insights.
As patients are considered a protected group, we relied on results from internal testing and heuristic analysis in the early stages of development. We later conducted usability testing sessions with users to validate our insights.
Preserved the layout of the original home screen to maintain familiarity but softened the colors to evoke a calmer, more restful mood for a subtly modernized experience.
Maintained the information architecture of the main settings with size and padding modifications to improve selection accuracy (based on a test group of 10.)
Preserved the layout of the original home screen to maintain familiarity but softened the colors to evoke a calmer, more restful mood for a subtly elevated experience.
Modular, square surface area = higher selection accuracy, less processing time
Preserved the information architecture of the main pages with modifications to improve selection accuracy
The goal is to use this screen most often during the first 90 days of treatment, and leave it at your desired settings thereafter.
I was fortunate to have such a strong team, where we were able to elevate one another's strongest skillsets to develop our deliverables for our stakeholders. I learned so much about the emotional and social complexities that come with designing for medical devices with experts in the CPAP industry, and to re-imagine the narrative for a unique user group.
