Overview
This project was a part of a User Experience Design course at the Seoultech Graduate School. Working in a team, our goal was to tackle a real-world challenge through user-centered design. So, we focused on creating a mobile healthcare app for people living alone — especially busy professionals, university students, or individuals with chronic conditions — who struggle with in-person visits due to time, stress, or lifestyle.
Team
Timeline
Tools
Challenge Highlight
Problem Statement
In Korea, many young adults live alone while juggling work, studies, and personal life. Health often takes a back seat — not because it’s unimportant, but because life is overwhelming.
From our user research, we identified three key pain points:
So the question was:
The Question:
Solution Highlight
The Solution:
PocketDoctor - Your personal doctor is always in your pocket!
Process
Research
Desk Research
User Observations
User Interviews
Synthesis
Affinity Diagram
Persona
Ideation
Concept Briefing
Visual Identity
Wireframes
Design
Final Design
Prototype
Reflection
Conclusion
Key Takeaways
Research Results
Desk Research
At the beginning, we wanted to understand the deeper challenges faced by people living alone in Korea.
Key findings from our desk research:
40% of all households in Korea are single-person
As of October 2021, single-person households becoming the most common living arrangement.
Mental and physical wellbeing are top problems
Solo living individuals reported emotional strain, daily housework, and physical health as their top stress factors.
Emergency response is the biggest worry
More than half of surveyed Seoul residents think that dealing with health-related emergencies is the most inconvenient aspect of their lives when living alone.
These findings emphasize that:
Insight 1:
Research
User Interviews and Observations
To understand our users, we conducted different types of user research—ranging from observations to interviews with 8 patients and 1 healthcare professional.
What we explored:
How users experience existing health apps?
Methods: usability test, post-diagnosis interview
What are the needs and challenges of users who require ongoing care?
Methods: Interviews, observations
What users do when they face health issues?
Methods: Interviews, behavior observations
What doctors need during remote consultations?
Methods: Interviews with healthcare professionals
Synthesis
What We Learned?
After hours of analysis, sticky notes, and “aha” moments, we narrowed everything down:
Here are the key themes that stood out:
"Help me take care of myself -easily."
Track and record personal state
Users want to log symptoms and results without a headache.
Personalized tips based on users' log
Users want more than generic advice—they need smart, tailored guidance.
Build habits
They need tailored reminders to stay consistent with their healthcare.
"I want to connect with doctors without hospital visits."
Consult remotely
They want to ask questions or get a diagnosis without waiting in line.
Share health records easily
Users want all their hospital info in one place and easily send them to their personal doctors.
Doctor commentary that matters
Users want to receive feedback from healthcare professionals to understand what's going on.
"Let me connect with people
I trust"
Share stories
They want to read and share relatable stories with people who’ve been through it too.
Ask for support
Users want to reach out to family or friends when things get tough.
Learn from community
They need a space to ask questions and feel understood.
Ideation
Concept Briefing
During the ideation stage, we developed a concept for our mobile app. This concept served as the foundation for all wireframes and design decisions moving forward.
Ideation
Visual Identity
Pocket Doctor - a trustworthy friend who’s there for you when you’re feeling sick or anxious 💊
Our next step was to decide on app's visual identity like color schemes, typography, logo, etc. We decided on balancing clarity with emotional warmth to make it friendly, trustworthy, and approachable.
Ideation
Wireframes
To bring our concept to life, we created mid-fidelity wireframes that map out the core user journey—from onboarding to symptom logging, remote diagnosis, and community sharing.
Here's a part of our wireframes:
Design
Final Design and Prototype
1.
Personalized Health Management
Health Tracking Features
Users can easily record their health data (symptoms, heart rate, temperature, etc.) and get personalized tips, reminders, and content recommendations.
Motivational Nudges
The app also encourages users build healthier routines through badges, challenges, and exercise videos.
2.
Convenient Online Consultations
Easy online consultations
Users can choose their symptoms and get online consultation with healthcare professionals.
All medical data in one place
They can also view all their records, prescriptions, and doctor notes in one place.
3.
Share Information and Get Support
Community Tips
Users can share health advices with others.
Health Sharing
They can send their check-up results with family, friends, or doctors.
Reflection
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
This project wasn’t just about solving usability issues—it was about understanding real patients' needs. Working on a healthcare product for solo-living young adults pushed us to think beyond efficiency. It pushed us to design with care.
Here are our key takeaways:
One-person households need healthcare that fits into their lives
On busy days, users don't want to spend a lot of time on describing their conditions. Everything must be done on a few clicks.
Medical language can be hard to understand
It took some time for us to understand medical terms and conditions before deciding how to make them understandable through design.
Getting insights from healthcare professionals isn't easy
Healthcare workers are extremely busy, so it's better to be prepared in advance!
The End