I am a UX and service designer with an aptitude for solving complex user problems through thoughtful design. With experience in interior design and event planning, I create meaningful experiences that serve users effectively and have a positive social impact.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is the most severe form of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), impacting over 30,000 pregnancies annually in the UK. It is characterised by debilitating symptoms such as intense nausea, persistent vomiting, severe dehydration, and unpredictable fainting episodes.
WellNest is a comprehensive service designed to provide multifaceted support for pregnant women experiencing HG. It combines emotional and practical assistance with peer and mentor support, leveraging advanced technology to offer personalised care and community engagement. By fostering a strong support network and providing continuous, tailored holistic care, WellNest aims to alleviate feelings of helplessness and isolation, ensuring that users feel supported and understood throughout their HG journey.
By aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, 5, 10, and 17, I aimed to create a solution that alleviates the physical and emotional burdens of HG and promotes health equity, gender equality, and partnerships for sustainable development. This mindset guided every aspect of the research process, ensuring a comprehensive and empathetic approach to designing a meaningful solution.
I followed the double-diamond design process to ensure a user-centred, thorough and iterative approach. This process allowed for continual refinement based on user feedback, ensuring the final product aligned with the needs and expectations of the target audience.
Thorough research was conducted to uncover the pain points of HG patients and gain a deeper understanding of how patients navigate their support-seeking journey, the challenges they face when accessing support, and how they perceive the effectiveness of the existing systems. For ethical reasons, pregnant women were excluded from my research and all participants were women who had experienced HG in previous pregnancies.
Data Collection Methods:
Data Analysis Methods:
A comprehensive analysis of the affinity diagram uncovered several findings that I categorised into recurring themes, such as support, medical, symptoms, awareness, and emotional well-being.
The ideation process began with two co-design sessions using the Silent Round-Robin method, which encouraged diverse and uninfluenced ideas from all participants, fostering creativity. This was followed by the Tech vs. Trend Matrix to evaluate how innovative ideas aligned with current technological capabilities and market trends. A competitor analysis was conducted to identify gaps in the market, and the How Now Wow Matrix was employed to categorise concepts based on originality and feasibility. This iterative process generated a strong foundation of six initial concepts, three of which were refined to strike a balance between creativity and practicality.
The Creative Matrix was used to explore innovative solutions tailored to different customer segments, such as HG patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals while considering various technological opportunities like AI, IoT, and NLP. This tool helped identify where each segment’s needs aligned with the most suitable technology, fostering creative yet practical ideas.
Following this, the MoSCoW prioritisation method was applied to assess the importance of each feature, enabling a clear focus on the most essential functionalities for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This ensured that WellNest’s core features addressed user needs efficiently while setting a roadmap for future development.
After analysing the existing HG ecosystem, I identified a market gap for providing at-home assistance to HG patients. WellNest addresses this gap by forming a collaborative network that unites users, caregivers, and healthcare organisations to minimise user frustrations and reduce feelings of isolation.
This ecosystem brings together HG patients, retired women serving as maternal figures, and peer mentors, all supported by healthcare providers such as the NHS and charities like Pregnancy Sickness Support. By facilitating seamless interactions and offering tailored emotional and practical support, WellNest ensures that users receive comprehensive care in a supportive community, thereby enhancing their overall well-being and fostering a sense of belonging.
The perspectives of value in WellNest encompass four key areas: economic, psychological, sociological, and ecological. Economically, the service helps reduce healthcare costs and create job opportunities. Psychologically, it enhances emotional well-being by providing emotional support and reducing feelings of isolation. Sociologically, WellNest fosters stronger community connections through its support network and caregiving services. Ecologically, it encourages sustainable practices by promoting telehealth and reducing the environmental footprint of healthcare services. Each perspective ensures a holistic approach to delivering value across various aspects of the user experience.
As a B2C social enterprise, WellNest aims to offer its services free of charge to HG patients, recognising that many are unable to work due to the severity of their condition, which often results in financial strain. To avoid adding to this burden, the service will be funded by grants from research institutions such as the National Institute for Health & Care Research and the Medical Research Council.
Key Feature 1: Support Preferences
The home screen provides users with the ability to quickly search for information, view upcoming appointments to improve organisation, and monitor their pregnancy progress. User testing revealed that tracking pregnancy progress helps users stay focused on the positive aspects of their pregnancy.
Additionally, users can specify their care and support needs, which are then used to match them with caregivers that best fit their preferences.
Key Feature 2: AI Assistant
The AI Assistant provides users with the option to either speak or chat via text, accommodating feedback that users, who may be mentally and physically exhausted, often prefer speaking over typing.
As users expressed concerns about trusting the AI for medical advice, the AI functions primarily as a gateway to trustworthy medical resources. It offers general information, FAQs, guidance on how to seek medical assistance, and contact details for emergency support services
Key Feature 3: Navigator
Participants indicated a preference for sharing traumatic experiences with a person rather than an AI, emphasizing the crucial role of the Navigator in offering expert support based on empathy and validation.
To ease decision-making and prevent overwhelm, only four matches will be shown, tailored to user preferences. Furthermore, allowing users to pre-select topics for discussion will ensure the Navigator is well-prepared for each session, enhancing the overall support experience.
Key Feature 4: Motherly
Motherly provides a maternal touch by offering a limited selection of caregivers for patients to choose from. Patients can schedule calls with their matches to assess compatibility before committing to a three-day trial with one of them. If satisfied, they can request a partnership with their chosen Motherly for a duration that suits their needs.
Key Feature 5: Peer Connect
Peers offer emotional and practical care by sharing their personal experiences with HG, either as someone who had HG or cared for a loved one with HG. Matching is based on user preferences and proximity, and they are available at short notice.
Winning Entry – The Ford Smart Mobility Challenge 2023
Best Concept – UXathon23
Weatherbys Bank – UX Designer (Jan 2024 – Present)
Hibi Health – Volunteer UX Designer (Feb – Apr 2023)
ShhParty – UX/UI Designer (Jun 2021 – Jan 2023)
