IASO
Iaso, Home Health Starts Here.
Iaso — a comprehensive medication management system tailored for older adults facing memory impairment and multiple chronic conditions. By seamlessly uniting devices and mobile interfaces, Iaso streamlines the complexities of medication management, reducing the risk of missed doses and medication mix-ups. It's a holistic solution for enhanced well-being in older adults.
Winning Awards
Market scale & Background
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10 Months
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As the Team Lead and UX Designer, I spearheaded the design process and ensured a cohesive vision across the project. My responsibilities included:
🎯 Leadership & Collaboration – Leading a cross-functional team of designers, developers, and researchers, ensuring smooth collaboration and timely delivery
🎯 User Research & Market Analysis – Understanding the pain points of elderly users and caregivers through in-depth research
🎯 Service & System Design – Developing a seamless multi-device experience that integrates hardware and software
🎯 UX/UI Design & Prototyping – Crafting intuitive interactions for both seniors and caregivers
🎯 Testing & Iteration – Conducting usability studies to refine accessibility and ease of useIaso was a research-driven, user-centered project that combined technology and empathy to redefine home healthcare for older adults while demonstrating my leadership in driving innovation and collaboration.
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Miro, Figma, Adobe Illustrator (AI), Adobe Photoshop (PS), Adobe Indesign (ID), Adobe Premiere Pro (Pr), Adobe After effect (AE), Rhino
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As the Team Lead & UX Designer, I had the privilege of guiding IASO’s design strategy, working to transform complex healthcare challenges into a more intuitive, user-friendly solution. This project reflects my commitment to navigating ambiguity, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and delivering scalable design solutions. It was an opportunity to apply my skills in a structured, research-driven approach to address high-stakes design challenges. Leading this project deepened my expertise in:
This project began with my grandfather. He has multiple chronic diseases, including early-stage Alzheimer's, and must take 16 different medications daily. Managing such a complex regimen is overwhelming for him, and I have witnessed firsthand how confusing and burdensome this process can be for older adults. I wanted to use my skills to find a solution—not just for him, but for millions of seniors facing the same struggle.
As our society ages, managing medications for older adults with memory impairments and chronic conditions has become a critical challenge. Nearly 40% of seniors experience some form of memory loss, leading to missed doses and medication errors. Noncompliance with prescriptions contributes to over 125,000 preventable deaths annually and costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $100 billion each year.
While existing solutions attempt to address this issue, they often fall short in usability, personalization, and accessibility—failing to meet the needs of older adults and their caregivers
My Role & Impact
Problem & Challenge
Solution & Project Impact
Elderly individuals managing multiple chronic diseases—such as heart conditions, high blood pressure, and diabetes—often struggle with complex medication regimens due to cognitive decline. This results in:
Missed or incorrect dosages
Increased health risks and hospitalizations
Higher dependency on caregivers
There is an urgent need for a simplified, user-friendly, and tech-integrated solution that empowers seniors to manage their medications independently while easing the burden on caregivers.
Iaso offers a forward-thinking approach to medication management by combining a smart device and app ecosystem to streamline medication routines, provide timely reminders, and ensure accurate dosing. This solution significantly improves the lives of older adults by reducing the complexity of daily medication management and enhancing their well-being.
In user testing, 85% of older adults found Iaso to be an effective and easy-to-use solution for managing their medications, highlighting its potential to enhance adherence and overall well-being.
This innovative concept has been recognized globally, earning prestigious accolades such as the Red Dot Concept Design Award, Red Dot Brand & Communication Design Award, Muse Gold Award, and an IDA Design Award nomination.
With its success in concept and user validation, Iaso is now advancing to the development stage, bringing this much-needed solution closer to the homes of older adults.
✅ Navigating Complex Problem Spaces – Balancing user needs, regulatory requirements, and technical constraints to create a seamless healthcare solution.
✅ Strategic Leadership & Cross-Team Collaboration – Aligning designers, engineers, and stakeholders to ensure an integrated and scalable product.
✅ Research-Driven Decision-Making – Translating deep user insights into actionable design strategies, ensuring accessibility and ease of use.
✅ Iterative Design & System Thinking – Building a flexible, multi-device ecosystem that enhances both patient and caregiver experiences.
This experience reinforced my passion for leading teams, encouraging innovation, and designing thoughtful, user-centered solutions. It's a skill set that I believe can be applied across various industries, from healthcare to enterprise AI and beyond.
Digital Solution
The mobile counterpart of Iaso serves as an intuitive assistant, forming a seamless user experience with Iaso devices. Designed with simplicity in mind to cater to elderly users not well-versed in electronic devices, the Iaso mobile app also provides an avenue for family members to understand and support the medication usage of their elderly loved ones, enhancing overall communication and care.
Daily Medication Reminder:
The system ensures that the elderly take their medication on time by providing daily medication reminders.
It includes special reminders for missed doses, minimizing the chances of skipped medications.
The system seamlessly integrates with the device's user interface, allowing the elderly to take their medication directly through the device, with the app serving as an additional tool for assistance.
Elder-friendly design:
Tailored for older individuals with a user-centered approach, featuring larger fonts, intuitive information, and other details for a user-friendly and easy-to-use experience.
Detailed functionality, including step-by-step guidance for initial setup and filling the pill box dispenser, has been incorporated to provide a seamless user experience for seniors.
Seamless Experience & Device Interaction
The system seamlessly integrates devices and mobile applications, providing a unified experience.
Through the mobile app's device page, users can check the machine's real-time status, including battery power.
Users can interact with the machine through simplified methods, offering a convenient experience akin to a user-friendly instruction manual.
Pill Box Capacity &Inventory:
Through an intuitive UI design, users can effortlessly check the remaining amount of each medication and promptly contact their doctor for refills when needed.
Additionally, users have the flexibility to customize their individual health plans, including the inclusion of health supplements like vitamin C within the system.
The system supports multiple account editing, allowing the elderly's children to assist in creating comprehensive drug treatment plans, complete with drug details and dosing schedules. Personalized reminders further ensure adherence, safeguarding the well-being of the elderly.
Emotional Attributes
Infusing humanistic care into the medication management system. This includes allowing users, or their children, to customize reminder sounds and notification preferences for a more personalized and compassionate experience.
Physical Solution
Iaso's automated dispensing equipment features a user-centered design that seamlessly marries aesthetics with practicality. Its rounded design and tactile texture not only add warmth to the medication experience but also eliminate the annoyance of medication management. Enhanced lighting, sound screens, and other reminder functions cater to the specific needs of elderly users, delivering a humanized and welcoming experience.
How Did We Get There?
Discover - Understanding the Market
Goal: Understand the market size and identify gaps in existing medication management solutions to uncover design opportunities.
Market Insights
By 2050, 1.4 billion people will be aged 60+, rising to 2.1 billion by 2100.
The home care market is projected to reach $225 billion by 2024, highlighting a growing demand for tech-assisted healthcare.
Seniors taking 5+ prescription drugs can benefit from smart medication solutions.
The number of Alzheimer’s patients is expected to triple from 5 million (2013) to 14 million (2050), increasing the need for medication management.
Challenges
Many existing solutions focus only on either hardware or software, leading to fragmented experiences.
Caregivers struggle with complicated medication routines, adding stress to their daily lives.
With many similar products in the market, how can we stand out?
Our Approach
✅ Conducted competitive analysis to identify gaps in existing solutions.
✅ Engaged in user interviews with seniors, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
✅ Key Insight:
Existing solutions do not provide comprehensive support, placing the full burden on users with only basic reminders. There is a clear opportunity for a holistic system that simplifies medication routines, enables real-time tracking, and integrates caregiver assistance for a seamless experience
Discover - Understanding the User
Goal：Deeply understand the user experiences, challenges, and behaviors of seniors, caregivers, and healthcare providers in managing daily medications.
User Research
We conducted 25 interviews, including:
👵 15 Seniors who actively take multiple medications.
👨👩👧👦 7 Caregivers & Family Members who assist in medication routines.
🏥 3 Healthcare Providers who prescribe and manage treatments.
Additionally, our quantitative research highlighted key pain points:
🔹 95% of caregivers are uncertain if their parents take medications on time.
🔹 90% of seniors struggle with correct dosage timing.
🔹 80% of seniors find it difficult to recognize their pills.
🔹 70% of seniors are open to a system that helps them manage medications.
Challenges
1️⃣ Uncovering Real Behaviors – Seniors often struggle to articulate their medication challenges. We used observations and scenario-based questions to reveal hidden pain points.
2️⃣ Differing Perspectives – Caregivers and seniors see medication routines differently. We cross-referenced insights to identify key gaps.
3️⃣ Privacy & Sensitivity – Some were hesitant to share medical details. We built trust with a confidential, empathetic approach.
4️⃣ Memory Limitations – Seniors had trouble recalling routines. We used diary studies and real-time tracking for accuracy.
5️⃣ Varied Lifestyles – Needs differ based on independence and support. We segmented personas to reflect these differences.
How might we?
How might we simplify the medication management process for seniors, making it easier to follow schedules and take the right pills at the right time?
How might we create an intuitive and easy-to-use solution that helps seniors recognize their pills and understand their purpose without confusion?
How might we encourage seniors to consciously and willingly take their medication, addressing any resistance or reluctance they may feel?
Define - Persona
We focus on three key personas based on our user research:
Seniors: Individuals managing multiple medications, with challenges in medication adherence.
Senior's Family Members: Caregivers or relatives who assist in managing medications.
Healthcare Providers: Doctors or pharmacists who prescribe medications and manage treatment plans.We focus on three key personas based on our user research:
Define - Extract Stakeholders from User Journey
By analyzing the user journey, we identify key stakeholders like caregivers, family members, and healthcare providers. This helps us understand who influences the medication process and how they interact with the system.
Key Design Opportunities
Service Blueprint
The service blueprint maps the user journey, capturing both user actions and system support. It highlights key touchpoints and backend processes, helping us spot any gaps or areas for improvement in the medication routine.
Empowerment through Education & Personalization:
Comprehensive educational resources and personalized guidance alleviate apprehensions about new medication management tools. This allows seniors to feel in control and confident in using the system.
Elder-friendly design is central, focusing on a user-centered approach with larger fonts, intuitive interfaces, and easy-to-follow instructions—perfect for elderly users like Sarah who may need additional support.
Real-Time Tracking & Security:
The real-time tracking system offers instant access to medication status, enabling users to monitor how much medication is left and when to reorder.
Pill box capacity and inventory tracking should be integrated to help seniors easily check their remaining medication and contact their healthcare provider for refills.
Clear Medication Reminders:
Clear medication reminder times are displayed prominently with gentle chimes and friendly messages, ensuring a reassuring, non-intrusive experience.
Special reminders for missed doses minimize the chances of skipped medications, enhancing adherence.
The system ensures seniors can easily take their medication through the device, with the app acting as a supportive tool for reminders.
Seamless Experience & Device Interaction:
The system must ensure a seamless interaction between the app and the device. The user should be able to check the device’s real-time status, including battery levels and receive notifications on any issues.
Simplified device management allows seniors to interact effortlessly with the system, providing a smooth experience similar to using an easy-to-follow instruction manual.
Device Experience:
The device interface should be user-friendly, ensuring easy setup and medication management, especially for seniors.
It includes step-by-step guidance on filling the pill dispenser and setting reminders. The device design should support simple interaction and provide an intuitive user journey, making the entire process as easy as possible.
Emotional Support through Customization:
Humanistic care is a key element, with the ability to customize reminder sounds and notification preferences, allowing users to choose what feels most comfortable and supportive for them.
This personalized approach fosters emotional well-being, ensuring the system doesn’t just serve a functional role, but also provides a compassionate user experience.
Ideation & Design - User flow
A clear step-by-step process guiding users from onboarding and medication setup to daily reminders, medication tracking, and refill management. It ensures a smooth experience, from syncing devices to managing inventory and missed doses.
Ideation & Design - Wireframe (Low-Fi to Mid-Fi):
Challenges：
How can we simplify the device onboarding process to ensure elderly users can set it up independently without requiring assistance?
How do we present all necessary information clearly while minimizing page jumps and complex interactions to enhance usability for seniors?
How can we design an intuitive family supervision mode that allows caregivers to monitor and assist without overwhelming the elderly user?
How do we balance essential functionality with a clean, non-cluttered interface to avoid cognitive overload for seniors?
How can we incorporate customization (e.g., reminder preferences) while keeping the settings simple and easy to navigate?
Style Guide
The style guide is a crucial part of Iaso, shaping a cohesive and user-friendly experience. We chose white and green as the primary colors to evoke a sense of calmness, cleanliness, and approachability, helping to reduce psychological resistance for users. The overall product design embraces soft, curved forms and a frosted texture, reinforcing a gentle and welcoming aesthetic that enhances usability and comfort.
User Testing Plan
Goal:
Evaluate the usability of the app prototype, ensuring that seniors and caregivers can navigate the system effortlessly and that key features, such as medication reminders and tracking, function intuitively.
Task Process:
Send Prototype – Provide the app to seniors and caregivers.
Complete Tasks – Have them set up reminders and track medications.
Observe & Collect Feedback – Note any difficulties or confusion.
Follow-Up Interviews – Gather insights for improvement.
Refine & Iterate – Improve the app based on feedback.
Challenges:
The physical device is still in development, so testing is currently limited to the app experience.
Simulating real-world medication routines without the actual hardware poses limitations.
Ensuring that seniors can set up and use the app independently with minimal guidance.
Next Steps:
Gather feedback from seniors, caregivers, and healthcare providers through usability testing sessions.
Identify areas where the interface or interactions need refinement for better accessibility.
Conduct iterative improvements and prepare for integrated testing with the final device.
