Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
Platforms:
My Roles: Senior UI/UX Designer
Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Zeplin
Scottish Rite Hospital for Children needed a mobile app to better serve their young patients and their families. The hospital's mission is to provide specialized pediatric care in a child-friendly environment, and the app needed to reflect this approach.
I led the design process, focusing on creating an app that would be engaging for children while providing essential information for parents and caregivers. The project involved extensive research with both children and parents to understand their unique needs and preferences.
Understanding the Needs of Kid Patients and Their Parents
Full Adobe XD Project & Prototype Mapping
My initial research revealed that children and parents have very different needs when interacting with a hospital app:
- Children need engagement, fun elements, and a less intimidating experience
- Parents need clear information about treatments, appointments, and hospital policies
- Both groups benefit from a positive, supportive environment that reduces anxiety
I conducted interviews with current patients, their families, and hospital staff to gain insights into the emotional and practical needs of all users. This research directly informed my design decisions throughout the project.
Organization and Personal Goals
I concluded these several key features were absolutely essential to the app's success:
- Interactive dashboards where families can view upcoming appointments and treatment milestones
- Goal-setting features that allow doctors, parents, and children to collaborate on treatment objectives
- Progress tracking visualizations that celebrate achievements and encourage continued engagement
- Journal entries allow families to track the child's progress, mark any potential concerns, and celebrate achievements
- Gamification elements that make medical experiences less intimidating
Goals are the key to keeping the child engaged and motivated. This system helps families stay organized and motivated, ensuring that the child's treatment plan is always at the forefront of everyone's mind.
In the example to the left, the user is creating a personal goal for their child with cerebal palsy of pulling up their pants.
The user can enter their current proficiency, start date, and summary. These will all be used to track the child's progress.
Exploring Other Key Features
When opening the app for the first time, users are greeted by a simple onboarding flow that explains the app's purpose and features.
Once the user has completed the onboarding flow, they are taken to the main dashboard where they set their child's progress and goals.
The sticky notes feature is a resource center that shows exercise videos, educational articles, and other helpful information.
The progress and achievement badges are a fun way to celebrate the child's progress and achievements. For every milestone achieved, doctor visit, or treatment, the child earns a badge. These badges are displayed in the child's profile section.
The journal feature allows families to track the child's progress, mark any potential concerns, and celebrate achievements.
Visual Design and Branding
The visual design incorporates elements that reflect the hospital's child-friendly approach:
- Bright, cheerful color palette that creates a welcoming atmosphere
- Crayon-inspired design elements that make the interface feel approachable and fun
- Kid-themed illustrations and icons throughout the app
- Consistent branding that maintains the hospital's identity while making it more appealing to children
Project Success
The new app has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from families. The redesign has improved appointment attendance, increased engagement with treatment plans, and created a more positive experience for children and their families.
This project was a great lesson in understanding the user experience needs for children, families, and hospital staff. The hospital environment can be a very intimidating place for children, and the app was designed to make the experience as positive and engaging as possible.