giuliacosco

Affotek is a Project I managed and developed in 2020 for Impacting Business by Design (IBBD) Programme, at Brunel University London. IBBD is a program funded by Research England aimed at supporting SMEs in New Product Development and Building of Design Capabilities.

The Brief

In this Case Study Affotek ltd has been supported in the development of their own business idea. Affotek’s goal is the development of Product-System that detects tonic-clonic seizures in people affected by epilepsy. Reassuring project was focused on defining all the contextual aspects related to this issue, the target definition, the product key features and the experience flow.

The Challenge

Epilepsy Seizures are not predictable and they need immediate intervention
Stigmas affect medical devices adoption, and people are less keen to use them even when they really need
People affected by Epilepsy cannot become seizure free if they do not manage seizure triggers and Caregivers need to feel reassured about the status of their loved ones.

The Goal

The goal of Affotek is to provide a systems that improves the everyday life of people affected by epilepsy and their loved ones, helping them dealing with seizures and feel reassured.

The Process

I used the Design Council’s Double Diamond Process to develop an epilepsy management app. This included researching user needs (Discover), defining key design goals (Define), prototyping and testing features like seizure tracking (Develop), and delivering a refined, user-friendly solution (Deliver).

The Process

1. Discover

Competitive Benchmark

A competitive Benchmark has been conducted to explore and evaluate the state of art and what solutions are currently on the market.

Seizure Detection Devices
Seizure Management Apps
Seizure Management Systems (App + Device)

Target Definition

Valuable insights have been captured through primary and secondary research. Due to the complexity of the issues related to the case study, one of the primary aspects of then Target Definition was that each that the final users had to be defined not only by themselves, but also considering the “Micro-networks” of people taking care of them. The “Care-Objectives” have been identified as in the picture:

Key Features

Detailed Key Features have been defined for the App and the Device.

2. Define

The Ring

Part of the process was designing a physical object that would detect the Seizures. I devices aand drew different ring concepts that would make it desirable and usable beyond the detection need.

The approved idea was something that would allow the final user to pick among different finishing options placed on on the top of the ring surface. Beyond this, we thought it was important that an "alert ring" could be owned also by the caregiver, and that would alert her in case of seizures.

The Product-App System and experience

The following activities have been performed to further define the design decision according to the user needs in different contexts.

Customer Journey Map
Personas
Affinity Diagrams
User Flow
5W

Low fidelity Prototype

I developed a low-fidelity prototype for the epilepsy management app, including key features such as an onboarding process, a dashboard for tracking progress, journaling functionalities and goal-setting tools for the user and alert interface for the caregiver in case of seizure.

3. Develop

I delved deeply into the product design and development during the Develop phase, focusing on creating and refining core features for the epilepsy management app. This included designing the user interface, optimizing the user experience, and ensuring the functionality of key components such as the onboarding process, dashboard, journaling and goal-setting tools.

I created the high-fidelity app design and developed the user interface using Adobe XD. This process involved refining the visual design, ensuring a seamless user experience, and preparing the app for implementation by translating core features like onboarding, dashboard, journaling, and goal-setting into an intuitive and visually engaging interface.
A key aspect of the app design was preparing an interface specifically for caregivers to use during a seizure event. This included developing clear, intuitive layouts to provide real-time guidance, access to critical medical information, and tools for logging seizure details to support effective response and post-event tracking.

High-Fidelity App Prototype

A key aspect of the app design was preparing an interface specifically for caregivers to use during a seizure event. This included developing clear, intuitive layouts to provide real-time guidance, access to critical medical information, and tools for logging seizure details to support effective response and post-event tracking.

4. Deliver - Project Pitch

In the Deliver stage, I prepared a pitch to help the entrepreneur secure seed funding for the epilepsy management app. The pitch focused on:

Problem and Solution: Addressing the challenges faced by individuals with epilepsy and caregivers through features like seizure tracking and a caregiver interface.
Market Potential: Highlighting the demand for health tech solutions in chronic condition management.
Business Model: Outlining revenue streams and opportunities for growth.
Product Design: Showcasing high-fidelity designs created in Adobe XD to demonstrate the app's polished and user-friendly interface.
Funding Needs: Explaining how seed funding would support further development and scaling of the app.

This pitch effectively communicated the app’s value, market potential, and readiness for investment.