Lauren Zemering

Lauren Zemering

Back to projects

Patient app UX & UI

Healfie

Digital product

Healthcare

Context

Healfie was a Dutch health-tech startup connecting patients with their care providers — GPs, physiotherapists, coaches — in one mobile app for messaging, record-keeping, and appointments.

Context

Healfie was a Dutch health-tech startup connecting patients with their care providers — GPs, physiotherapists, coaches — in one mobile app for messaging, record-keeping, and appointments.

Challenge

Functional but was fragmented and lacked clean UI. Onboarding was nonexistent, the dossier lacked structure and privacy clarity, and the visual language was inconsistent — undermining trust in a healthcare context.

Challenge

Functional but was fragmented and lacked clean UI. Onboarding was nonexistent, the dossier lacked structure and privacy clarity, and the visual language was inconsistent — undermining trust in a healthcare context.

Solution & Impact

Delivered a cohesive UX and UI overhaul across the patient-facing mobile app, covering onboarding, the medical dossier, chat, provider profiles, and the contact system — establishing a unified visual language and improving clarity and trust across all key flows.

Role

UX/UI designer

Duration

2 months

Company

Healfie

Skills

UX

UI

Tools

Figma

"How might we make a complex, multi-provider health platform feel approachable and trustworthy for patients?"

Onboarding gaps

New users landed in the app with no understanding of what Healfie offered or how to get started. There was no flow guiding them through account setup or orienting them to core features.

Messy dossier

The medical record view lacked structure. There was no clear visual hierarchy between entry types, no indication of who had authored what, and no privacy controls visible to the patient.

Connection system confusion

The flow for connecting with care providers or contacts was technically functional but lacked explanation — users had no context before being shown a QR code.

Process

1

Audit & orientation

I began by reviewing the existing screens to map out what was in place and where the experience broke down. This meant tracing the full patient journey — from first launch through registration, connecting with a provider, starting a conversation, and logging something in the dossier — and identifying where users would drop off or feel lost.

Key friction points surfaced quickly:

  • The app launched directly into functional screens with no onboarding

  • The dossier was a blank slate with no guidance

  • The contact flow jumped straight to a QR code with no explanation of what contacts were or what access they'd have.

1

Audit & orientation

I began by reviewing the existing screens to map out what was in place and where the experience broke down. This meant tracing the full patient journey — from first launch through registration, connecting with a provider, starting a conversation, and logging something in the dossier — and identifying where users would drop off or feel lost.

Key friction points surfaced quickly:

  • The app launched directly into functional screens with no onboarding

  • The dossier was a blank slate with no guidance

  • The contact flow jumped straight to a QR code with no explanation of what contacts were or what access they'd have.

2

Flow mapping & prioritization

Working through the key flows, I prioritized the areas with the highest impact on patient trust and activation: getting started (onboarding), understanding the dossier (the app's core value), and connecting with providers and contacts (the collaborative premise). Each of these needed both UX restructuring and visual refinement.

3

UX & UI design

I designed across four main areas simultaneously, ensuring consistency in components and visual language throughout.

3

UX & UI design

I designed across four main areas simultaneously, ensuring consistency in components and visual language throughout.

Solutions

Onboarding that earns trust

Designed a five-screen onboarding carousel that activates immediately after account creation, walking users through the platform's core features before they encounter any of them in context. Each screen pairs a clear headline with supporting copy and a consistent illustration style. A pagination indicator and directional navigation give users control over the pace. The final screen ends with a "Start" CTA rather than a next arrow, signaling completion and transition.

Were the challenges met?

Onboarding gaps

New users now receive a structured, illustrated introduction to the platform's key features immediately after registration.

Messy dossier

The redesigned dossier makes entry types, authorship, and privacy immediately legible — turning the record from a blank page into a collaborative and trustworthy tool.

Connection system confusion

The contact flow now leads with explanation and offers users a choice of connection method, with explicit reassurance about what contacts can and cannot access.

Reflections

My role: Was brought in to improve the UX and UI of the patient-facing mobile app, working across the full flow from onboarding through the core features.

What went well

Working with the existing brand identity rather than against it meant changes felt like refinements rather than a redesign from scratch.

What could be better

With more time, I would have advocated for user testing with actual patients — particularly around the dossier privacy controls and the contact flow, where assumptions about mental models carry real risk in a healthcare setting. Aligning the patient mobile app with the practitioner desktop app more closely would also have strengthened the overall product story.

What could be better

With more time, I would have advocated for user testing with actual patients — particularly around the dossier privacy controls and the contact flow, where assumptions about mental models carry real risk in a healthcare setting. Aligning the patient mobile app with the practitioner desktop app more closely would also have strengthened the overall product story.