AlopeciaHub - Product Design / UX Research

Overview

It is estimated that 80 million Americans are afflicted with Alopecia, which is a term that encompasses many different hair loss conditions: genetic, autoimmune, or loss from other causes, such as medications, hairstyles, hair pulling, etc.

Many people with Alopecia seek out others with the condition on social media (Facebook/Instagram), and less frequently, through in-person meetings (NAAF conferences).

Because of the spontaneous origin of the disease, many have difficulty finding community and resources for dealing with the disease.

Target Demographic

After this initial data collection from the survey, I followed up with 2 respondents and conducted user interviews for a more comprehensive understanding of the target user.

I then generated a persona to illustrate a potential user of the app.

User Stories

Using the data from the user interview and surveys, I generated a few user stories to illustrate the typical users’ needs:

Key Areas of Focus

Based off of my initial interviews and survey responses, I distilled the data to generate 3 key areas to focus when designing the MVP:

• Communities to join to start conversations and get support.

• A symptom tracker page to track hair loss and other related symptoms to Alopecia

• A resource hub with links to retailers (wigs, permanent makeup, headwraps etc.), hair loss + mental health experts, and how-to tutorials

Wireframes

My next step was to start sketching out the user flow with paper + pencil. Below is a wireframe sketch of the onboarding process:

Mid-Fi Wireframes

Hi-Fi Wireframes

Final Prototype

Style Guide

Color Palette

I chose to work with a palette of purples and blues. I felt that this monochromatic palette would evoke feelings of calmness and trust, and was suitable for a health-focused app.

Typography

I chose the Nunito font for the logo text because I wanted a sans serif font that was legible, and had optimism to it that fit well with the mission of the app.

I chose the Apple font SF Pro Rounded for the rest of the headings and text, as it’s an easily legible sans serif font, and it’s easy to read across all devices.

Icons + Logo

For the logo, I envisioned a circular logo that would evoke the feeling of gathering in a circle of support.

I chose to use SF Symbols for the icons mainly because of the ease of using them across all devices. I also felt like I wanted an app with recognizable iconography that would feel familiar to the user.

Next Steps

The next steps for AlopeciaHub would be to run usability testing to gather the following data:

• Feedback on ability to post to a community.

• Feedback on ability to input today’s symptoms to symptom tracker.

• Feedback on ability to book an appointment with a health professional.

Based on my research, I found that some people expressed interest in finding people that lived near them for in-person meet-ups.

In the future, I would love to explore options for creating a search feature that allows users to locate people within a close radius to where they live, and be able to send a message to meet up.

Another important exploration is to find a way to monetize the app, either through a small subscription fee for uses after an initial 30 day trial, or ad revenue from linked online stores.