Diabetes has become a major public health challenge in Australia, as evidenced by data showing that approximately 1.5 million Australians, which is about 5.6% of the total population, are currently living with this chronic disease.

"In Australia (2024), diabetes affects about 1.5 million people and is projected to impact over 3 million by 2050." - The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare

Our task was to create a product that helps diabetic and pre-diabetic users maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Our goal was to ensure it not only offers extra support and accountability for those who may struggle with managing their condition independently, but is also user-friendly for individuals of all ages.
Our approach to this problem was to design a personalised and customisable service that addresses the lack of diabetes management and medication adherence in Australia.

As our team explored how to gather insights that would provide the necessary context for designing a solution to our problem, I identified that our stakeholders were not only just individuals living with diabetes but also healthcare providers and the elderly patients they regularly interact with. This realisation led me to interview diabetic patients (both Type 1 and Type 2) as well as multiple professionals working in the Australian health sector, including doctors, pharmacists, and physiotherapists.

On one hand, patients shared their firsthand experiences with treatments, challenges, and daily care, while healthcare providers offered clinical insights into treatment options, patient education, and systemic barriers. The two perspectives gives us a more holistic approach to understanding diabetes management, helping us identify key challenges, improve patient support, and develop more effective, practical solutions tailored to both medical and daily life needs.

After collecting the recordings from the user interviews, I conducted affinity mapping with my teammates to synthesise the pains identified. We grouped these problems under common themes and features in the platform.

Current Diabetes monitoring requires constant attachment and painful testing procedures, which leads to discomfort, and risks of device inaccuracy or malfunction.

Non-compliance: Some patients avoid glucose testing due to pain, stress, or fear of results.

Monitoring is essential: Patients are advised to check blood sugar levels 3 times a day, but many don’t.

Physicians solely rely on HbA1c tests and self-reported data, but there is no direct way to ensure adherence to lifestyle changes.

Social support from family and friends drastically improves patient engagement.

Lack of education & awareness: Most people do not understand how serious diabetes complications can be.

Based on our research, we recognised that there were three key user types that our product aimed to address. We also decided to create a user journey map in order to visualise each user’s experience, identify pain points, so that our solution would effectively meet their needs.

Although we received 98 completed surveys, conducted over 10 interviews, and carried out more than 50 user tests with our initial prototypes, our team found it challenging to arrange interviews and user testing with elderly participants, who were among our primary stakeholders. Not only was the initial scheduling difficult, but conducting additional rounds of user testing was nearly impossible due to time constraints and the health conditions of the elderly patients we had previously tested with. Our main feedback from elderly participants indicated that the user interface was not user-friendly for them and required greater visual clarity. While we wanted to assess our implemented changes and determine whether they improved the interface, we were unable to arrange further testing sessions with elderly users.


To better accommodate older users and compensate for the lack of elderly participants, we conducted a series of user tests in which participants completed specific tasks under conditions designed to simulate physical limitations. For example, we had users wear vision-impairment goggles or hold up a semi-transparent object to evaluate how our product performed under restricted visual conditions. These tests helped ensure that the product is both accessible and functional for users with diverse needs and abilities.

After working on this project for 4 months, our project was selected to be presented in the Sydney University Architecture, Design and Planning Graduation Show (2024) , which was an opportunity to showcase our work to industry professionals, academics, and fellow designers. This recognition not only validated our research and design approach but also allowed us to receive valuable feedback from experts in the field.

Some key takeaways from this project are:

• Identifying who your stakeholders are requires research and a deep understanding of the relationships between the end users, supporting roles, and external influences that impact their experiences and decision making.
• Accessible design is essential when creating digital products that cater to a diverse range of users, including those with disabilities, elderly individuals, and people with temporary impairments.
• User testing doesn't end after development. Design is a constant iteration of improving the experience for the end user. Always find ways to collect and listen to your user's feedback.