Understanding the problem

According to the Australian government department of health, there’s 1 in 6 Australians that have some form of hearing loss. That is around 3.6 million people, and among the many people with hearing loss, they tend to experience a drop in self-esteem and are often socially isolated due to their impaired ability to communicate with other people.

"More than 30% of adults (aged 18 to 69) with self-reported hearing loss have dealt with symptoms of depression in 2024." - The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Problem Statement:

To ideate and formulate devices in public areas that grant accessibility and enhance social engagement and inclusivity for individuals with hearing impairments, while encouraging and educating hearing people on how to better interact with hard of hearing individuals.

Gathering insights

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 and surveys, I conducted affinity mapping with my teammates to synthesise the pains identified. We grouped these problems under common themes and features in the platform.

Key Insights

Hard of hearing people are often socially isolated due to their impaired ability to communicate with other people.

Hard of hearing people have difficulty comprehending speech immediately, especially in noisy environments or when others speak too quickly. They often need repetition to fully understand.

There is a lack of understanding and empathy towards those with hearing issues, leading to unintentional exclusion.

There is a lack of supportive environments or systems in public places that assists in facilitating better communication.

Design Approach & Rationale

After gathering research data from surveys and interviews with diabetic patients and health professionals, we concluded that the most appropriate way to address the aforementioned research insights would be through a mobile app and a physical medication dispenser .

Not only are phones accessible to people of all ages, but the mobile app can also serve as a platform that allows both users and their caregivers to monitor the patient's health and medication intake. This facilitates the social support and additional monitoring necessary for the patient to establish lifestyle habits and changes that increase adherence to medication and improve the patient’s diabetes management.

In addition, the physical medication dispenser would complement the app by integrating real-time connectivity to enable adherence tracking. Its key functions include automated dispensing, organizing multiple medications by type, dosage, and time, and providing real-time visual, auditory, and tactile alerts, along with smartphone reminders for missed doses. Additionally, it offers refill reminders and expiration alerts, improving medication management beyond standard dispensers. This feature is especially beneficial for elderly patients, who represent a significant demographic.

Furthermore, a mobile app or website alone is insufficient to effectively address the challenges of diabetes management because diabetes is a condition that requires consistent monitoring, timely medication intake, and behavioral adherence. While digital platforms can provide valuable tracking, reminders, and educational resources, they lack the ability to physically dispense medication or ensure adherence beyond notifications.

High-Fidelity prototype

Colour Palette

Design System

Personal Use Mode Rundown

The personal use mode is for diabetic patients to use in combination with their medical dispenser to assist them in coordinating with their caretakers and health professionals to helping them make more informed decisions about their diabetes management.

Onboarding (Personal Use)

Profile Setup (1)

Blood Sugar Goal (2)

Glucose Monitoring (3)

Set Reminders

Main Interfaces

Home Screen

Exercise Screen

Dispenser Connection

Profile Page

Caretaker Mode Rundown

The caretaker mode is for caretakers to stay informed about the patient's condition, offering additional support and encouraging adherence to the treatment plan without directly intervening in the patient's management routine.

Physical Prototype

Dispenser (Physical Prototype)

Challenges

Although my research indicated that there was a significant population with hearing loss in Australia, it was still challenging for me to not only arrange in person interviews but also meet up with participants . In the beginning of the research process, I relied on online deaf community forums for survey responses, but the responses were rather sparse and infrequent.Thankfully, as I was searching for more ways to reach out to the hard of hearing community, I found out that the Glebe Public Library, in collaboration with Deaf Connect, conducts weekly storytime sessions for little kids that are hard of hearing.

Not only was I able to better connect with the children, their families, and the interpreting staff, and to have them to help me out with filling surveys and arranging interviews, but it also provided me with deeper insights into the daily lives of people who are hard of hearing, insights I would not have gained otherwise . Though time-consuming, this process helped me build stronger relationships with the community and refine my designs to be more accessible, incorporating the various tips and suggestions I received over time, allowing me to develop the right frame of mind when designing accessible services.

Takeaways

After working extensively in collaboration with the hard of hearing community, some key takeaways from this project include:

Immersion is essential: Observing and interacting with the community in their daily environment provided insights that wouldn’t have been possible through secondary research alone.
The Power of Relationship Building: Engaging directly with users helps establish trust and meaningful connections within the community, which better create more impactful designs.
Patience and Persistence Are Key: The design process is not just about doing things in a time efficient manner, good research and design comes from taking the time to deeply understand users, iterating on feedback, and continuously refining solutions.

Quiet Quarters: Connecting Through Accessible Spaces

OVERVIEW

ROLE