PenPoint
Timeline
15 weeks
Role
Product Designer
Tools
Figma
Imagine you have a severe peanut allergy that can cause an anaphylactic attack within minutes. It’s a busy Friday night and you ingest a peanut at a restaurant. The ambulance says they’ll be there in 30, but it'll be too late by then.
However, an individual in the restaurant across the street may have had an EpiPen the whole time.
Solution
PenPoint is an app that connects EpiPen users using GPS tracking technology.
It exists to pinpoint EpiPens. Allowing for Good Samaritan acts where users can give their EpiPen in emergency situations.
We created a very rough initial flow to begin architecting the app
I then built out a quick Good Samaritan flow of how the user would interact with PenPoint when giving an EpiPen
User Interviews
After conducting 10 interviews with potential users we recognized the purpose of the app was not instantly recognizable. To combat confusion I built out the landing page and navigation.
I then moved on to building out iterations of more mid to high fidelity flows. This encompassed branding and tone of the app.
After conducting multiple user interviews we recognized PenPoint needed a clearer and friendly interface. The app was confusing and although we wanted quick wayfaring, almost too generic.
To clear confusion I built out an app tutorial which would guide the user through the app navigation. The playful primary colors, rounded fonts, and beveled edges created the calming warm tone we aimed for. However, we noted the sliding cards were not helpful in an emergency where every second matters.
Iteration #2
Clients wanted to see a more usable and accessible prototype where there would be
(A) A clear incentive to use the app
(B) An emergency flow
This emergency flow showcases a narrative in which a user is looking for an EpiPen
Many clients worried about the feasibility of the idea. We added an incentive flow that walks through the logistics of receiving or giving an expensive healthcare item like an EpiPen
Final Product
The landing page still had hierarchical problems and we wanted the emergency flow to provide more user comfort. We finally ended the semester on these last flows. Link to the Figma here
First Time User Flow
Emergency Giver Flow
Emergency Receiver Flow
Takeaways
PenPoint was a great learning experience and I was grateful to have worked on it with such a lovely team. Over the course of 15 weeks we conducted 10 interviews, completed 5 rounds of design critiques, and shipped 3 high fidelity prototypes.
However, I recognized the full potential of the app wasn’t reached yet. Here’s a short list of items I wished I had been able to spend more time fleshing out:
The legality and feasibility of the app
How would children interact with the interface?
Could there be a children and parent collaboration mode?
How would a more succinct and trustworthy reimbursement flow look? Not over chat? Through a third-party platform?
Thanks for visiting!
Ellie has a slight obsession with checking her email so feel free to drop her a line at egpaik@usc.edu