Overview: Provide expecting mothers with a user-friendly and efficient solution that simplifies the often complex and bureaucratic procedure to request their maternity leave.
Role: UX Designer, UX Research, UI Designer, Prototyping, Pitching
Tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, pencil & paper.
As a product designer at Alternativa Digital, I was responsible for designing products such as websites and apps from concept to delivery. I established guidelines and standards to ensure excellent usability in every project, created site maps and user flows to establish clear and coherent information architecture, and ensured consistency and quality with other brand channels to reflect the company's identity of each project.
During my time at Alternativa Digital, I had the opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects for clients in various industries, including healthcare, gubernamental, NGOs and private companies where I collaborated closely with their teams to deliver high-quality and effective digital products. These experiences allowed me to gain valuable insights into different business models and user needs, which I applied to create tailored solutions for each challenge.
For confidentiality, I've generalized some information and focused to the design process.
Our first step before starting the project was to gather essential information through an interview with our stakeholders to understand the main objective, the problem, hypothesis and user details from their perspective.
This dialogue allowed us to cultivate a deeper understanding of the following scenario:
Back then in Mexico, some government processes were very slow or had obsolete regulations that hadn't been updated to meet the needs of contemporary generations. This was particularly evident in the process of acquiring maternity leave, which wasn't efficient and was causing a lot of pain in order to get it.
To gain deep insights into the needs, hopes, and challenges faced by pregnant women who serve as the primary providers for their families, we conducted contextual enquiries during their medical examinations at IMSS. Additionally, we engaged in substantive conversations with hospital administrators and medical professionals to further enrich our understanding.
Following the completion of our research, we analyzed the gathered information. Using matrix data, we identified and categorized the most significant pain points that emerged from the data. This process allowed us to highlight the key areas requiring attention and further analysis.
As our understanding deepened, we began to align our focus with user needs. It became evident that the primary objective of the product was to assist women in maintaining an official record of their medical appointments at IMSS. Achieving this goal required the creation of a system that allowed doctors to endorse visits or check-ups, even when conducted by external medical professionals. This aspect was pivotal due to the common situations where women, managing jobs and other commitments, need flexibility and autonomy to choose the right schedule. This could only be possible through external doctors. This approach enabled them to sidestep seeking job permissions and mitigated the loss of an entire workday.
Initial interviews also highlighted the potential for this platform to act as a supportive companion throughout pregnancy. It could provide information and guidance for expectant mothers through the evolving changes week by week.
Once we got more information about the user we consolidated the information, insights, and data collected from various sources we constructed a fictional representation of the user. This persona embodies the key characteristics, behaviors, and motivations of pregnant women.
In the first phase, key characteristics and essential functionalities that the product aimed to incorporate included:
After establishing the product vision, the subsequent phase involved the transformation of conceptual ideas into concrete and actionable concepts. My contribution to this phase commenced with the creation of wireframes.
Logo
The logo of 9M aims to stand out from other applications of its kind. It's easy to recognize and remember because it's a short name that relates to the duration of the pregnancy period. Additionally, its design aligns with the IMSS digital project's visual identity, ensuring immediate recognition.
Color palette
A secondary color palette was developed, featuring subtle and delicate tones that blend the IMSS digital project's aesthetic with the institution's existing visual identity.
Typography
Sans-serif typeface was selected to balances readability and modern design. The font ensures clean, accessible communication across digital and print materials, maintaining consistency with IMSS branding.
Iconography
Development of a set of custom icons that simplify complex medical information while maintaining visual consistency with the overall brand design. The icons feature intuitive, minimalist designs representing pregnancy stages, health metrics, and user interactions, aligning with the IMSS visual language. This approach enhances user understanding through clear visual communication.
Hi-Fi design
The 9M web application design prioritized user experience within institutional visual standards. The design featured an intuitive layout for expectant mothers, integrating the new brand design. The interface balanced medical professionalism with user-friendly interactions, ensuring accessibility and consistent visual language.
Before the availability of tools like Zeplin, the handoff and initiation of the development phase involved meetings with developers, design deliverables, documentation, and sharing assets. This product was built as a web-app.
Submitted a proposal to a governmental initiative seeking scientific community solutions for high-impact social problems, with a presentation that highlighted:
