Beikos
From idea to first clinical test
Beikos was a clinical project focused on empowering people suffering from chronic pain. The core idea was that by offering a journal tool that speaks to medical standards, patients would feel heard, be more able to explain their pain to their clinicians and get better care.
Solo product designer in a startup setup
2 months — 2020
Problem space
We are dealing with people suffering from pain, asking them to keep a journal of their pain through a daily questionnaire. How can we make this experience appeasing and kind? How can we make it accessible for people with limited motor functions during the clinical test phase? Most of my work was around trying to create a calm, appeasing feeling for people using the application.
Business strategy
The founders came up with the project, the medical process and the requirements for the project to get started with a first clinical test in Spain. But they did not have an application ready. They hired a few early career interns eager to get started on something that could become a company if successful. The goal was to get a first application ready.
Input mechanism
Every day, patients should report on a scale from one to ten their experience about several different pains, moods and other factors. I spent a lot of work exploring several different ways to input this value.
“As a junior designer, what I brought to the table is the will and energy to try things. Making several iterations on every idea we had, as well as offering alternatives.”
Testing different navigations
Since this was the first time Beikos would develop a digital product we also had to figure out our standard navigation and design patterns. I made several prototypes in order for us to pick the best experience.
Outcome
As a result of our first month of work we got an application ready for the first clinical test. I had not anticipated people using a switch device, but since accessibility standards were baked in from the start everything went smoothly. The prototype was enough to run the trial; the results of this trial however showed that the original idea had some refining work to do.
Learnings
This was my first design project out of school. I learned a lot from working with a developer, creating and exporting design assets that can be used for production. It was also great to get close to founders and experts in their field and be able to bring them something that realises their vision.
