A Journey Through Our Genes
Are you one of those people who move a lot while they sleep? Are you always easy prey for mosquitos, no matter who you are with? Do you hate cilantro and think it tastes bad? What if I told you that all this information about yourself can be obtained from just a bit of your saliva? Yes, it’s genetic information and due to the alliance between science, health and technology, it’s getting easier to gain access to it and turn it into knowledge.
Now let’s add the health risk levels that you may have during your life or your genetic predisposition to certain diseases. Yes, it sounds much more complex!
Along with the Experience Design team at Flux IT, we faced the challenge of designing a digital solution for the DNA test launched in Argentina by Bitgenia (a company specialized in precision medicine), intended for end users; that is to say, people who don’t have formal knowledge on medicine or genetics.
It All Starts With a Bit of Saliva
When this opportunity came up, we embraced the idea with lots of enthusiasm: we would have the chance to make a contribution to a really innovative product, but we immediately asked ourselves “where do we start?” “How could we add value to the user experience on a topic that was completely new to us and so foreign to our everyday life?”
As a starting point, we decided to organize a participatory workshop including the Bitgenia team, aimed at gaining insight on the matter and making them part of the co-creative process. It was the right choice since we came across a very enthusiastic multidisciplinary team that broadened our view and provided its knowledge, product vision and expectations.
Meanwhile, we carried out a market research and we analyzed similar products to delve into the matter. We needed to have the greatest possible knowledge and insight in order to later assist those who were going to use the product.
What is the DNA test about? The procedure basically consists of a plastic tube that is delivered to the user’s home with a user guide and an informed consent form. The users autonomously fill the tube with their saliva and send it back for it to be analyzed. Later comes the DNA sequencing process: genetic decoding — in other words — turning the biological material into valuable information.
Once the different indicators have been extracted, they are analyzed and touchpoints and points of difference are identified. The results range from predispositions and risks of developing certain diseases to food intolerance levels, even going through muscle composition.
Although we took every aspect of the experience into account, our mission in this project entailed designing the website where users would get their results.
The Schedule: Moving Towards a Lovable Product
Due to the nature and circumstances in which the project was introduced, we decided to work with the concept of an MLP, a minimum lovable product. This term came up trying to challenge the MVP or minimum viable product, from a view focused on adding value to people. Let’s take a vanilla sponge cake as an example, which is fine but it’s boring, basic. On the other hand, a cupcake may be smaller but it’s decorated, stuffed… it has a positive and lasting impact on people. That’s what we are looking for!
Moreover, we had to be agile and build an efficient work plan to create project deliverables quickly for the development team.
Data Organization
When we started analyzing the results that the web would show, we came across a large volume of data. We were in the presence of our first big design challenge. Thus, it was necessary to start looking for structuring criteria that matched the mental model of the users that would interact with that information.
How did we crack it? During a conversation with the client, the idea of applying storytelling came up. Storytelling entails resorting to the world of narrative and stories to present information in a more friendly, accessible and lasting way. Thus, we designed the users’ first contact with their results as if it was a journey or a tour through their genes, structuring all the information flow in three blocks on the home page: “What you carry from the past”, “What affects you today” and “Your prospective predisposition”.
At the same time, we identified the need to consider a more logical structure, a categorization system to display all the information at second instance in a structured way, which also enables scalability in the future.
Through the card sorting technique, we found an approach that matched the users’ mindset: we decided to group the multiple elements according to the parts of the body. Hence, for example, under “eyes”, you’ll find your probability of developing glaucoma or macular degeneration related to age; under “lungs”, whether you have variants linked to respiratory conditions and the response to related medicine according to your genotype.
Who Is This Trip’s Main Character?
While we gained business and processes insight, we started thinking about the users. Who were the ones that were going to access this new product? What were their expectations? Would they be afraid of coming across information that is so private?
We were lucky enough to have first-hand access to users: relatives or acquaintances that had taken the beta test recently and were waiting for their results. We interviewed them to get to know them on both emotional and psychological levels.
After having researched and -often subconsciously- formed an opinion on a given subject, I find it extremely interesting to talk to people and discover that each person is unique and may perceive reality in a completely different way compared to us.
Through those interviews, we collected the first insights. The matter of anxiety came up, as regards the waiting times and the uncertainty: “It’s like when you get your test scores from college by email and you don’t know whether you want to see them or not.” There was also the complexity intrinsic to the topic and the gap between scientific knowledge and colloquial knowledge, comparing it, for example, to a blood test and how hard it can be to understand it for those who aren’t experts on the field.
Fear was one of the main aspects: “I don’t know if I want to know whether I’ll have cancer or when I’m going to die”. Finally, they also highlighted their expectations and the excitement to know useful or curious aspects of ourselves and our bodies.
In a Nutshell:
We understood that we were dealing with sensitive information and that it wouldn’t demand the same treatment as a usual project: a comprehensive work regarding content writing, information design, navigation and access instances would be necessary.
Data Complexity and Sensitivity
In fact, we discovered that the content that would be included in the web could have a strong impact on users: for instance, hereditary diseases and risks of suffering from certain conditions.
To tackle this issue, we relied on the concept of emotional design in order to draw a strategy regarding how this digital product would talk to the users that interacted with it.
The first step was finding a way to translate technical language into more common and familiar expressions for their everyday lives.
For instance, it was essential to explain that all the information shown in the web about the user is not part of a diagnosis, but they are probabilities, or rather, they show their bodies predisposition to develop a disease since the genetic factor is part of a group of aspects (such as the environment and lifestyle).
We tackled this issue by creating some guidelines to write content, which were followed by Bitgenia experts to complete each file. As regards users, we also added an advice section: a more concrete and familiar message detailing what they could do to improve their health on a daily basis.
Along with the first tests and the feedback we collected, we found out that it was a big hit and it was truly appreciated: not just knowing that they had an increased or decreased risk variant, but also knowing how to act upon that information.
To match all this textual information, we relied heavily on the creation of visual resources that support each instance and build a more relaxed environment. We designed a wide range of illustrations and we selected pleasant color palettes that don’t trigger alarm or concern. Thus, we managed to sensitize and soften messages a bit more.
We also focused on navigation and information hierarchy. We carefully discussed creating different accesses to more sensitive information, giving users the chance to view it whenever they feel they are ready.
What We Learnt From This Journey
What I love about my job as a designer is that we are able to work in many different industries and learn a bit from each one of them.
In contexts like this project, where there are high levels of uncertainty and lack of resolution time, it’s key to stay active: sharpen curiosity, check and ask all you can as a trigger to understand the matter and put the pieces together. And, thus, we turn into facilitators, channeling solutions based on research, empathy, trial and error.
Finally, always have users in mind, not losing sight of those who will use the product we are designing, trying to make sure at all times that they will feel safe and informed, adding true value to their lives.
