Case study · Mobile app
Pillbox
Helping older adults remember medications through clear reminders, tracking, and accessible interactions.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
Mar–May 2026
Tools
Figma, Maze, Google Meet, Trello
Responsibilities
UX research, UX & UI design, interaction design, usability testing
01 · Overview
Project Overview
Older adults often face difficulties managing multiple medications simultaneously due to memory decline and increased cognitive load.
Limited familiarity with technology and the complex structure of many medication apps make daily routines confusing for many seniors. In Germany, around 83% of people over 60 own a smartphone and nearly 87% use the internet, yet many digital tools are still not simple or intuitive enough for this age group.
This project aims to design a simple, practical, and user-friendly medication management experience inspired by traditional pill organizers, helping older adults manage their medications more easily, accurately, and independently.
Source: SIM 2024, Germany.
02 · Problem & people
Problem Statement
Why does this problem matter?
The global elderly population is increasing by nearly 3% each year. Many older adults struggle with medication management due to memory decline, cognitive load, and complex schedules, and many healthcare apps are not designed around their needs. This can lead to missed doses, medication errors, increased stress, and reduced independence.
Who does it impact?
Older adults managing multiple medications daily, seniors with limited digital confidence or cognitive decline, and the caregivers and family members who support their medication routines.
03 · Collaboration
Designing Together
We worked as a team of three designers — collaborating in FigJam, planning our tasks in Trello and meeting regularly over Google Meet.
04 · Process
Design Thinking Process
05 · Initial discovery
Initial Discovery
Before the research phase, I defined the business context and the goals the product and the experience need to achieve.
Business type
B2C
A consumer app for older adults and the caregivers who support them.
Business Goals
Create a medication management platform that:
Increase User Retention
Improve Medication Adherence
Build User Trust
Encourage Long-term Engagement
Enable Premium Features
Become a Trusted Health Companion
Design Goals
Design an experience that:
Simple & Intuitive Experience
Create a Calm & Stress-Free Medication Experience
Accessible for All Users
Clear & Readable Reminders
Fast & Confident Task Completion
Increase User Confidence in Medication Use
06 · KPI
KPI Results
The following metrics were gathered from moderated usability testing sessions with 7 participants to assess the usability and effectiveness of the prototype before product launch.
A second round of usability testing focused on the tasks with the most problems, to understand whether our solutions work.
07 · Target audience
Who Our Users Are
Primary users
Designed for older adults who need support managing medications and daily health routines.
Seniors
Designed for seniors who prefer simple and familiar experiences.
Secondary users
Secondary users include caregivers and family members who support medication management and daily routines.
08 · Empathize
Foundational Discovery Research
Before starting the design process, foundational research was conducted to understand how older adults manage medications and interact with digital healthcare products. Many existing solutions felt overwhelming, while familiar tools such as physical pill boxes felt simpler, more predictable, and easier to understand.
User Survey
To find out the facts, the whats, and some cues from a larger sample.
User Interviews · N=15
To figure out the why and how, and dive deep into users’ stories.
Competitor Analysis
To evaluate competitors and choose the best features and a unique value proposition.
Competitor Analysis
To evaluate the market, I analyzed primary, direct, indirect, and secondary competitors — from medication reminder apps to the pill boxes and paper notes older adults already rely on — to choose the best features and define a unique value proposition.
Primary
Medisafe, physical pill boxes, handwritten notes
Direct
Medisafe, MyTherapy
Indirect · Digital
Google Calendar, phone alarm
Indirect · Traditional
Physical pill box, paper notes
Secondary
Samsung Health, Apple Health
Opportunity
Combine the familiarity of a physical pill box with the reminders, tracking, and caregiver support of digital apps — without their complexity.
Key Insights
09 · Research results
Research Results
Interviews with 15 participants showed that many older adults feel stressed when managing multiple medications and often rely on pill boxes, notes, alarms, or family support.
Many participants also found existing medication apps overwhelming and preferred simpler, more familiar experiences that reduce cognitive effort.
Convert research goals to questions
To Know our User’s habits and behaviors
Do you use application for reminding medication?
How difficult are existing medication apps to use? (Scale 1–5)
Do you receive caregiver or family support for managing medications? (Yes / No)
Do you use a physical pill box to manage medications? (Yes / No)
Out of 10 medication doses, how many times do you forget to take them on time?(0_10)
Interview
Insight from interviews
Many users still rely on physical pill boxes and handwritten reminders.
Complex medication schedules often create stress and confusion.
Simple and familiar interactions increase confidence and reduce cognitive load.
Existing reminder apps can feel overwhelming for older adults.
Survey
Research insights (N=15)
Summary of interviews with 15 participants
How I Recruited Participants for Discovery Research
To gather more realistic insights, the research combined in-person interviews, online surveys, and secondary research.
Since some older adults have limited familiarity with digital tools, part of the research was conducted through informal in-person conversations to help participants more comfortably share their experiences, routines, and challenges with medication management.
Participants included older adults, individuals managing multiple medications, and people supporting family members with medication routines. The research focused on understanding current medication management methods, challenges with digital healthcare experiences, and the role of familiar tools such as physical pill boxes.
These findings helped identify important cognitive and usability challenges and highlighted the need for a simpler, more familiar, and less stressful medication
Key insight · Interviews with 15 participants
10 · Empathy map
Empathy Maps From Interviews
Why?
To take my understanding of users to a deeper level
To use it as a tool to organize the data in favor of users
User goal: Managing daily medications safely and independently
What do they Think and Feel?
Worries about forgetting medications
Wants to stay independent
Feels stressed by complex schedules
Wants peace of mind and confidence
What do they See?
Multiple medication bottles
Pill boxes and handwritten notes
Complex reminder apps
Family and caregiver support
What do they Hear?
Advice from doctors
Reminders from family members
Health concerns and warnings
Suggestions about medication routines
What do they Say and Do?
Uses pill boxes and phone alarms
Confusing medication schedules
Overwhelming digital interfaces
Fear of making medication mistakes
Pains
Uses pill boxes and phone alarms
Confusing medication schedules
Overwhelming digital interfaces
Fear of making medication mistakes
Gains
Simple and familiar reminders
Clear and easy medication tracking
More confidence and independence
Reduced stress and anxiety
11 · Personas
User Personas
12 · User journey
User Journey Map
From current routines to building confidence: how the experience changes across five phases, and where the opportunities for improvement are.
13 · Define & ideate
Finalized Value Propositions
A simple and familiar medication management experience inspired by physical pill boxes, reducing stress, confusion, and cognitive overload for older adults.
Familiar organization
A weekly pillbox model creates a predictable starting point.
Clear reminders
Readable prompts and simple confirmation reduce uncertainty.
Accessible interactions
Large text, recognizable icons and low-complexity flows.
Support, not surveillance
Caregiver visibility that preserves the user’s autonomy.
14 · Sketches
Ideation & Sketches
During ideation, I focused on reducing stress and creating simpler, familiar, and accessible medication experiences for older adults. The goal was to turn complex healthcare routines into simpler daily experiences through clear interactions, accessibility, and gentle reminders.
15 · Sitemap, user flow & wireframes
Sitemap, User Flow & Wireframes
The sitemap defines the app structure for both patients and caregivers. The user flow maps the key journey: from launch and role selection to adding a first medication.
Sitemap
User Flow
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
A pillbox-inspired structure was chosen because many older adults were already familiar with physical pill boxes. The wireframes focused on a simpler, more accessible, and less stressful experience with clear navigation.
16 · UI
UI
In this phase, I was going to test the solutions with the potential users and to make sure that users have a good experience but before jumping to the prototype and test phases, I decided to apply the visuals and UI design as well.
Why?
Because the more the users communicate with the design the more the possibility of getting a precise result from the usability test is. Ok, so how might we help users communicate better with our design? I would say through offering them a design that looks like a real product.
Color Palette
Why this Color Palette? — Context and Color psychology
The color palette was designed to create a calm and reassuring healthcare experience for older adults.
Blue-green tones were chosen for the primary color because they are often associated with trust, clarity, calmness, and emotional comfort. The muted tone also helps reduce visual stress and supports a more accessible and low-pressure experience for seniors.
The secondary warm neutral color was added to bring softness and warmth to the interface.
It helps balance the cooler tones, making the experience feel more human-centered, comforting, and less clinical.
BFD4DA
Primary
EDE7E0
Warm neutral
317589
Accent
Semantic Colors
Here are my semantic colors. Semantic colors are industry-standard colors that illustrate the same meaning everywhere regardless of what the context is.
DC2626
Error
16A34A
Success
CA8A04
Warning
2563EB
Info
FCA5A5
86EFAC
FDE047
BFDBFE
FEE2E2
Background
DCFCE7
Background
FEF9C3
Background
EFF6FF
Background
Typography
Why this Typography?
1
Legibility
This is a text to check on the legibility of a typography — which one? The Inter.
2
Different Weights
Inter comes in a full range of weights, from Thin to Black, with italics.
3
Not in conflict with the context
A clean sans serif that suits a calm healthcare product.
Aa
Inter
Thin · Light · Regular · Medium · Semi Bold · Bold · Black
Text Hierarchy
Grid
A structured design will benefit all.
Screen size: w 390
Columns: 4 (stretch)
Margin: 16
Gutter: 8
8
16
24
32
40
48
56
64
72
80
Vertical Spacing
My vertical spacing system was based on multiples of 8.
Icons
I kept in mind the following parameters while choosing icons:
Same Family
Consistency
Familiar with the user’s mental model
17 · Final designs
Final Mockups
A calm onboarding, a clear daily overview, and explicit medication states with familiar navigation.
01 · Welcome
02 · Daily support
03 · Stay positive
04 · Today’s medications
05 · Missed-dose alert
06 · Overdue reminder
07 · Daily progress
08 · First medication
18 · Usability testing
Before & After: Mid-Fi Prototype → Final Design
Before · Mid-fi prototype
After · Final design
Design Impact
We conducted a second round of usability testing for the tasks with the most problems to understand if our solutions work. The results are as below:
19 · Accessibility
20 · Learnings
What I’ve learned
Explore more work
Next project: Fitsmart
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