Another referral (i'm developing quite the rep!) to land in my inbox came from Nemaura Medical, a PharmaTech company that had developed a revolutionary non-invasive wearable sensor for tracking you metabolic health - in layman's terms its a device that can track things like your blood sugar levels without you needing to constantly stab yourself with a hypodermic needle.
Nemaura had developed a new metabolic health program called Miboko. The advantage of Miboko over other programmes is that rather than having patients describe symptoms and conditions to a healthcare expert, who then prescribes a (often generic) treatment programme, the sensor readings provide real-time data - it's your body itself telling you whats wrong, and Miboko's programme can be tailored very specifically to exactly address your needs.
Anyway, they and needed help with the brand identity and product design for the programmes' App, and asked me to lend a hand.
The sensor data is your body telling you exactly what's wrong
The other really critical factor of the Miboko program is that it's not just about what you eat - most health programmes only focus on diet without really addressing the underlying causes. Why do people eat the way they do? Why don't they exercise more? What's stopping them?
Miboko addresses this by devoting much of the programme to helping people with lifestyle and mental health challenges - the combined sensor data and User insights helps the system to create a unique and highly personalised programme for improvement.
Kicking things off
So I set about discussing the programme with the Nemaura team, getting more insight into the work they had already done, what challenges they faced, and why they were looking to revise the brand and redo the App UX.
Their first attempt at the App design hadn't gone very well - the User Experience was unintuitive, it demanded constant User input, and was - not to put too fine a point on it - just ugly.
The UX was unintuitive, demanded constant User input, and just... ugly
And there wasn't really a brand so to speak, just another attempt at a logo design that Faz (CEO of Nemaura) wasn't over the moon with, and didn't inspire or invoke much of a reaction with audiences.
So, quite a bit to do.
The early stages of the project were mostly spent with Samantha, the delightfully chirpy but non-nonsense Global Head of Digital Programs at Nemaura.
Together we revised the brand strategy, making it more emotive, engaging, and aspirational, drafted in a proper copywriter to help with the Tone of Voice that made messaging and comms much more down-to-earth and far less 'corporate pharma'.
I also sifted through pages of notes and videos of product testing and focus group reactions, coming away with a much clearer picture of where the pain points were.
Everyday people
For the most part, health and wellbeing brands tend to be either a bit elitist (for the fitness fanatic), or for the chronically ill - with very few in between.
For Miboko, I thought about a brand that could fill that gap, and so my guiding principle became 'make it for everyday people'.
The visual identity I created is vibrant, inviting, and exceedingly flexible to carry across audience segments. Most of all it's authentic and empathetic (without being patronising) because it's informed by the stories and experiences of real people across the social spectrum.
It's informed by the stories and experiences of real people
The design system is versatile and efficacious. The logo is pretty unique (compared to anyone else in the Pharma or wellbeing space), the colours bold and vivid, the typography well balanced and friendly, and imagery genuine and human.
To create a focal point in communications, I also designed a monogram that acts as a sort of graphical container for content - implicitly conveying the idea of attachment and familiarity between Miboko and its customers.
Seamless fit
For the App re-design, I pretty much started from scratch for the front-end, and drafted in a new development team to help revise some of the back-end.
Drawing on the user experience insights, the UX philosophy was all about making the product invisible - fitting seamlessly into people's lives, and making it much more user-friendly.
The User journey is almost ludicrously easy to navigate by doing all the data capture heavy lifting during on-boarding, surrendering control over input frequency and volume to the User, and automating the sensor processing and output in the background to provide feedback on personalised goals and metabolic state.
The UI is simple, instinctive, and rational through a unified and intelligent reporting and input interface, driven by sensor data prompts, so you only need to react when it's necessary.
Gamification encourages Users to stick to their program, and an experience platform enables Users to share insights, tips and trick, and pathways to success.
And check this out.
"Currently under clinical trials with the NHS in the UK, initial patient data show weight loss and health improvements in 100% of program participants (extraordinary!)."
"Feedback from participants also shows that use of the wearable sensor led to greater engagement, and the element of gamification lead to sustained use."
"Participants expressed their willingness to continue with the program, reporting that they do not see Miboko as a traditional diet plan, which the Nemaura expects will avoid diet fatigue and drop-off rates widely associated with many of the current weight loss programs."
