Overview
High-Level Project Summary
Background
The Story
The Blüm healthcare project tackled simplifying health insurance by centralizing coverage, cost transparency, and health records into a single intuitive portal. It emerged from my own personal struggles navigating health insurance as a young adult and the countless usability stories I had heard regarding products in the space.
The Mission
Translating an inherently complex system — ridden with industry jargon and laden with confusing processes — into an accessible experience was a large undertaking. My goal was to reimagine an insurance product that actually met the needs of its users while still accomplishing business goals, such as decreasing the volume of support inquiries.
My Process
1
Discovery
- Market research
- Competitive analysis
- Problem statement
- User surveys and interviews
- Affinity mapping
- User personas
2
Ideation
- Card sorting → Sitemap
- User journey mapping
- User flow diagramming
- Sketching low-fidelity wireframes
3
Prototype
- Mid-fidelity prototype
- Design System
- Hi-fidelity prototype
4
User Testing
- Usability testing
- Preference testing
- Iteration and refinement
Major Insights
While this was a personal project, I utilized evaluative research to validate my design decisions, as well as project potential business outcomes and establish success metrics to measure them.
1
Improving Operational Efficiency
By enabling users to easily estimate costs and view coverage details, we can preemptively answer common questions. This reduces administrative burden of support inquiries
Success Metric: Decrease in support tickets
2
Mitigating Risk and Cost
Testing flagged a 50% failure rate in the records workflow. Redesigning this flow now prevents costly post-release engineering fixes later
Success Metric: Increase in Task Success Rate
3
Gaining User Trust
Research showed that users hesitated to book without explicit coverage confirmation. Adding clear "In-Network" and "Covered" badges removed uncertainty, increasing users confidence.
Success Metric: Increase in Confidence Score
Login Screen
Home Dashboard
Coverage detail screen
Manual entry of health records
Competitive Analysis
To understand why satisfaction is low, I conducted a deep-dive audit of major competitors like UnitedHealthcare and Blue Care Advisor (BCBS MN), and documented some findings that aligned with my market research.
A Fragmented Experience
While functional, the Blue Care Advisor app suffered from poor information hierarchy. Critical tasks like viewing benefits often redirect users to external websites or non-mobile PDFs, breaking the user journey and increasing frustration.
Features vs Reliability
Although UHC set a high bar with features like Digital Wallet integration and Rewards programs. App reviews for UHC and my observations using BCBS revealed that stability issues were common.
A link redirecting users outside of the app
A failure to load the web app in a browser
The Opportunity
What I found was that competitors were often:
I concluded Blüm could find success by focusing on a seamless and centralized experience — no PDFs, no external links, just clear answers in an app that is intuitive to navigate.
Defining the User
User Personas
Based on the research, I identified two distinct users to guide my design decisions.
Eric
The "Just Need the Basics" User
A 27-year-old leasing agent who only engages with insurance when absolutely necessary (e.g. urgent care).
"Just tell me in plain English what I'll owe for a regular doctor visit. I shouldn't need an insurance glossary to understand my benefits"
Behavior: Eric is a reactive user. He avoids the app because he finds terms like "co-insurance" confusing, often delaying care or calling support just to get a simple cost estimate.
Design Implication: The interface must prioritize "plain language" and speed. Information like Member ID and Urgent Care costs must be visible within moments of opening the app.
Sarah
The "Informed But Frustrated" User
A 38-year-old mother managing the healthcare logistics for her entire family.
"Why do I have to log into three different places just to figure out if a claim was processed correctly and paid from my FSA? It should all be connected."
Behavior: She currently self-organizes by maintaining manual spreadsheets and Google Drive folders to track her daughter’s vaccination history and family expenses because the portals fail to do it for her.
Design Implication: The platform must act as a "centralized hub," aggregating records from disparate providers into a single, searchable timeline.
User Journeys
I mapped the end-to-end experience for Sarah and Eric to pinpoint exactly where they abandon the digital product and resort to manual workarounds.
The Breakdown: Sarah’s journey revealed a chaotic manual process. To submit school forms, she had to physically sift through filing cabinets, scan paper documents at home, and merge files manually.
The Opportunity: Centralized Digital Records. A feature to upload, store, and verify physical records so users never have to "scavenge" again.
The Breakdown: Eric tried to self-serve by searching "strep test cost," but the app failed to understand the query. He was forced to abandon the app and wait on hold with Member Services just to get a price.
The Opportunity: Smart Cost Estimation. A tool that understands natural language (e.g., "Strep Throat") and calculates out-of-pocket costs based on real-time deductible status.
User Task Flows
The Cost Estimator Flow
Addressing the #1 User Pain Point: "Estimating Costs"
I focused on Eric’s journey to determine the cost of a Strep Test. This flow was critical because it required the user to interact with with the system via three separate data points:
- Service Type (Strep Test)
- Provider Status (In-Network vs. Out)
- Real-Time Benefit Status (Insurance phase – Deductible )
By mapping this first, I identified the need for specific screens like "Service Selection/Search", "Coverage Details", and “Cost Estimator” that would later need a home in the site architecture.
Other Key Workflows:
- Vaccination Records: Converting physical papers to digital records (Sarah's Journey). (view here)
- Provider Search: Filtering specialists by location and reviews and booking an appointment. (view here)
Sitemap
Synthesizing the user flows (what we need) and the card sorting data (where it goes), I constructed the final Sitemap. I flattened the hierarchy to ensure no critical feature—like the Digital ID or Cost Estimates—was ever more than two taps away from the home screen.
Lo-fidelity Ideation
Sketches and Wireframes
Once the site structure was defined, I moved into low-fidelity ideation to solve interface challenges such as visualizing cost transparency.
Coverage Details and Cost Estimator
While I developed all core workflows in parallel, I want to highlight the evolution of Eric’s Journey (Checking Coverage), as it presented a tough design challenge: simplifying the math of "Deductibles" and "Co-insurance" into a visual that any user could understand in seconds.
Sketch
My initial concept used a "Deductible Meter" and a binary toggle for "In-Network vs. Out-of-Network" to let users simulate different scenarios.View
Wireframe
Moving to digital low-fidelity allowed me to refine the hierarchy, prioritizing the "Estimated Cost" as the primary CTA element while tucking other cost details and requirements into secondary info on the page.
Mid-Fidelity
Refining the Structure
Before applying brand identity to the UI, I moved my low-fidelity wireframes to mid-fidelity prototypes. This step was critical for making refinements to layout and copy that would define interaction.
- The Goal: Validate that the information hierarchy worked when real text was applied, rather than just placeholder shapes.
- Outcome: Introducing copy for complex components like the "insurance phase” component or tags, ensured that when I moved to high-fidelity, they would still fit in their elements and sit in the hierarchy as expected
Coverage categories offer quick starting points for the flow while a search bar offers specific queries.
Visualizations of user data improves scannability and quick reference of user's cost responsibility.
Cost estimation calculator as a module to maintain context about what the user is estimating.
Allows the user to easily calculate an estimate and quickly jump back to coverage details.
Design System and Guide
To bridge the gap between functionality and brand, I first established a Style Guide to serve as the visual North Star for stakeholders. This defined the product's identity—calming greens and clean typography—which I then scaled into a comprehensive Design System of reusable components.
Style Guide
The Guide (Identity)
Defined the "Calm & Trustworthy" aesthetic to lower user anxiety.
Design System
The System (Mechanics)
Standardized elements to ensure consistency across the app.
From Concept to Prototype
Bringing the Design to Life
With the initial design system applied to my mid-fidelity wireframes, I built the complete high-fidelity MVP prototype.
The “Cost Estimation” Evolution
This 4-step progression illustrates how the "Coverage" screen matured from a rough idea into a trustworthy financial tool.
Sketch
Defined core concept
Lo-Fidelity
Established heirachy of elements
Mid-Fidelity
Refined layout and copy
High-Fidelity
Applied brand and emphasized interaction and status
Usability Testing
To validate the high-fidelity flows, I conducted remote, moderated usability testing with 6 participants. I evaluated the design's effectiveness using three core metrics: Task Success Rate, User Error Severity, and the Single Ease Question (SEQ) .
Task Success Rates
100%
Find a Provider
92%
Check Cost & Coverage
100%
Find a Health Record
50%
Add a Health Record
The data and my observations revealed a critical failure in the 'Add Record' workflow.
Also, while the "Find a Provider" had a 100% task success rate, after Affinity Mapping, I revealed there was still notable friction in the flow.
An affinity map from the synthesis of my usability testing results
The Fixes
I prioritized these major friction points for immediate redesign based on data from my usability testing results — specifically severity and frequency.
Fixing the "Add Record" Workflow
Improving Provider Search Efficiency
Maintaining a Transparent System
Problem: Even when the app successfully calculated a cost, 67% of users hesitated because the screen lacked an explicit signal confirming the service was actually covered by their plan.
The Fix: I added a high-visibility "Covered" Badge with a green checkmark. This simple visual cue provided immediate psychological safety, confirming the user's financial status without forcing them to guess.
Clarifying Navigation
Problem: Users confused the "Profile" tab when looking for health records, assuming it only contained account settings (like passwords).
Fix: I renamed the tab to "My Health". This simple semantic change immediately clarified the navigation's purpose and matched user mental models.
Further Refinements
Polishing the Design
Peer Feedback
Hierarchy & Scannability
To simulate a collaborative team environment, I engaged in design critiques with senior designers and peers. Their feedback focused heavily on removing micro-friction and improving visual hierarchy.
- The Feedback: The product felt dense. Peers noted that without ample spacing and stronger visual separation, the cognitive load was too high for a quick-reference tool
- The Iteration: I introduced more white space using standardized spacing variables, grouped important sections into distinct "cards" with clear headings, and removed redundant iconography to drastically improve scanning.
Before
After
Accessibility Audit
Designing for Inclusion
Before locking in the final UI, I conducted a full WCAG 2.1 accessibility audit.
- The Fix: I adjusted color contrast on various UI elements—such as "Status Badges," tertiary buttons, input field borders, and utility helper text—to ensure all components passed strict AA standards for low-vision users .
Before
After
Provider Search & Booking
Key User Flows
A streamlined experience that reduces friction by automating location data and matching user mental models. Coupled with prominent "In-Network" signaling, it drives booking confidence without forcing users to leave the app.
Transparent Cost Estimation
Key User Flows
An intuitive flow for identifying covered services, combined with a financial transparency tool that visualizes insurance phase status and member responsibility—removing the guesswork from healthcare costs.
The "My Health" Records Hub
Key User Flows
A centralized repository for health history that unifies fragmented data. It leverages a guided, step-by-step process that matches the user's mental model for uploading physical documents.
