Yona Care

As part of a USC design course, I developed a mini case study and prototype centered on Yona Care, an early-stage experience design company modernizing the process of feminine care exams. I began by analyzing their initial concepts and building low-fidelity wireframes that introduced a mobile experience. From there, I expanded their ideas into a more comprehensive app prototype, creating an engaging and user-friendly flow that showcased how design could reframe and improve a traditionally uncomfortable process. The project was completed in one week.

Project Overview

My Role: UX Designer

Yona Care’s mission is to modernize outdated and often uncomfortable feminine care exams by leveraging thoughtful, human-centered design. I believed they needed a way to communicate their vision through an approachable, digital-first experience that could highlight both usability and empathy. My work helped translate their early concepts into a tangible mobile app prototype, providing them with a clearer path toward engaging users and demonstrating the potential impact of their service.

*Yona Care's official website is: yonacare.com

Case Study

Problem: Women across the United States often face discomfort, anxiety, and a lack of transparency when undergoing routine feminine care exams. The current processes are outdated and impersonal and often fail to provide a patient-centered experience. This negative experience not only affects individuals' willingness to seek regular care but also contributes to a broader issue of inequity and neglect in women's health services.

Challenge: How might we design a mobile application that enhances the feminine care exam experience by providing patients with empathetic guidance, personalized support, and improved communication throughout their healthcare journey?

Brand Identity

I began the design process by studying Yona Care’s website to better understand its pre-existing brand identity. Below is content from the website that I used as a foundation for my redesign.

Core Principles

Human: "We’re caring with a personality. Sometimes we’re sassy, but hey, this stuff riles us up."

Inclusive: "We want Yona to be accessible to anyone that relates to these experiences, regardless of gender-identity, race, age, sexual orientation, etc."

Mature: "We call a vagina, a vagina."

Straightforward: "We believe you shouldn’t need a PhD to understand what’s happening to your body or going on inside of it."

Unbiased: "We present trusted sources for accurate, transparent, and evidence-based information."

User Research

I secondly conducted a brief user research phase with my ten classmates. Through one-on-one interviews, I gathered insights into their experiences with feminine care in the United States and their impressions of Yona Care's website. After analyzing the data from these conversations, four key sentiments emerged consistently among my female-identifying classmates:

Yona Care’s concept would improve mental discomfort for many patients who desire a greater understanding of gynecology and who struggle with feeling uncomfortable during feminine care exams.
There is a lack of education within the United States surrounding pelvic exams and other feminine health matters. A lot of apprehension amongst feminine care patients could be lessened if the nature of these exams was more actively and candidly explained.
Pelvic exams are outdated and unnecessarily uncomfortable for many patients. A solution to the physical and mental discomfort that many patients experience during these exams would improve regular attendance for many patients.
Yona Care’s brand identity comes across as calming, feminine and authentic.

Informed by these interviews, I developed two personas to guide the design phase. I worked to ensure I prioritized empathetic design choices and considered a wide range of user needs by designing for extremes.

The Flows

I then designed the prototype, guided by my classmate's interviews and Yona Care's established brand identity.

Final Reflections

Improvement of Figma Technical Skills and Professional Skills

Through this project, I significantly enhanced my proficiency with Figma as a software and comprehensive design tool. It also served as a valuable design thinking exercise, equipping me for interview design challenges and time-sensitive deliverables. Additionally, I gained experience refining pre-existing designs, aiming to prioritize consistency and brand identity.

Asking Meaningful Questions Throughout The User Research Phase

Given the project's short timeline, it was crucial to ask thoughtful, strategic questions that would yield valuable insights. I focused on understanding user behaviors, needs, and motivations by framing questions about the feminine care experience in a way that encouraged diverse responses. Additionally, I sought feedback on participants’ interactions with the Yona Care web interface to identify common themes in their answers.

Through this process, I recognized the importance of avoiding leading questions that could bias responses. For example, asking, “Would you find features X and Y useful?” inadvertently primed participants to view those features as beneficial. Instead, open-ended questions such as, “What additional features would you like to see on the app that are not currently mentioned on the website’s digital experience page?” provided more meaningful and unbiased insights. These responses became instrumental in guiding design decisions throughout the project.