Kelly Song | Design

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Health Tech

Consumer / Patient Experience

Responsive IOS App

Making health data tracking more accessible through software + hardware solutions.

This project is still under full NDA restrictions. Below is a high-level reflection on my role at Apple.

Role

Visual / Interaction Designer

Core Team

Hardware Engineers (3), Healthcare Advisors (1), Producers (2), Designers (2)

Area of Impact

Interaction Design, Prototyping, UX

Duration

3.5 Months

Background

I was one of two designers selected for an internship with the Apple Health organization in the summer of 2022. During my time on the Special Projects Team, I had the privilege of crafting a fully prototyped end-to-end experience, which was presented to Sumbul Ahmad Desai (VP of Apple Health) and other key members of Apple Health leadership for review.

While my fellow design intern specialized in UX, I focused on visual and interaction design for the project. However, our roles often overlapped, allowing us both to contribute to product discovery, research, wire-framing in Sketch, prototyping in Keynote, and interaction / motion design in Principle, among other tasks.

Core Memory: Coffee walks around Apple Park with my teammates!

A typical week in this role involved:

Collaborative sessions with key stakeholders and advisors for research and analysis
Design reviews and critiques with the broader Special Projects design team (including producers)
Brainstorming and white-boarding sessions with the core project team
Hands-on prototype testing with the hardware team as well as accessibility rubric workshopping
Heads down work to grind out individual tasks
…. so much more!

A typical week in this role involved:

Collaborative sessions with key stakeholders and advisors for research and analysis
Design reviews and critiques with the broader Special Projects design team (including producers)
Brainstorming and white-boarding sessions with the core project team
Hands-on prototype testing with the hardware team as well as accessibility rubric workshopping
Heads down work to grind out individual tasks
…. so much more!

A Project Led by Inclusivity & Accessibility

While I can't disclose specific project details, I’m proud of both my personal dedication and the team's efforts to advocating for the most accessible solution possible. Rather than simply designing a "slick" and Apple-like solution using existing technology, we aimed to push the boundaries further – ensuring the experience was easier to use for everyone, including individuals with disabilities, mobility challenges, vision impairments, and more.

Project one-liner 🤫

Key guiding design principles for this project

Collaborating with the hardware team to create more fluid interactions for the software experience.

With so many moving parts in the project, it was crucial for me to stay involved in every aspect – including the hardware experience – to ensure the software I was designing aligned seamlessly. Engaging with the hardware prototypes firsthand also provided valuable inspiration for guided motion design, allowing me to better understand the user experience from a hands-on perspective.

Rubric to measure accessibility & usability of the guided experience.

Final hardware prototypes - I demonstrated how to use the hardware live to Apple Health leadership alongside the software experience I designed.

Having a voice in shaping the hardware vision was such an exciting experience! The hardware engineers trusted our usability assessments and encouraged us to advocate for improvements, ensuring that key areas were enhanced to create a more cohesive and intuitive software experience.

Zooming in on visual & interaction / motion design for a guided user experience.

My main responsibility on the project was designing a key flow within the overall experience, which involved complex interaction design considerations and requirements. Compared to other aspects of the project, including the one my design partner worked on, my focus demanded a deeper emphasis on interaction patterns and guided processes.

Part 1 of experience 🔒

Part 2 of experience 🔒

Part 3 of experience 🔒

Part 4 of experience 🔒

Photo I took inside Steve Job's Theatre after a fireside chat with Tim Cook.

Key Learnings

Brand consistency & working with established design systems

Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines are so powerful. Whenever someone said, "It doesn't feel very Apple," everyone instantly understood. The HIG was the ultimate source of truth for everything – from styles to copy language patterns, and I studied it thoroughly before making new assets or working on UI.

Confidence to speak up on my thoughts

Imposter syndrome can get the best of me at times, but finding the courage to speak up in a room full of some of the most talented designer helped me realize that we all share the same goal for the user. At its core, design is about open collaboration, where no idea is too small or unworthy of exploration.

The impact of motion to help a user understand better

Incorporating movement into static designs adds a dynamic layer to digital interfaces, offering better guidance and feedback to users. It enhances storytelling and immersion in otherwise simple experiences.

A huge thank you to my manager, all of my mentors, fellow interns, collaborators, and more for trusting me to lead this part of the project and helping me grow as a designer in just a few months. 💓

Thanks for stopping by! For more detailed info on my experience at this role, contact me :)

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