Lighthouse - Diabetes Support
Student Team Project
Year
2023
Duration
10 weeks
Overview
A diabetes travel support concept designed to make dining, insulin management, and medication routines easier on the go.
My Roles
UX Designer: I established our design system and worked with our visual design lead to balance between data-driven functionality and visual craft.
Design Outcomes
83%
Average user satisfaction with Lighthouse experience
36%
willing to download our app after completing our usability test.
8 Awards
From Indigo Design Awards (Including Gold in UX, Interface & Navigation) and European Product Design Award
📍 Context
Why is travel challenging for diabetes?
Diabetes management is continuous, but travel can make it unpredictable. We explored where support could fit more naturally into the travel experience.
Project Goal:
Create a carefree support for diabetes during travel
🔍 Research
What does diabetes management require?
Even a simple meal involves multiple decisions around food, glucose, medication, and insulin.
Before Meal:
Find Restaurant
→ Check glucose
→ Take insulin (injection/medication)
After Meal:
Monitor glucose afterward
→ Take prescribed medication / insulin if needed
Through the routine, medication management stood out:
The complex and strict medication requirements can make diabetes feel more anxious.
Emergency Kit
+
Extra Insulin · Pad & Pen; Rubbing Alcohol · Covering Cloth · Needle · Cooling pack; Continuous Glucose Monitor; Backup blood glucose meter · Test strip; Fast-acting Sugar · Snack
Learning from lived experiences
We interviewed people living with diabetes to understand how daily routines change when they travel.
🎯 Problem Reframing
What we first thought
Travel makes it harder for people with diabetes to stay on top of medication.
What we learned
The challenge wasn’t simply about medication. Travel made everyday diabetes management harder to coordinate across food, timing, privacy, and unfamiliar places.
The research findings indicate that:
01
Dining requires more planning
Finding suitable food is harder when nutritional info is unclear.
02
Injection depends on place
Users may know when to inject, but still struggle to find a safe, private space.
03
Routines become easier to miss
Travel disrupts familiar cues around medication and glucose management.
So we reframed the problem:
How might we connect the support travelers with diabetes need across food, insulin, and injection place, so that managing diabetes feels less fragmented on the go?
💡 Product Strategy
1. Fit-into existing travel behavior
Instead of building another app, we integrated diabetes support into a google map experience people already use to search, plan and navigate.
2. Support the pre-meal journey
From finding a diabetes-friendly restaurant to adding a Lighthouse stop, we make sure users can inject and prepare before their meal.
Find a DF Restaurant
Search diabetes-friendly restaurants on the map.
Add a Lighthouse Stop
Find a nearby Lighthouse and add it as a stop
Continue to Restaurant
Inject, then continue to your destination
3. Extend support after the meal
Timely reminders help users check glucose after meals for continuing support beyond navigation and into ongoing diabetes manegement.
✅ Final Solution
My Design Contribution
As a team, I have designed UI and UX of all app interface based on current Google map design system, while showing a professional and warm look and feel.
1. Medication Schedule Set Up
Lighthouse onboarding personalizes insulin reminders and navigation based on each user’s medication routine and daily habits.
2. Diabetic Friendly Restaurant & Lighthouse Navigation
Before meals, Lighthouse guides users to diabetes-friendly restaurants and nearby injection spaces, with timely reminders to support confident decision-making.
3. Blood Glucose Test Reminders & Timer
After meals, Lighthouse provides gentle blood glucose test reminders, helping users stay on track even while traveling.
✨ Reflection
The direction of the design is not achieved in one step.
We started with one single direction of design solution, but each round of research revealed a broader set of needs. Iteration helped us connect those needs into a more complete travel support experience.