Reducing Medical Anxiety with Information Architecture and Visuals

 

TYPE

B2C Healthcare - Pharmaceutical

ROLE

Sr. UX Strategist

TIMELINE

4 months

 
 

Problem

Verrica Pharmaceuticals introduced the first FDA-approved treatment for a contagious skin condition commonly found in children, molluscum contagiosum. There is low awareness of the condition and many take a ‘wait-and-see’ treatment approach. About Molluscum was created to be an educational resource for those dealing with the disease.

Solution

To make sure that visitors of About Molluscum are able to find information easily, I updated the information architecture and aligned the content to what users were looking for. Readability, consistency, and delight were key as I created a design system that conveyed medical information to parents and children, without creating anxiety or fear.

 
 

The existing site had a difficult font, did not include a logo or wayfinding signal in the navigation, was not mobile-friendly, and the labels in the navigation made it difficult to find content or discover helpful resources.

The redesigned site included a new information architecture to allow for a robust content strategy and additional pages in the future, clean and reassuring graphics that provided trust in the information, with playful colors and shapes to reduce medical anxiety and children’s fears while dealing with the disease.

 

Audience

Primary: Parents & caregivers of children suffering from molluscum.

Secondary: Children and teens that have the virus.

Stakeholders: Pediatric & Dermatological health professionals who diagnose and treat molluscum.

 

I conducted in-depth interviews and usability sessions over Zoom and used Dupixent to gather insights on a mature website to guide strategy for About Molluscum.

I used a rainbow sheet, among other tools, to internally analyze qualitative results before creating an insight readout. The readout included video clips, quotes, and themes from the sessions, as well as tactical recommendations to ensure that Verrica stakeholders were aligned with my approach.

Through user research, I determined that the unknown was scary for parents, and they didn’t know how to talk about molluscum.

I started discovery by conducting user research to better understand what questions and friction users encountered.

Reddit conversations: I utilized a scraper to pull relevant conversations from social media, specifically Reddit. These were then analyzed to determine frequent questions and concerns that users were looking to answer. Parents were concerned about social interactions due to fears of physical contact and stigma. Additional communities uncovered that there was a tertiary audience of adults that contracted Molluscum, often as an STD. The determination was made to focus on children on About Molluscum and incorporate adult-centered pages in the future.

In-depth interviews: I recruited and conducted 12 in-depth interviews with parents and pediatric doctors. These emphasized the need for reliable resources that reassure caregivers and provide help for daily routines.

Documents I created during the process:

  • Recruiting guide

  • Screener survey

  • Interview guide

  • Interview analysis with a rainbow sheet and clipping video themes to present to Verrica stakeholders

Usability testing: All 12 participants were also taken to a competitor's website to analyze resources they found useful. Because the current state of Verrica and About Molluscum’s websites was in MVP stages, I recommended we use a competitor placeholder to gather more insights into the final functionality and usefulness of resources. This could then be used as a roadmap and strategy for determining the future of About Molluscum. Key insights uncovered were that users struggle to read and access the information, expecting mobile-first details around the virus lifecycle and image-driven examples of the condition.

A brand analysis revealed chaotic and inconsistent elements.

Visual Chaos: The existing brand assets were cluttered and inconsistent, leading to confusion and diminishing trust. Various styles lacked cohesion, making it difficult for users to engage with the content effectively.

Brands like Notion, Nemours, and BrainPOP helped provide initial direction to UI design, and ensure that Verrica stakeholders could envision the About Molluscum brand.

Identifying Visual Language

To establish a compelling visual identity, I pulled inspiration from healthcare and educational brands. This helped pinpoint elements that resonated well with users while maintaining a sense of professionalism. After defining the visual direction and elements that would become the cornerstone of the new website, I worked with a UI designer to apply the styles in a unique way to create the new About Molluscum brand.

The results balanced fun and trust, without making light of the medical concerns of parents and caregivers.

  • Color Palette: Vibrant color scheme to evoke positivity with guidelines to ensure adequate white space, providing rest and trust.

  • Typography: Selected friendly, rounded typefaces paired with a clean serif font to ensure readability and accessibility.

  • Iconography and Imagery: Developed playful icons and image masks that were scalable and approachable, while still representing the medical nature of the content.

Visual elements were carefully curated and organized into a brand style guide to ensure uniformity across all platforms and materials. Each element, such as logo variations, color palettes, typography, and imagery guidelines, was defined with specific parameters to maintain a cohesive brand identity. This strategic placement allows designers and marketers to easily reference guidelines, fostering consistent application in various contexts, whether in print or digital formats. Additionally, clear examples of do's and don'ts further reinforce correct usage, minimizing the risk of deviation from the established brand aesthetic.

Marketers took these visual elements and applied them to flyers for physician offices and clinics, to further spread awareness of molluscum contagiousum.

Documentation created:

  • Component Library: Reusable elements to maintain visual alignment, reducing inconsistencies and improving scalability.

  • Flexible Templates: Adaptable templates for common layouts, allowing quick customization for new SEO-driven content while preserving brand consistency and visual hierarchy.

  • Technical Specifications: Detailed documentation for developers included usage guidelines and interaction specs to facilitate smooth handoff and team alignment.

Examples from the design library built in Figma. This was built off of the custom brand agnostic design library that I created as a starting point for all client libraries.

The information architecture needed to answer parents’ main question: “What do I need to know about molluscum?”

Mapping out the new content structure for the global navigation.

I next tackled the information architecture to make sure the navigational elements were intuitive.
Key resources surfaced based on frequency of use and everyday language, making it easier for caregivers to find relevant content quickly.

Due to time and budget constraints, there was no chance to do thorough card sorting and tree testing of the navigation. To compensate, and still utilize UX research insights, categories were validated through AI card sorts. Large language models are built to reflect natural language and trained on how users think and write about topics like this, and can be used as a fast way to get initial, albeit broad, insights.

Grouping resources by topics like "About the Virus," "Daily Life," and "Emotional Support" directly addressed pain points identified in user research and created consistency for future content to scale.

Bringing it Together

Through a comprehensive user needs analysis, I established a solid information architecture that effectively organized content for optimal navigation. This framework was essential in aligning brand elements with user expectations, ensuring a cohesive brand identity throughout the website. Additionally, I integrated an SEO-driven roadmap from subject-matter experts that helped identify key terms and trends relevant to our audience, further guiding the design process. These components culminated in developing user-friendly templates and designs for the new website, ultimately enhancing user experience and discoverability.

Planning for the Future

Expanding on About Molluscum's mission, a promising future opportunity is to create a virus-tracking tool designed for older children and teens to manage their skin conditions. This tool would allow them to log symptoms, monitor flare-ups, and visualize patterns in their condition over time.

Example User-driven Features:

  • Personalized Tracking

  • Progress Visualization

  • Routine Builder

  • Caregiver Involvement