Autism Portal: connecting patients, families, educators, researchers and healthcare practitioners
I worked with a small group of patients, software engineers, and genome scientists at a Toronto-based startup to design a community portal for Autism Speaks. The portal gives patients and their families better access to three things:
- Information: tailored delivery of the latest research and resources
- Each other: connections based on shared symptoms, genetics, experiences, and geography
- Research: the ability to contribute to active studies
My role: design early prototypes based on initial discussions with community stakeholders.
Initial research
In conversations with patients and families, we heard the same themes: people wanted better access to research, stronger connections with others in similar situations, and a way to participate in studies. We identified the most common needs and mapped them against portal features.
We grouped the most valuable tasks by function: connecting external health apps, matching families with relevant studies, and surfacing personalized content.
Wireframing and prototyping
A dashboard for personal information, notifications, and privacy settings.
A longitudinal notebook for lifestyle, symptoms, medications, and data streamed from connected apps.
A genetics section matching patients with tools, resources, and research based on their DNA records.
Research study matching for patients and families.
Look and feel
Playful illustrations to bring warmth to the interface.
A friendly line-icon set for core concepts in the app.