Overview

It all starts from a simple design, a perfect smile. Patients with the best intentions often discontinue retainer use within months of having their braces. And more than 50% of patients experience some amount of relapse within 10 years after treatment.

Problem

AlignGuard addresses the common issue of people forgetting or lacking the motivation to wear their retainers consistently. This neglect can lead to teeth relapse, undoing months or even years of orthodontic work.

I aimed to solve "How Might We make users to prioritize retainer usage over other activities within their daily routine?"

Context:

User Research

I conducted an in-depth user research beginning with three orthodontist interviews to pinpoint the core issues.

Following this, insights from 30 retainer users helped classify them based on their motivation and reinforcement needs.

“I get too lazy to wear them, I just ignore it sometimes and don’t wear it, which started off from few days, to months and years.”

“When I moved the environment I was living in and started living alone, there wasn’t anyone to tell me to wear it.”

Understanding:

Target Users

I’ve chosen to focus on users with low motivation and low enforcement when it comes to their retainer usage. These are individuals who, despite knowing the importance of wearing their retainer, often struggle to build consistent habits. They may feel overwhelmed by their daily routines, forget to wear their retainer regularly, or lack the necessary motivation to follow through.

Visualizing User Journey

I used experience mapping techniques to create a visual journey of persona, covering all the different interactions during the move and map out the emotions the persona went through. This made it clear where our users were running into issues and help me pinpoint the common pain points that users faced.

User Empathy

After I had a better understanding of my users and their needs, I designated personas types to guide design decision. Our persona hypothesis consisted of 2 archetypes which I made sure I keep checking in them at every milestone. I also identified two use case scenarios that strongly resonate with my personas.

The vision:

Design Goal

Create an engaging yet simple interface, using behavioral psychology to motivate users subtly.
My focus was on making the app's reminders and rewards feel personal and useful, achieved through extensive user testing and iteration.

Wireframing

Below shows the initial concept of the user experience during the onboarding process and main features user will interact with on AlignGuard:

Onboarding

Landing Page

Make Appointment

View Progress

Introducing AlignGuard

AlignGuard is more than just an app—it's like your personal assistant, making daily reminders effortless, celebrating your progress, and sharing the satisfaction of success. So, don’t settle for less; make the right choice.

Product feature:

Bluetooth-enabled products

Sensor

The sensor integrates a weight scale and an alarm, designed to be attached to the user's retainer case.

Toothbrush holder

The toothbrush holder features a motion sensor that triggers an alarm on the retainer case, based on a pre-set time in the AlignGuard app after the toothbrush is removed.
To turn off the alarm, users must manually interact with the retainer case, encouraging them to wear their retainer.

Application feature 1:

View and Track Progress

Users can track their progress with weekly streaks and annual summaries. Yellow gap bars indicate days the retainer wasn't worn.

Rewards like points and badges accumulate for consistent use, redeemable for oral care products or gift cards.

Application feature 2:

Visualization of current status

If the user stops wearing their retainer for several weeks, leading to relapse, they'll receive a notification showing their teeth's relapse.

They can use a scale bar to visualize further relapse if they continue not wearing the retainer, motivating retainer use.

Application feature 3:

Book appointments in a single queue

If there’s a problem with their retainer, they'll get a message from their dentist via the app, allowing for easy communication and appointment scheduling if needed.

Application feature 4:

Prediction of future expenses

If the user neglects to wear their retainer, a notification will pop up on their phone.

The Future Expenses feature details past expenditures and estimates future costs if the retainer is not worn for another week.

Testing the design

Here are the data and insights gathered from user feedback:

100% of test user thinks the sign-up process as easy and simple, giving it a rating of ease of use 4.7 out of 5.
When it comes to posting an item, users find the task particularly easy, earning it a rating of 4.6 out of 5.
100% of test users provided a rating of 9 out of 10 of usability of the app.

Improving Readability:

Spending Summary

The Spending Summary has been enhanced for better readability and user experience. The consistent color scheme and gradient arc for total spending provide a clear visual representation of expenditures. Arrow buttons next to each item allow users to access detailed information easily.

Additional improvements include:

Clear Labeling: Color-coded buttons for each category (braces, dentist checkup, retainer) make it easy to identify spending areas.
Consistent Icons: The use of icons and arrow buttons aids intuitive navigation.
Efficient Layout: A more organized layout reduces clutter and improves overall clarity.

Tracking Progress:

Improving User Understanding and Navigation

During testing, we discovered that 80% of users misinterpreted the interactive elements on the habit tracking section, and 40% struggled to find further navigation options. To resolve these issues, we implemented the following changes:

Revised the layout to enhance visual clarity and make navigation more intuitive.
Added clear navigation options for easier progression through the app.
Introduced stronger visual indicators to highlight interactive elements.

To be continued

If I were to advance the AlignGuard project to the next phase, here are the key areas I would like to explore:

Expanding features to include integration with smart devices for automated reminders based on user activity.
Developing partnerships with orthodontic clinics to offer personalized treatment recommendations and follow-ups.
Implementing advanced analytics to track user behavior and refine the motivation strategies based on real-time data.
Exploring gamification elements further to enhance user engagement and retention, making the process of wearing retainers more enjoyable.

Key takeaways

This project was a valuable experience in understanding how to apply behavioral psychology to design. Initially, my goal was to create a groundbreaking solution for retainer usage, but I learned that simplicity and subtle motivation can be just as effective.
AlignGuard’s success lies in enhancing user experience through intuitive design and relatable incentives, proving that sometimes the best innovations are those that fit seamlessly into daily life. Prioritizing user needs and behavior ultimately leads to more effective and lasting design solutions.

AlignGuard

To the power of smile, born from commitment.

Tasks

Timeline