Project Overview
During the Summer 2025 Capstone project at Langara College, our team was on a mission to address a critical gap in physical therapy: the lack of real-time postural correction during home-based rehabilitation.
Working closely with three developers and five UI/UX designers, I was responsible for designing and proposing the core user experience (UX) on Figma. Our goal was to bridge the gap between clinical advice and autonomous recovery at home. This design system was built upon the visual assets we created, feedback from user tests, and scientific validation from medical experts.
- ▪ Challenge: To establish a highly optimized mobile design system capable of balancing complex machine learning (ML) feedback with ease of use for users of all ages.
- ▪ Constraints: To integrate camera tracking interfaces, progress tracking, and professional clinic locators within a seamless, fluid mobile architecture without relying on existing templates and avoiding cognitive overload.
- ▪ Role: UI/UX Design, User Research, Information Architecture (Collaborative Capstone Project)
UX Paradigm Shift
Shifting away from typical fitness apps that prioritize superficial aesthetics—often featuring energetic and complex visuals to stimulate intense workouts—we pivoted our design philosophy toward a "Rehab-First Design" approach. This philosophy prioritizes safety during physical recovery, provides absolute clarity for injured users, and removes both physical and cognitive barriers.
Designing for safe physical healing without disrupting the user with complex data
Prioritize physical recovery safety over superficial fitness aesthetics.
- Static video tutorials offering no real-time safety correction or posture feedback.
- Overly complex workout matrices causing mental friction and physical hesitation.
- Disorganized tracking menus that ignore injury-specific pain zones.
- Information architecture rigorously aligned with physical rehabilitation indicators.
- Clean, large-scale typography (Mulish) paired with soothing, intentional white space.
- Frictionless postural feedback interfaces, enabling safe movement at home.
Problem Definition & Research
We defined the true need of patients in recovery not as a simple "exercise checklist," but as the need for precise, real-time assurance that they are performing movements correctly to recover with confidence.
Patients
Perform prescribed recovery routines safely and confidently at home using real-time form feedback.
Physiotherapists
Prescribe clinical home exercise programs and track performance metrics via visual data.
Family & Caregivers
Remotely monitor and ensure their loved ones are staying on track and exercising safely.
Through virtual and in-person interviews, we identified three primary target groups: active younger users focused on recovery (like Pavan), older home-based users needing simplified guidance (like Alexa), and healthcare professionals prescribing home programs. My goal was to visually translate the "precision" and "safety" required for home therapy, converting rigorous medical directives into intuitive visual and audio signals.
Core Design Solutions (Experience Design Focus)
1. Real-Time AI Pose Estimation
Design Focus:
To prevent re-injury at home, we designed a live camera tracking screen using a lightweight pose estimation model running directly on-device. The design strictly focuses on "glanceability": it provides real-time visual alignment guidelines, bold repetition counters, and instant voice instructions (e.g., "Posture correct" or "Adjust the angle") to safely guide the user without forcing them to squint at numerical values.
🔊 "Please adjust your left elbow angle slightly."
2. Targeted Body Zone Categories
Design Focus:
Users suffering from localized pain (like shoulder stiffness or knee aches) are quickly overwhelmed by generic, dense fitness catalogs. To address this, we structured the main dashboard around large, easily identifiable buttons representing body zones (Shoulder, Knee, Back, Neck). This ensures that an injured user can launch their targeted therapy session in just 2 clicks from the home screen.
Select your pain zone:
3. Dual-Tab Progress Management
Design Focus:
We structured the "My Programs" interface around a strict two-tab architecture: "Active Plan" and "Saved Videos." This clean separation prevents the user from confusing general wellness stretches with their mandatory physical therapy plan prescribed by a therapist. Furthermore, progress is materialized by minimalist indicators (e.g., "1/2 session completed") to motivate the user without generating stress or pressure.
4. Interactive Clinic Locator Map
Design Focus:
When self-rehab is no longer enough, the transition to professional clinical care must be seamless. We integrated a dedicated directory of nearby therapists, featuring an interactive map, a distance filter (up to 20 km), visual rating badges, and an instant call button. This interface smoothly links digital self-help with physical medical support.
FlexiCare Physiotherapy Clinic
★★★★★ (4.6) | 2.1 km
5. 24/7 AI Chat and Smart Onboarding
Design Focus:
To eliminate the anxiety of starting physical therapy alone, we designed a reassuring onboarding journey that allows users to record daily pain levels and receive immediate personalized advice. Additionally, a floating Gemini AI chat assistant is accessible 24/7, providing users with instant, reliable answers to minor health questions at any time of day or night.
6. "Kyntra Support" Subscription for Family
Design Focus:
Loved ones often worry about elderly patients (like Alexa) performing their rehabilitation exercises at home unsupervised. We structured a premium subscription model called "Kyntra Support" at $15/month. It allows a designated observer (family or caregiver) to remotely track daily progress and receive automatic alerts if a session is missed, transforming a lonely rehab process into a kind, shared family effort.
✓ Real-time sharing with support members (family)
When the patient successfully completes their daily posture-tracking training, a completion status is automatically sent to the registered family member's device.
Key Principles for Future Projects
Reflecting on this project, I commit to rigorously applying the following principles to my future design challenges:
- ▪ Ensure early validation with medical or domain experts to guarantee the safety and reliability of the user experience.
- ▪ Design with deep empathy for physical limitations, maintaining highly accessible layouts for elderly or mobility-impaired audiences (readability, contrast, simplicity).
- ▪ Maintain close technical collaboration with developers to ensure on-device AI components integrate seamlessly from Figma mockups to production code.