How can a user interface be so powerful that it is able to save human lives? In HandInScan’s case, boosting their product’s user experience with emotional design was the key to increase the efficiency of their product by lightyears.
How can a user interface be so powerful that it is able to save human lives? In HandInScan’s case, boosting its product’s user experience with emotional design was the key to increase the efficiency of its product by lightyears. And its efficiency metrics are nothing short of critical: it is measured by the drop in the number of fatal hospital infections.
HandInScan introduced its innovative health-tech solution in order to improve and measure the hand hygiene of hospital staff, thus reducing the number of deaths caused by hospital infections all over the world. To reach this goal HandInScan created its ground-breaking device, a scanner, which uses UV light detection enhanced by AI.
Theoretically, the HandInScan machine should do its job just by being installed in hospitals. But the goal of the product is to build new hand-sanitizing habits. A consistent change in daily routines can only be reached through regular usage of the device for multiple weeks. In simple words: replacing old habits with better practices takes time. The team behind HandInScan knew that to make a real impact in a hospital they need to successfully motivate doctors and nurses to keep using the machine until the right behavior is deeply ingrained.
How do you motivate the hospital staff to keep using the machine until the right hand sanitizing routine becomes a habit?
Our mission was simple: redesign the experience to facilitate continuous usage. In order to reach this, we got hands-on to reimagine the customer journey and the scanner’s user interface, turning the repetitive, obligatory, and dull hand sanitizing motions into an entertaining and educational journey. We wanted to create solid habits by providing an experience which is fun enough to come back to it every day.
A hospital is a little world in itself and to understand its inhabitants we turned to our favorite method: we went out to the field and started interviewing them. The pain points, anxieties, and motivations we uncovered provided the foundation for our design. The unique dynamics that govern everyday work and decisions in such a special environment make user research essential.
In order to motivate hospital staff to build the habit, we needed to come up with an experience that is able to:
According to psychology, a new habit needs regular practice and continuous feedback to form. To support users along this psychological journey of learning, we created a charming mascot, the Ermine (symbolising cleanliness, gracefulness and liveliness with her white fur), who playfully guides users through the interaction process and makes sure that every paw that leaves the machine is clean and sanitized. The Ermine provides clear steps and personalized feedback to hospital staff until they develop the right routine.
To keep users motivated and engage them in the regular use of the machine, we gamified the user flow. We gave them the opportunity to set up goals and collect individual hygienic points that are in sync with achieving the appropriate routine of hand-washing.
Although this new look of the product might seem like a just playful redesign, it serves an important purpose. It seamlessly connects the digital and physical worlds while being able to transform human behavior for the better. And when it comes to hospital infections, the right hygiene routine means saving lives.
We were incredibly happy to see the product succeed not only in hospital environments but in design communities too. Our service design work got recognised by the international jury of iF Design and Red Dot Design Awards as well.
