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hCare App

2021–2022
4 mins
ganesh kumar

i'm ganesh kumar. design engineer. i build with mycelium, figma, typescript, and whatever's in between since 2018 & believe the best interfaces are the ones you forget you're using... read about the work and team i'm after

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Started as an intern at India Health Link and ended up designing their hCare app from concept to production. 14-month journey that impacted 1,500+ users and generated $37k ARR.

hCare is a mobile health coaching app combining health data from connected devices with virtual care services. The challenge wasn’t building another health app. It was creating something that felt like having a personal health coach in your pocket.

the problemPermalink

Through interviews with 25 users across different demographics, a clear pattern emerged. 68% of users abandoned health apps within a week because they felt lectured rather than coached. Users wanted guidance, not judgment. The tone felt wrong.

IHL hCare and hPod Device Overview

Joined as design intern at India Health Link, transitioned to full-time designer leading the hCare app project.

Timeline: 14 months from concept to production.

Research covered users aged 22-65 with varying health conditions… diabetes management to general wellness tracking. User interviews with 25 participants, focus groups with 12 nutritionists/dieticians using double diamond methodology, mobile ethnography study with 12 participants over 2 weeks.

Key finding: tone matters more than features. Observed real usage patterns vs stated preferences. Revealed gap between clinical accuracy and user motivation. Users abandoning apps not because of missing features, but because the tone felt wrong.

Food Journal and nutrition tracking features launched successfully across the IHLCare app ecosystem.

35% jump in daily active users and session duration 20% uplift in premium subscription conversions 4.7/5 rating from users for intuitive experience $37k ARR generated across 15+ IHL client implementations

Real win: the 68% abandonment rate we discovered dropped to just 12% for hCare users in their first week.

“Finally, a health app that doesn’t make me feel bad about myself. The suggestions actually make sense for my life.” – Pooja, diabetes management

onboarding that welcomes Instead of aggressive data collection upfront, designed an experience that felt like a conversation with a health coach. Users could customize interests and set realistic goals without feeling judged.

food logging rethought Traditional food logging feels like homework. Translated research insights into intuitive interface with suggestion cards based on expert recommendations and personal goals. Shifted focus from calorie counting to understanding.

health scores made human IHL’s algorithm calculated health scores from aggregated data. Instead of just showing numbers, designed cards that displayed scores alongside contextual information and actionable next steps. Explained what 73 vs 81 actually meant for their day.

insights in plain language Created visual insights with personalized feedback explaining what data meant for their health journey. Instead of showing raw metrics, told them what it meant for their actual day.

Built hCare using Flutter for single codebase across iOS and Android while achieving native performance. Backend integrated with IHL’s existing health data infrastructure and connected device ecosystem.

Stack: Flutter with custom UI components and animations. Node.js with Express, PostgreSQL database. Apple HealthKit, Google Fit, Fitbit SDK integrations. Autobahn connections for device data. SQLite with sync conflict resolution.

Key challenges: Real-time syncing with wearable devices across different manufacturers. Offline-first architecture for users with limited connectivity. HIPAA compliance for health data handling. Scalable notification system for coaching reminders without being annoying. Cross-platform animations feeling native on both iOS and Android.

Biggest hurdle was offline-first approach… users needed health data available without internet, but syncing conflicts were tricky to resolve without losing data.

the solution in actionPermalink

Personalized onboarding flow
most health apps hit you with medical forms right away... people were bouncing immediately, felt judged before getting started. this version lets users pick interests and set goals that feel doable
Food journal with suggestion cards
food logging is no more homework... suggestion cards offer gentle nudges from nutritionists instead of demanding perfect calorie counts
Activity tracking with contextualized scores
what does 73 vs 81 even mean? first designs just showed numbers. users didn’t get it. instead of showing ’73’, this explains ’your sleep patterns are off... try a consistent bedtime this week’
Insights with plain language explanations
making health data feel helpful instead of overwhelming... instead of showing a glucose curve, this tells you ’your energy crashes at 3pm... try eating lunch earlier’
Illustration system for hCare
health apps usually look clinical and boring... these little animations celebrate small wins and make tracking feel more like self-care than being poked by a doctor
Feedback interface with emoji reactions
getting feedback usually means long forms nobody wants to fill... this playful approach with emojis feels more like texting a friend than doing homework

Note: Some details modified to comply with confidentiality agreements while preserving core design and technical insights.

Topics:

designmobilehealthengineering