Making the invisible, visible with the first ever connected smart toothbrush and product UX
// Problem
Just within North America, 1/3 of people don't know how to brush their teeth properly. This results in more costly (and even painful) dentist visits. Whether it's because someone wasn't taught the importance of oral health care or how to properly care for their teeth, this was an alarming insight and no one other than dentists was helping people build better dental habits.
// Opportunity
With the insights drawn from understanding consumer behavior, habits, and market gap, Philips wanted to lead the charge for bringing a smarter, more intelligent brushing user experience to consumers. This is a perfect opportunity for Philips to use new tech to promote better oral health care to more people.
// Personas
The primary person for this product is centered around individuals who do an okay job taking care of their teeth but know they could be doing a much better job. These people want a product that serves as a companion that reminds them, tracks usage, and helps them build stronger habits, leading to better oral healthcare at home.
// Sonicare
I worked with Philips Oral Healthcare to go from strategy to execution for delivering the first connected toothbrush product. It was for their flagship product, the Sonicare. Philips had been working on some new sensors that allow the tech to map your mouth for time, pressure, speed, and location.
Through the brushing experience, the user can track their brushing with the app, and at the end, if they've missed some areas, the app will let the user know, and they can go back for a clean sweep to ensure they're getting the best brush possible.
// My role
My role on the project was to help drive the initial UX direction during the early discovery stages, leading the direction of the overall UX strategy and IA driving a good user experience, and supporting the lead UX designer throughout the project.
I was helping to guide things strategically but rolled up my sleeves to provide the right artifacts to articulate the direction with clients and teams, while still empowering the lead designer to drive the project and have ownership of the outcomes.
Directional Sketch UX
// Sonicare Designs
// Key outcomes
The overall product launch was successful, which led to the design of a suite of products for Philips across their ecosystem. This app was created in 2015 and is still used, and loved by customers today.