Designers
Yishuai Zheng, Chang Li
Year
2026
Category
New Talent
Country
United States
School
University of Washington
Three questions to the project team
What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
From a UX point of view, the main challenge of CareLink+ was designing for multiple users with very different needs. Patients, caregivers, and doctors all interact with the system in different ways. Patients need the experience to be simple and low effort, especially for daily medication use. Caregivers want reassurance without constant alerts. Doctors need clear and reliable information that fits into their workflow. Another challenge was building trust. Users needed to clearly understand what the system tracks and how their data is used, without feeling monitored or overwhelmed.
What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
Our personal highlight was realizing that CareLink+ should focus on reassurance rather than reminders. During our research, caregivers consistently expressed that they wanted peace of mind more than frequent notifications. That insight shifted our design direction. We moved away from constant alerts and toward clearer status indicators and meaningful context.
The low point was navigating healthcare constraints such as privacy, data accuracy, and responsibility. It was challenging to simplify the experience while still respecting medical complexity. However, that tension ultimately led us to make more thoughtful and responsible design decisions.
Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In the next five years, we see CareLink+ growing into a broader care support platform. It could integrate with electronic health records and other remote monitoring tools. The core idea can also expand to support different chronic conditions and daily care routines.
Personally, I see myself continuing to work in healthcare and UX. I want to design technology that feels responsible, trustworthy, and human. This project strengthened my interest in building products that support both clinical needs and everyday life.
