The project itself :
Project Overview
Aether is a speculative synthetic nervous system designed to restore proprioception and kinesthesia for individuals recovering from neurological injuries like strokes or traumatic brain injuries. Inspired by my perspective as a veteran and my mother’s rehabilitation journey, the system integrates wearable hardware with dual-mode software to repair the body’s internal feedback loops. The goal is to restore physical autonomy and sensory grounding by bridging the communication gap between the mind and the body.
Problem:
Neurological injuries like strokes and TBIs cause a loss of proprioception and kinesthesia, stripping individuals of their physical autonomy. This creates a profound disconnect between the mind and body, leading to a loss of independence.
Goal:
Create a speculative synthetic nervous system to bridge the cognitive-physical gap, effectively "re-wiring" internal feedback loops and restoring both sensory grounding and physical independence.
My role:
Co-Lead UX Designer
Responsibilities:
Leading speculative user research
Developing empathy-driven user personas from personal/veteran experience
Designing dual software modes (Lumen/Obsidian)
Defining hardware-software interaction logic
All about the user :
User Research
I conducted qualitative interviews with stroke survivors, veterans with combat-related neurological injuries, and specialized medical caregivers to map the psychological and physical impact of losing proprioception. These conversations revealed that the primary barrier to recovery isn't just physical—it is a profound "disconnect" in sensory feedback loops that strips away a user’s sense of autonomy and environmental grounding.
Pain Points
Loss of autonomy:
Users feel physically "untethered," making simple tasks like standing or reaching feel mentally exhausting because the mind no longer trusts the body’s position.
Delayed feedback:
Traditional rehabilitation relies heavily on external visual cues, which fails to repair the internal, real-time "felt" communication needed for neuroplasticity.
Sensory anxiety:
Without a reliable sense of kinesthesia, users experience significant stress and vertigo in open spaces, leading to a restricted lifestyle and emotional withdrawal.
User Personas
Personas were created by conducting user research and identifying common pain points that frustrate and block the user from getting what they need from a product.
User Journey Map
It is the series of experiences Carlos has as he achieve a specific goal. It was built on the his experience.
I developed a user journey map of Alexandr's experience with the app to identify potential pain points and areas for improvement.
Goal
To resolve customer issues quickly and effectively in an app in a fast and clear way.
The project schematically :
Starting the Design
Here I built some schemes and storyboards to clarify and understand information and architecture of the app. After I created paper wireframes and than proceeded with building digital wireframes with a low-fidelity prototype in order to conduct first usability studies with stakeholders.
Appmap
It's a structured scheme that outlines the pages and content hierarchy of the app.
Next step: creating the application map. My goal here was to make strategic information architecture decisions that would improve overall app navigation. The structure I chose was designed to make things simple and easy.
Here, I sketched the key pages of the Suplan app, including the inbox, tickets, customer profile, and others. The goal was to explore different ideas with wireframes.
Digital Wireframes
More "clear" version of wireframes in a digital form. Also all the important pages are added
in it.
At this stage, I utilized the Figma design tool to create digital wireframes for all the pages, then organized them into a clear and cohesive structure.
The goal is to show how all the pages and things interact with each other.
Usability Studies
This is an examination of users and their needs, which adds realistic context to the design process.
First I conducted unmoderated usability studies with several participants, who answered various questions about the app and provided their observations while interacting with the initial low-fidelity prototype. After collecting the data, I analyzed it and synthesized the findings. Ultimately, I identified key themes and generated several insights. The goal was to identify pain points that the user experiences with the app designs so the issues can be fixed before the final product launches.
Pin important letters:
Team member has to be able to pin the most important emails in the inbox.
Highlight unread emails:
Unread emails should be underlined so that you can quickly pay attention to them and start solving the problem.
Highlight solved issues:
It's important to hide or highlight solved problems, to pay attention to the unsolved ones.
The clear version :
Refining Design
Here I created a static, high-fidelity Suplan app design (keeping in mind all the conclusions from the previous phase of usability studies) that is a clear representation of a final product called design mockups.
After that, I created a high-fidelity prototype of the app.
Mockups
These are a high fidelity design that represents a final product
I created all the app pages mockups, incorporating the right design elements such as typography, color, and iconography. Also I developed all the necessary components and needed elements.
The goal was to demonstrate the final Suplan app in as much detail as possible.
High-fidelity prototype
It's the detailed, interactive version of designs that closely match the look and feel of the final product.
I turned my mockups into a prototype that's ready for testing, using gestures and motion, which can help enrich the user experience and increase the usability of the app.
Inbox, pinned messages, inbox menu
Message and creating a ticket
Tickets list, tickets menu
Separate ticket page with tabs
Clients, clients menu
Client page with tabs
Dashboard with graphs
Chats and chat page
The project schematically :
Outcome
Now, finally, it remained to pay attention to several takeaways and plan some further steps.
Takeways
The series of hand-drawing frames that visually describe and explore a user's experience with a product.
Impact:
Service team members and managers have found the Suplan app design to be intuitive and user-friendly, allowing them to read their inbox, select messages related to issues, create tickets, track updates, and collaborate with their teammates easily.
What I learned:
The key lesson I learned is that even minor changes can significantly impact the user experience. My biggest takeaway is to always prioritize the genuine needs of the user.
Next Steps
The series of hand-drawing frames that visually describe and explore a user's experience with a product.
Identify any additional areas of need and ideate on new features.
Identify any additional areas of need and ideate on new features.