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Revian Red - Light-based Hairgrowth Device
Vision Sketch
At the very beginning of the project for the cap, I had a whiteboard vision for a minimalistic, lightweight, air-chambered headwear with a flexible LED light source. The battery and electronics were minimized and it interfaced with a digital app to guide you through the treatments and keep the cap firmware updated.
While we didn't quite reach all the goals, I believe the product ultimately made has a wider appeal.
This project was a mix of direct design work and managing of supplementary resources. I am a hands-on manager and love to get into the details if needed. As a small startup, we had few resources and I needed to not only manage the process but learn to sew, research new materials, and put together manufacturing processes in a new way to complete this design. Combining that with all the in-depth work on the digital app, product branding, packaging, website, sourcing of suppliers, and production assistance made this a fantastic project. You do what it takes to get it done and wearing many hats is one of the things I loved best about it.
ID Concepts and User Research
One of the resources I managed and worked directly with for this project was a local ID firm. They took our product specifications and my vision ideas to help come up with visual concepts. Those concepts were used to poll focus groups in three different US cities to help narrow down what type of potential headwear customers would purchase. I was fortunate enough to go to those focus groups and watch behind glass as they discussed their struggles with alopecia. It was that direct patient experience data that helped make the difference with this design. As a result, I met with the ID firm team weekly and spent time at their shop helping prototype our ideas. The starred concept ended up being the focus group's favorite and helped us eventually work toward the photograph of an early formed fabric/foam cap.
Concept Cutaways
Early tightening concepts to help fit the <5% female to 95% male head diameter sizes. The research was conducted with local populations of useability participants and through global head size anthropometric data.
First Cutaway Assembly Sketch
The larger cutaway details out LED locations, lens, electronics, and padding needed. This sketch helped bring all the mechanical elements together for the first time.
Sewn Prototypes
The cap went through dozens of iterations along the way as I determined the right balance between fabric, foam, flexible electronics, and comfort. When we started, the cap had more of a hard skeletal frame with fabric covering. It progressed to a laminated various fabric and foam combination with strategic cuts for expandability.
Eventually, we found the right mixture of laminated polyethylene foam, stretch fabric, and panels around the ears. You can also see in one of these prototypes that we kept the electronics in a case on the outside of the cap as our electrical team worked on the drive circuit. That made it much easier to access component changes housed in a 3D printed cover.
Finalized System - FDA Cleared in 2016
The partial prototype parts were then taken to an engineering firm to help create the manufacturing system and drawings. But, the hardware cap was just one part of this system. There was also an app development, accessories, and packaging as well to design. At the time, I managed an internal graphic designer, and consultants in ID and mechanical engineering as well as traveling to establish relationships with part manufacturers in the US. Ultimately, the system is assembled in Malaysia and I still work with part manufacturers in the US, China, and Malaysia to help sustain this product for Revian.
UX - User Experience Design
Over 80 million people suffer from patterned hair loss – stop losing and start regrowing your hair from the palm of your hand with the REVIAN app, the first and only FDA-cleared mobile app for the treatment of hair loss! For just 10 minutes a day, our smart app + wireless cap give you complete and total control of your treatments in the fight against hair loss. This personalized smart app controller starts and pauses treatments, sends helpful calendar reminders to make sure a treatment is never missed, and enables users to track progress by reviewing past treatment milestone photos.
Flowcharts and Vision Mind Maps
Early flow charts for the Revian app helped target FDA priority in controlling the treatments from the cap. Icon tray hierarchy defined the important actions that would be accessed from any screen. To help figure out what was essential I used mind maps for brainstorming the interactions between the app, the cap, and the AWS registration database online for the flow of information. These charts are a great way to capture an overview of the use and made it easier to lay out the actual screens of the app.
Story Board Mock-ups
To help communicate with the app programmers and help explain the app functionality to investors, I created storyboard screen layouts with representational graphics. This really helped the graphic designers bring our vision to life in that first release to the usability group and qualification testing for the system. As the only FDA Cleared Digital app and system for hairloss, we knew it was going to be a huge benefit to both Revian and our customers.
As we started selling our product through dermatologists, we found that our largest segment of customers were older women seeking treatments for hair loss. As the product was initially targeted at technology-savvy men in their 30s and 40s, who knew their way around iPhones and androids, there was a familiarity gap that we needed to enhance. As a result, I created a set of onboarding steps meant to walk you through registration, easy-to-play instructional videos, and an automated connection to the cap. This new set of app screens greatly improved the onboarding process for our customers and the support calls dropped dramatically. The dermatologists appreciated it and the customers had a much higher success rate of getting connected that first time. We found that once connected, the daily treatments were much easier.
Available Now
The Revian app has turned out to be a huge competitive advantage over our competitors who have simple helmets with an on/off switch. While initially, it seems more complicated, it is a motivating tool that allows for continual firmware upgrades, progress tracking, and schedule reminders along with before and after images taken with your phone. It is a daily opportunity to interact with our customers and offer education in alopecia, nutrition, and other reasons why you might be struggling with hair loss. They can reach out to us for support and an always up-to-date instruction manual for use. Visit the App store or Google Play to download the free app and check out this great product.
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