Journey Mapping
Mapping the full hypertension ecosystem - patient, physician, family, lifestyle, data loops - before designing any screens.
PLEXUS · VENTURE LABS
Company
Venture Labs
Role
Systems Designer, Product Designer, Industrial Designer
Tools & Skills
Rhino 3D, Procreate, Keyshot · UI/UX Design, Systems Design
Team
Product Manager, Venture Builder, Physicians
Time Frame
4 weeks
A wearable for managing hypertension, silently.
A medical wearable and connected mobile ecosystem for passive blood pressure monitoring - designed for the 1 in 3 Americans living with hypertension.
01 - The Problem
1 in 3 Americans have hypertension. Most of them don't know it.
Hypertension is a silent chronic condition - symptoms don't appear until severe. Without continuous monitoring, neither patients nor physicians can understand patterns or prevent crises.
02 - The Opportunity
How might we enable passive monitoring without adding friction?
Managing chronic hypertension demands constant vigilance - daily measurements, medication adherence, and coordination with a care network. Today's tools make all of this harder than it needs to be.
03 - The Solution
A wearable + mobile ecosystem.
// 01
Continuous passive monitoring
Plexus monitors blood pressure around the clock using optical and oscillometric sensing - no button presses, no interruptions.
// 02
Connected care network
The companion app links patient, family, and physician in one shared view — enabling real-time awareness and proactive intervention.
// 03
Automated diagnosis
Pattern recognition across time surfaces clinically meaningful insights - identifying trends before they become emergencies.
Physical Design
Plexus Device
Designed to disappear into daily life. Worn on the wrist, the device features an LED channel that gives ambient feedback on blood pressure stages, battery levels, and device status - without demanding attention.
The Device
04 - User Research
Three personas. One chronic condition.
Qualitative research with patients, caregivers, and physicians surfaced distinct user archetypes - each with a different relationship to their illness, their care network, and technology.
"
My work hampers with daily life, adds stress to my lifestyle.
Matt Li · 48 · Chief Technical Officer
"
With my kids in other cities, I feel alone and fear for my hypertension, stresses me out.
Sugandh · 59 · Housewife
"
Since I have aged, my health problems have increased and act on my irregular blood pressure.
Kate · 73 · Housewife
05 - Key Insights
Three critical gaps in hypertension management.
Research with patients and physicians revealed consistent barriers - spanning monitoring, communication, and behavior change.
// 01
Monitoring
Blood pressure changes rapidly and needs 24/7 tracking for physicians to understand patterns - current tools require manual effort and create gaps.
// 02
Care Network
Added life events - stress, pandemic, isolation - demand faster, easier communication between patient and care network that today's tools can't provide.
// 03
Lifestyle
Chronic illness demands sustained behavior change, not just medication. Tools to meaningfully support healthy habits and close the loop with physicians are largely absent.
User Goals
What patients are looking for.
The research and interviews helped me understand what exactly patients are looking for to improve their battle with this chronic illness.
06 - Design Explorations
From system map to product ecosystem.
Multiple design directions explored - from data dashboards to physical device form factors - stress-tested against patient needs, caregiver workflows, and clinical requirements.
07 - Ecosystem
Plexus Ecosystem.
A closed feedback loop - device monitors, app surfaces insights, care network stays informed, physician acts proactively. Chronic care without chronic friction.
08 - Information Architecture
Mapping the patient journey from monitoring to care.
09 - Userflow
From daily measurement to physician alert.
10 - Final Screens
Designed for everyday life.
11 - Learnings
What this project taught me
Learnings
- Hypertension is not a scheduling problem. It is a life problem. Patients told us again and again that pills alone do not change outcomes; daily habits, stress, and routine do.
- The illness gets heavier with age. The window to act is earlier than most people expect: the sooner lifestyle and monitoring become normal, the less crisis-driven care has to be later.
- No one manages chronic illness alone. Friends, family, and neighbors are already part of the care story. Design should make that network visible and easy to reach, not leave it to phone calls and worry.
- The breakthrough is the loop: a wearable that watches quietly, an app that translates data into meaning, and a network that can respond before an emergency. Remove one piece and the system falls apart.
Next Steps
- Extend passive blood pressure into the devices people already wear, including Apple Watch and other PPG platforms, so monitoring meets users where they are.
- Build one design language across the band and the app, so Plexus reads as a single product family, not a device with software attached.
- Test with patients and caregivers together. The flows only work if the people around the patient can understand alerts, context, and next steps without clinical training.
- Design dedicated experiences for family and the PCP. The ecosystem we mapped only closes when everyone in the loop has a screen built for their role.
