Open Beauty - Pierce Ashworth

Design Research

A conversion based on trust

Committing to a procedural change to your body, often in an important physical area, is a thoughtful (and sometimes nerve-wracking) decision.

An unaddressed touchpoint

Aesthetic medicine providers tend to specialize in certain procedures, as well as certain skin types—as skin type and genetic makeup often play a part in determining how someone will react to a procedure.
‍
But finding the right provider typically relies on word of mouth.

Aesthetic medicine generally delineates 6 different skin types.

Photos courtesy Angélica Dass, "Humanae"

RESEARCH INTERVIEWS

Because I entered the project without personal experience in aesthetic medicine, I began by interviewing and observing 18 users in Open Beauty's target demographic to better understand the process of finding a suitable provider.

OBSERVATION

Through my research an interesting trend emerged: users with particular skin types had created WhatsApp groups in geographic hubs around the country to share referrals and get insights into trustworthy providers.

INSIGHT

Validation of aesthetic medicine providers generally stems from trusted peer-to-peer referral, not the qualifications or clinical pedigree of the practitioner.

INSPIRATION

So we sought to create an experience where users would feel heard and cared for, matching and scheduling appointments with providers would be seamless, and a peer-to-peer network would be streamlined and accessible long-term.
‍

DESCRIPTION

Open Beauty provides matching with clinicians based on skin type, seamless booking and scheduling, and a flourishing user community.

TARGET USERS

Aesthetic medicine patients, particular focus on women of color

DEVICE

Desktop & Mobile

Aesthetic Identity

As with most healthcare brands and interfaces, white space was a staple of Open Beauty's look and feel. We chose orange as a primary accent color for OB's brand, complimented by a fresh sky blue to create vibe that was fresh, unique, and sophisticated.
‍
I worked with the founder on curating a set of feature images that highlighted the beauty of a range of skin tones, and devised a hand-drawn iconography style that felt both friendly and refined.
‍

Onboarding

After signing up, users are led through an assessment to build a profile of their unique skin type and treatment interests.

I worked with the founder on adapting the widely-used Fitzpatrick skin quiz into a format that felt more conversational than clinical, allowing users to feel heard and cared for while setting up their customized experience.

Matching

Once a user's OB profile is created with their skin type, treatment interests, gender identity, and a host of other demographical characteristics, treatments are presented with unique "symbols" that give an indication of provider fit.

Home Page

I wanted to create a main page that was as Vogue as it was Zocdoc: an experience that was inspiring and refined while allowing for exceptionally intuitive browsing and scheduling.

Platform Content

In addition to OB's core product, I designed a blog-style content experience to be integrated throughout the interface that allowed users to browse and explore relevant content in addition to procedures and providers.

I drew inspiration from the types of content I observed in the WhatsApp groups mentioned in the user research section, as well as the prominent publications that already exist in the industry.

Softness, elegance

Because our goal was to be the best of a medical tool as well as a content platform, I paid special attention to maintaining a visual language that felt like a trendy blog without losing its clean and lightweight clinical aesthetic.

Booking & Scheduling

To keep users in the platform from start to finish, I designed a seamless booking experience that gives personalized information on the provider and practice, allows for simple and clear scheduling, and even includes a map API to filter providers by location.