Vela app
vela app
A doctor-booking concept app built for people the Swiss healthcare system wasn’t designed for.
Finding a doctor in Switzerland isn’t hard. Finding one who speaks your language, accepts your insurance, and is actually taking new patients – without calling five clinics first – is.
ux research
ui design
design concept
user flow
IA
ios app
figma
vercel
healthtech
The Context
Vela is a self-initiated iOS app concept for the Swiss healthcare market – designed for anyone who finds the system hard to navigate: expats, recent arrivals, and residents who’ve never had to think about it until something went wrong.
The Objective
Design a patient-first doctor-booking experience that surfaces what people actually need before they book – language, insurance compatibility, real availability – so navigating Swiss healthcare feels clear, not stressful.
My Role & Impact
I led this project end-to-end from a blank brief: defining the problem through research, identifying the users and their mental models, translating insights into product strategy, and designing the experience from onboarding through to core flows.
Scope & Delivery
Research, personas, strategy, IA, user flows, onboarding design. Core screens in progress. Includes a designed AI assistant layer – opt-in, plain-language, sourced to Swiss federal guidelines.
the situation.
project overview.
the problem.
FINDING A DOCTOR IS EASY. KNOWING IT’LL WORK OUT IS NOT.
Switzerland has world-class healthcare. What it doesn't have is an easy way for newcomers to understand it.
01_The Legibility Gap
The Swiss healthcare system assumes you know how it works. Insurance models, referral rules, Franchise thresholds – none of it is explained where you need it: before you book.
02_The Trust Gap
Every platform in this market communicates to the clinic, not the patient. Messaging is about efficiency and admin reduction. The patient UX is an afterthought – and users feel it.
03_The Confidence Gap
The real fear isn’t finding a doctor. It’s showing up and discovering the doctor doesn’t speak your language, doesn’t accept your insurance, or wasn’t taking new patients after all.
the key insights.
THE REAL FEAR ISN’T THE DOCTOR, but everything AFTER BOOKING.
"New patients accepted" is the most emotionally loaded phrase in this category
It doesn’t exist prominently on most platform or clinics' websites. Surfacing it as a visible badge – not buried in a profile – would be noticed immediately by anyone who’s been turned away before.
Insurance-first search is the most valuable feature Vela can build
60−70% of Swiss residents have alternative insurance models that restrict who they can see. Insurance filtering isn’t a power-user feature – it’s the core trust mechanism.
"Simple" is the wrong word. "Clear" is the right one.
Users don’t want the complexity pretended away. They want it made legible. "You'll know exactly what’s covered" beats "we made booking easy."
the onboarding.
THREE QUESTIONS. THAT'S ALL VELA NEEDS.
Most healthcare apps ask you to fill out a profile before they show you anything useful. Vela asks three questions – and already knows enough to give you personalised search.
Every screen includes "Why do we ask this?" button – not as a legal disclaimer, but as a trust signal.
Language first
The immediately disqualifying filter, and the easiest to answer.
Location second
Proximity matters as much as specialty does.
Insurance model third
Placed last, once trust is already building.
GOT AN IDEA? I’M ALL EARS.
No need for a polished brief – a rough idea is enough to start a conversation. Fill in the form and I’ll be in touch shortly.
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