Rootin
A Mobile Symptom Tracking & Self-Care App for Women on Aromatase Inhibitors
Date
Aug 2025 - Aug 2026
Contribution
UX/UI
Branding Design
App Development
Team
Soyeon Lee
Context
Beyond Functionality: How Can mHealth Support Long-Term Engagement?
This project began as an independent study in collaboration with a professor from the School of Nursing to develop a mobile health application for breast cancer survivors.
My design question was: How might a symptom-tracking and management app provide emotional support and a more engaging, user-friendly experience?
To support long-term engagement, I developed the Rootin brand around a plant-growth metaphor and designed a gamified system in which users collect and grow plants based on their daily questionnaire inputs.
My Role
As the lead experience designer, I am responsible for reviewing healthcare research, experience architecture, branding and character design, app development, prototyping, and technical iteration.
Roots from your daily life, Balance your value.
Rootin helps you take root in your daily routine, gently tracking your health and happiness as your plant grows with you.
Experiencers
Who Are the
Target Audiences?
Rootin is designed for breast cancer survivors receiving Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) therapy who may experience persistent symptoms such as musculoskeletal pain, hot flashes, fatigue, and sleep difficulties.
The experience is designed to support users in tracking changes in their daily health while encouraging continued engagement with symptom self-management over time.
Project Goal
Rootin is designed to support breast cancer survivors receiving AI therapy through a more engaging and emotionally supportive experience. By incorporating a plant-growth metaphor, the project aims to encourage daily engagement and self-reflection.
The project also explores how emotionally supportive design strategies can enhance the usability of mHealth applications and potentially reduce the emotional burden of daily symptom management.
Branding Design
Logo
The logo is inspired by a plant sprout, representing a moment of vibrant energy, restoration, and growth. The letter “R” from Rootin is integrated with the sprout form, bringing the brand name and its plant-growth metaphor together into a single visual symbol.
Meet Your Lovely Companion on Your Health Journey!
Hello! My name is Rootin. I’m here to join you in your daily symptom tracking and self-management, while offering gentle support along the way.
Depending on your daily inputs, I can grow and change in different ways. Visit me every day and see what comes next—a new sprout, fruit, or something unexpected!
Experience Design
The experience begins with questionnaires for symptom tracking and management. After users complete their initial health information, subsequent check-ins focus only on symptom-related questions.
Through repeated check-ins, users can collect and grow plant characters while visually reflecting on changes in their symptom status. Based on their daily inputs, different characters, growth stages, and collections appear over time.
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Growth System
Once users complete their daily questionnaires, their plant begins to grow.
Every plant starts as a sprout and follows a unique growth journey that reflects changes in the user’s health and daily inputs. The plant always grows, regardless of the user's symptom status.
Symptom Illustrations
Rootin characters represent common symptoms associated with AI therapy. These illustrations are designed to help users better understand their symptoms while creating an experience that feels warm, emotionally supportive, and less clinical.
Design Process
Wireframes (Lo-Fi)
High-Fidelity Designs (Hi-Fi)
Design System
Technical Implementation
App Development
I used React and Vite to build this web-based mobile application.
AI-Assisted Prototyping
I used AI-assisted prototyping to accelerate technical iteration and implementation. Before incorporating AI, I defined the user flow, application architecture, design system, branding, characters, and core features of the study.
I then provided the AI with my established design system, including margins, typography, layouts, color palette, and brand identity. I found that the AI produced more consistent results when I provided specific design constraints—such as exact pixel values for margins—rather than relying on general prompts. Establishing the layout and design system as context first significantly reduced the time required for prototype iteration.
Research Evaluation - IRB Review Approved
The Rootin prototype is being prepared for a user study with breast cancer survivors receiving Aromatase Inhibitor therapy. The study will evaluate the usability, engagement, and overall experience of the application through questionnaires and participant interviews.
The research protocol is currently under IRB review. User study findings and design iterations will be incorporated as the research progresses.
References
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Giaquinto AN, Sung H, Newman LA, Freedman RA, Smith RA, Star J, Jemal A, Siegel RL. Breast cancer statistics 2024. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(6):477–95. doi: 10.3322/caac.21863.
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Nardin S, Ruffilli B, Landolfo TL, Isingrini G, Taglialatela I, Delbarba A, D'Avanzo F, Rossi V, Celentano E, Conte B, Nardin M, Gennari A. Aromatase Inhibitors as Adjuvant Therapy in Early Breast Cancer: Insights into Toxicities and Their Management. Cancers (Basel). 2025;17(17). doi: 10.3390/cancers17172726.
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Anders C, Moorthy P, Svensson L, Müller J, Heinze O, Knaup P, et al. Usability and user experience of an mHealth app for therapy support of patients with breast cancer: mixed methods study using eye tracking. JMIR Hum Factors. 2024;11:e50926. doi:10.2196/50926.
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