PIUS
PIUS
PIUS
[PRODUCT DESIGN]
PIONEERING VOICE-FIRST HEALTH INTERACTIONS
PIONEERING VOICE-FIRST HEALTH INTERACTIONS
Pius: Pioneering Voice-First Health Interactions
Before voice AI became mainstream, I explored a fundamental question through Pius: what if health tracking required nothing more than a conversation?
This concept project, developed during my Google UX/UI certification, challenged conventional health app paradigms by prioritizing voice as the primary interface. While the market was saturated with tap-heavy fitness trackers, I envisioned a health companion that elderly users and busy professionals could engage with naturally - no screens, no typing, just conversation.
The design philosophy centered on radical accessibility. By making voice the hero of the experience, Pius removed barriers that typically exclude less tech-savvy users from digital health tools. The deep blue gradient interface I developed wasn't just aesthetic - it created visual hierarchy that immediately communicated "speak first, tap second."
This exploration into conversational UI design became foundational to my approach as a product designer. It taught me to question interface assumptions and design for the users typically left behind by conventional solutions. The skills developed here - balancing multiple interaction modalities, designing for trust in AI interactions, and creating intuitive onboarding - directly influenced my later work on production applications.
Pius: Pioneering Voice-First Health Interactions
Before voice AI became mainstream, I explored a fundamental question through Pius: what if health tracking required nothing more than a conversation?
This concept project, developed during my Google UX/UI certification, challenged conventional health app paradigms by prioritizing voice as the primary interface. While the market was saturated with tap-heavy fitness trackers, I envisioned a health companion that elderly users and busy professionals could engage with naturally - no screens, no typing, just conversation.
The design philosophy centered on radical accessibility. By making voice the hero of the experience, Pius removed barriers that typically exclude less tech-savvy users from digital health tools. The deep blue gradient interface I developed wasn't just aesthetic - it created visual hierarchy that immediately communicated "speak first, tap second."
This exploration into conversational UI design became foundational to my approach as a product designer. It taught me to question interface assumptions and design for the users typically left behind by conventional solutions. The skills developed here - balancing multiple interaction modalities, designing for trust in AI interactions, and creating intuitive onboarding - directly influenced my later work on production applications.
ROLE
ROLE
ROLE
Product Designer
Product Designer
Product Designer
YEAR
YEAR
YEAR
2025
2025
2025
SERVICE PROVIDED
SERVICE PROVIDED
SERVICE PROVIDED
Product Design
Product Design
Product Design
CHALLENGE
CHALLENGE
Making the Invisible Visible: Designing for Voice
The core design challenge emerged immediately: how do you make users understand they can speak to an app when decades of mobile interaction have trained them to tap?
Key Design Challenges Solved:
1. The Voice Discovery Problem
Initial testing with non-technical users (including family members spanning different age groups) revealed a critical insight: the microphone icon alone wasn't enough. Users needed constant, gentle reinforcement that voice was available. My solution: an oversized, pulsing microphone on the home screen that couldn't be missed, combined with a persistent dialogue transcript that showed every interaction - making the invisible conversation visible.
2. Maintaining Dual-Modal Coherence
Balancing voice and visual UI required careful orchestration. I developed a dialogue box system that transcribed every voice interaction while maintaining a conversation history. This gave users confidence that the app was listening correctly while providing a fallback for reviewing past interactions - crucial for health data accuracy.
3. Streamlined Complexity
Health apps typically overwhelm with data. Adding voice control risked creating more complexity. I stripped the interface to essentials, using progressive disclosure triggered by voice queries. The visual interface became a complement to voice, not a competitor.
4. Trust Through Transparency
Users needed to trust an AI with health information. I designed visual feedback for every voice state - listening, processing, responding - ensuring users always understood what Pius was doing with their words.
The iteration process revealed that voice-based workout guides with exercise visuals, while ambitious, distracted from the core voice-first principle. This taught me the importance of feature restraint in maintaining design focus.
Making the Invisible Visible: Designing for Voice
The core design challenge emerged immediately: how do you make users understand they can speak to an app when decades of mobile interaction have trained them to tap?
Key Design Challenges Solved:
1. The Voice Discovery Problem
Initial testing with non-technical users (including family members spanning different age groups) revealed a critical insight: the microphone icon alone wasn't enough. Users needed constant, gentle reinforcement that voice was available. My solution: an oversized, pulsing microphone on the home screen that couldn't be missed, combined with a persistent dialogue transcript that showed every interaction - making the invisible conversation visible.
2. Maintaining Dual-Modal Coherence
Balancing voice and visual UI required careful orchestration. I developed a dialogue box system that transcribed every voice interaction while maintaining a conversation history. This gave users confidence that the app was listening correctly while providing a fallback for reviewing past interactions - crucial for health data accuracy.
3. Streamlined Complexity
Health apps typically overwhelm with data. Adding voice control risked creating more complexity. I stripped the interface to essentials, using progressive disclosure triggered by voice queries. The visual interface became a complement to voice, not a competitor.
4. Trust Through Transparency
Users needed to trust an AI with health information. I designed visual feedback for every voice state - listening, processing, responding - ensuring users always understood what Pius was doing with their words.
The iteration process revealed that voice-based workout guides with exercise visuals, while ambitious, distracted from the core voice-first principle. This taught me the importance of feature restraint in maintaining design focus.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Validating Voice-First Design Principles
Design Innovation
Pioneered accessible voice patterns before voice AI became mainstream
Created a dialogue history system that balanced transparency with simplicity
Developed visual language that supported rather than competed with voice
Established interaction patterns for multi-modal health interfaces
User Validation
4 user testing sessions with diverse age groups revealed critical accessibility insights
Breakthrough moment: Non-technical testers successfully completed health logging through voice alone after microphone prominence increased
Peer recognition for addressing overlooked elderly user segment in fitness tech
Instructor feedback praised the forward-thinking approach to conversational UI
Skills Developed
Conversational UI design - Understanding dialogue flows and voice interaction patterns
Accessibility-first thinking - Designing for users across technical literacy levels
Multi-modal interaction design - Balancing voice, touch, and visual feedback
Rapid prototyping under constraints - Delivered comprehensive design system in 2-week sprint
Professional Application: The voice-first principles explored in Pius directly influenced my approach to AI integration in subsequent projects. The emphasis on making AI interactions transparent and trustworthy became central to my design philosophy, particularly relevant as conversational AI has now become critical to product experiences.
Reflection & Growth: Looking at Pius now, I see opportunities I'd approach differently with my evolved skillset:
Refined visual hierarchy with improved spacing and color systems
Deeper onboarding exploration specifically for voice-first experiences
Expanded testing methodology beyond guerrilla testing to structured protocols
Wearable integration concepts to extend voice interactions beyond the phone
This project proved that the best interface might be no interface - a principle that continues to guide my work as voice and AI reshape how we interact with technology. While Pius remained a concept, the design thinking it required prepared me for the voice-AI revolution that followed.
Validating Voice-First Design Principles
Design Innovation
Pioneered accessible voice patterns before voice AI became mainstream
Created a dialogue history system that balanced transparency with simplicity
Developed visual language that supported rather than competed with voice
Established interaction patterns for multi-modal health interfaces
User Validation
4 user testing sessions with diverse age groups revealed critical accessibility insights
Breakthrough moment: Non-technical testers successfully completed health logging through voice alone after microphone prominence increased
Peer recognition for addressing overlooked elderly user segment in fitness tech
Instructor feedback praised the forward-thinking approach to conversational UI
Skills Developed
Conversational UI design - Understanding dialogue flows and voice interaction patterns
Accessibility-first thinking - Designing for users across technical literacy levels
Multi-modal interaction design - Balancing voice, touch, and visual feedback
Rapid prototyping under constraints - Delivered comprehensive design system in 2-week sprint
Professional Application: The voice-first principles explored in Pius directly influenced my approach to AI integration in subsequent projects. The emphasis on making AI interactions transparent and trustworthy became central to my design philosophy, particularly relevant as conversational AI has now become critical to product experiences.
Reflection & Growth: Looking at Pius now, I see opportunities I'd approach differently with my evolved skillset:
Refined visual hierarchy with improved spacing and color systems
Deeper onboarding exploration specifically for voice-first experiences
Expanded testing methodology beyond guerrilla testing to structured protocols
Wearable integration concepts to extend voice interactions beyond the phone
This project proved that the best interface might be no interface - a principle that continues to guide my work as voice and AI reshape how we interact with technology. While Pius remained a concept, the design thinking it required prepared me for the voice-AI revolution that followed.
HEALTH-TECH SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE AND EASY FOR EVERYONE.
HEALTH-TECH SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE AND EASY FOR EVERYONE.
- Andy Ramos
