Sonde Health:
Biometric PPD Screener
Project Scope: Design Sprint, Mobile Design + Build
My Role: Product Design Lead
Summary:
Sonde Health is a digital health company pioneering voice-based biomarkers to transform how mental and physical health conditions are identified and monitored. In Spring 2016, I led product design for Sonde’s first data-collection application—an early but critical step in operationalizing their core technology into a real-world clinical experience.
The initial pilot focused on perinatal and postpartum women, a population at elevated risk for depression and already embedded in regular screening protocols. This made the use case both clinically meaningful and operationally viable, while setting a high bar for trust, empathy, and sustained engagement.
The Opportunity
The alpha product successfully captured voice data, but adoption, retention, and differentiation were unresolved. My team’s mandate was to translate a novel diagnostic technology into an experience that women would willingly return to—while aligning with Sonde’s business and clinical objectives.
We anchored the work around three strategic questions:
How might we drive meaningful adoption and repeat use in a highly sensitive healthcare context?
How might we differentiate from existing digital health tools that felt cold, clinical, or transactional?
How might we deliver ongoing value beyond data capture, reinforcing trust and emotional safety?
User Research
We conducted in-depth interviews with 10 prenatal and postnatal women to evaluate the alpha experience and uncover behavioral, emotional, and contextual drivers. Research focused on mobile habits, perceptions of mental health stigma, and unmet needs across the perinatal and postpartum screening journey.
A key insight: women were willing—even eager—to engage with screening tools when the experience felt human, respectful, and supportive — rather than diagnostic or punitive. This helped to inform our UX and
Execution
Using research as a foundation, my team conducted led a three-day design sprint in close partnership with Sonde’s leadership team. Together, we aligned on feature prioritization, clinical constraints, and long-term platform goals—ensuring design decisions supported user trust
Outcomes included:
A clearly defined end-to-end app flow
Wireframes and interaction patterns optimized for low-friction, repeat use
A visual and tonal system designed to convey warmth, credibility, and discretion
The work culminated in a fully built beta product, launched on both iOS and Android, and positioned Sonde for continued clinical validation and growth
Outcome & Recognition
The project became a reference point both within our consultancy and outside it for successful and empathetic digital health design:
Our design team was invited to present the work and speak on empathy as a driver of customer experience in healthcare at UX Copenhagen 2017.
In 2018, we were invited to present the work to MA Governor Charlie Baker as an example of innovation in Boston’s medical technology ecosystem.