cara
Reimagining CVS experience with an intelligent voice assistant
timeline
Sep - Oct 2022 - IxD Studio @ Carnegie Mellon University
my roles
Research, Visual Design, Motion Design, Conversation Design, Prototyping, Video Editing
tools
Figma, After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere Pro
team
Ann Li, Irene Yang, Xuan Liu
01 project objectives
AI-powered Voice User Interfaces (VUI), or Conversational User interfaces (CUI), in particular, have shifted the way users interact with computers or machines. Virtual Assistants (VA), a type of VUI, such as Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana, and Samsung Bixby, can access and analyze users’ locations and online activities, and they have become an important means for users to interact with other services and applications. How might intelligent user interfaces change the way designers build systems and influence how users interact with products and services?
“How can we simplify the shopping experience at CVS and provide personalized care by utilizing conversational AI?”
02 the outcome
Cara is an intelligent voice assistant for CVS that offers end-to-end personalized care before, during, and after a store visit to CVS store.
I played a main role in research, UI development, motion design, and video editing. I also played an auxiliary role in conversational design, and prototyping
product recommendations
Pain Point
Which product do I need for my treatment?
Design Solution
Cara offers product suggestions based on your personal preferences and health conditions. Also, Cara provides inventory checks on inquired items at your local CVS store.
product finder
Pain Point
Where is it at the store?
Design Solution
Cara utilizes wifi-based indoor positioning technology to offer pin point wayfinding feature to find products easily in store
product comparison
Pain Point
Which product is best for me?
Design Solution
Cara allows you to scan products to get detailed descriptions and comparisons so you can make the best decision in choosing what product is best for you
treatment explanation
Pain Point
How much of this should I take?
Design Solution
Cara takes account for your personal preferences to proactively suggest dosage for over the counter medications. Cara simplifies medical jargon and information overload on back of over the counter medications to provide you with the most salient information needed
treatment reminders
Pain Point
When should I take it again?
Design Solution
Cara sets reminders and nudges you to take your second dosage (if necessary)
Welcome
Idle
Speaking
Listening
Did not understand
Processing
Ready to listen
Error
Success
motion states for cara
03 research
understanding our client - why cvs?
We chose CVS Pharmacy as our client due to its position as the largest pharmacy chain in the US by retail locations. We were interested in pharmacies as an essential service that is healthcare-adjacent and coming at an intersection of healthcare & consumer experiences. This is an opportunity space that aligns with broader wellness trends of decentralization of healthcare, empowering patients, and shifting models of care
Humanizing and simplifying an intimidating clinical space
Streamlining store logistics
Extending the CVS experience beyond the store
Design Objectives
learning the current experience
To understand the current experience of CVS Pharmacy, we conducted immersive research at a local CVS. We briefly interviewed a few customers and pharmacists in store to get more insight, role-played as confused customers navigating through CVS, examined existing kiosks and interfaces, and observed other customers’ interactions and journey throughout the store. A key takeaway from the visit was the long wait line for the pharmacy that was exacerbated by customers asking pharmacists non-essential, menial questions that could easily be off-loaded to a smart intelligence.
Fly-on-the-wall observations
Customer interviews
Information overload
Long wait for pharmacy
synthesizing our research
After conducting our research, we created an affinity map with pain points, general observations, and interview quotes from customers and staff in order to extract key moments that will guide us in our ideation process.
We identified the over the counter shopping experience as the most salient and significant opportunity space, with key leverage points that create ripple effects throughout the entire CVS experience. By offloading menial, clerical tasks from staff and providing customers with a dedicated source of transparent feedback and reliable support, our VUI will free providers and staff to focus on expertise-dependent responsibilities, easing points of frustration and inefficiency
Current CVS Pharmacy journey flow with major pain points
storyboarding
Based on our immersive research and understanding the pain points in the shopping experience, we identified different use cases where our smart voice intelligence can assist and simplify customers’ journey
journey map
After storyboarding and identifying possible moments that a VUI can be useful, we were able to develop a journey map that encompasses key scenarios, customer motivations, emotional needs, and interaction touch points during the pre-store, during-store, and after-store phases
voice assistant values
These facets, derived from our primary research, serve as the defining guide for Cara’s voice, tone, and visual identity. Based on our immersive research, we identified 3 main archetypal roles that Cara will provide- that of a caregiver, advisor, and administrator. These roles and their related actions will fulfill the characteristics recognized and appreciate by many loyal CVS customers
changing from original identity
CVS’s existing identity had a bit of friction with the alignment of Cara’s personality as well as the values CVS is trying to deliver as a company. The existing interface is very stark and clinical, with harsh reds and cold grays and black. It is very different from their values, which emphasize care. This is why we decided to make adjustments to the design style
04 designing cara
updated design style
Our new palette consists of warmer orange, cream, navy, and a light sky blue. These blues and oranges are very similar to the blues and reds CVS already uses in their website branding. The adjusted palette conveys more care and approachability with its warmer tone. Instead of only using a primary red in the app, we introduced a secondary blue to enhance the hierarchy of information presented
visual form development
When designing our VUI identity, we knew from the beginning that implementing a heart motif into the design was going to be important in order to connect it back to CVS’s brand identity
From there we wanted to explore a more human-like form as shown in the 2nd and 3rd options. However they ran into proportional issues when scaled down to a more realistic size on a mobile device. So we decided to revert back to the original CVS logo, but added gradients to visually break up the heart and add depth to the form
final virtual assistant identity
The final visual identity for our VUI has our updated warmer orange color and through the use of the central circle at the top, we aimed to bring back our earlier intention of having a human-like visual form by having the circle imply a person’s head and the main heart as the torso
motion states
Through transition animations between states, we wanted to further strengthen Cara’s identity by designing the animations to be a bit more human-like. To convey a personable and approachable characteristics while maintaining a level of expertise, we positioned each motion state to be active and personable but not coming across to be too playful
defining cara’s voice
When choosing the voice for Cara, we looked into many options, but because it is for CVS, we wanted out voice to be uplifting and clearly audible, but not too playful and dynamic. We wanted Cara’s voice to convey a level of professionalism, competence, and expertise
the new experience
We first decided to revise the interface and update it to our warmer color palette, add a personalized greeting, and highlight adaptive reminders. Then we restructured the information hierarchy on the home screen by making the most important content become the biggest card. Finally, we added our VUI at the bottom while simplifying the navigation bar
05 redesigned gui
Original CVS app (left) vs Our revised CVS app concept (right)
mobile gui overview
Here are our final interfaces for the redesigned CVS app. These screens cover customers’ pre-store experiences on helping users with their personal healthcare and wellness, in-store experiences on assisting to find products and comparing treatments, and post-store experiences for setting up personal reminders
apple watch overview
As shown in the video, we utilized Apple Watch as our secondary device to help extend the CVS experience from the store. While mobile interactions can give personalized reminders, smartwatches such as Apple Watches can remind you of treatments and recommended usage so that you can stay on top of holistic wellness in any situations
expanding to other services
As mentioned in our research, we focused on the over-the-counter shopping experience for the scope of this project. We are certain that including capabilities for vaccinations and prescription experiences could further enhance Cara’s experience
06 next steps
designing other screens
We have only considered the mobile and smartwatch for the scope of this project. Implementing a physical kiosk at the stores could improve the in-store experience for people without CVS apps downloaded or people who are less tech-savvy
privacy concerns
For this project, our group had to assume that this VUI experience existed in a place without data privacy concerns. To be able to successfully enhance the CVS experience and provide personalized care for each customer through a voice assistant, the user will have had to input their personal health information, which raises a serious concern in today’s technology landscape with constant data breaches and privacy concerns
07 reflections
voices in public spaces
Not everyone is comfortable with speaking with a VUI in public spaces. While talking with Alexa, Google, or Siri is common in private home or car settings, talking with a voice assistant in public spaces is not a common practice just yet. We aimed to limit voice interactions for in-store scenarios, but we should be mindful of creating more opportunities for chat user interfaces for public settings