DSD

https://www.tanglewooddentalassociates.com/

The Problem

Healthcare is emotionally loaded.

Users arriving at healthcare service websites are often anxious, uncertain, and carrying prior negative experiences. Yet, our competitive audit revealed most digital experiences prioritize institutional credibility over addressing emotional risk.

How we discovered this

User interviews revealed trust, not price or convenience, drove decisions.
Behavioral signals showed users willing to travel or delay major life decisions rather than switch providers.

Context
This project began as a zero-to-one initiative. The practice did not have a patient-facing website, which meant users had no digital way to evaluate trust, understand services, or reduce anxiety before booking care.

My role

I was the sole UX designer on this project, responsible for research, information architecture, UX writing, interaction design, and development.

I collaborated directly with the client and marketing stakeholders to align patient needs with business goals.

Tools Used

Notion, Asana, Figma, Webflow, ChatGPT, Claude, Relume, Google Analytics.

North Star

To transform website and content into a trusted guide. One that anticipates anxiety, reduces cognitive load, and helps users move forward with confidence in a sensitive, high-stakes decision.

https://www.tanglewooddentalassociates.com/

The Problem

Healthcare is emotionally loaded.

Users arriving at healthcare service websites are often anxious, uncertain, and carrying prior negative experiences. Yet, our competitive audit revealed most digital experiences prioritize institutional credibility over addressing emotional risk.

How we discovered this

User interviews revealed trust, not price or convenience, drove decisions.
Behavioral signals showed users willing to travel or delay major life decisions rather than switch providers.

Context
This project began as a zero-to-one initiative. The practice did not have a patient-facing website, which meant users had no digital way to evaluate trust, understand services, or reduce anxiety before booking care.

My role

I was the sole UX designer on this project, responsible for research, information architecture, UX writing, interaction design, and development.

I collaborated directly with the client and marketing stakeholders to align patient needs with business goals.

Tools Used

Notion, Asana, Figma, Webflow, ChatGPT, Claude, Relume, Google Analytics.

North Star

To transform website and content into a trusted guide. One that anticipates anxiety, reduces cognitive load, and helps users move forward with confidence in a sensitive, high-stakes decision.

The Approach

Interviewed users to uncover pain points
Audited competitors to identify systemic UX gaps
Designed IA and content to reduce uncertainty
Validated navigation through tree testing
Iterated based on findings

The Approach

Interviewed users to uncover pain points
Audited competitors to identify systemic UX gaps
Designed IA and content to reduce uncertainty
Validated navigation through tree testing
Iterated based on findings

Visual Design Identity

I wanted to hone in on the distinct visual design identity that did not revolve around healthcare but around our user. After identifying our personas we wanted to use images that were familiar to them.

This identity serves as the visual foundation for our UI, digital content, and brand strategy.

Visual Design Identity

I wanted to hone in on the distinct visual design identity that did not revolve around healthcare but around our user. After identifying our personas we wanted to use images that were familiar to them.

This identity serves as the visual foundation for our UI, digital content, and brand strategy.

Building Trust Through Answering User's Questions

I developed a learning center that positions TDA as the go-to resource for healthcare education. Each article is crafted to address real patient questions asked daily from patients.

I created distinct labels that align with common patient needs and questions using AI. From practical 'Care & Maintenance' information to engaging 'Common Concerns' content each category serves a specific purpose in the patient's journey.

Building Trust Through Answering User's Questions

I developed a learning center that positions TDA as the go-to resource for healthcare education. Each article is crafted to address real patient questions asked daily from patients.

I created distinct labels that align with common patient needs and questions using AI. From practical 'Care & Maintenance' information to engaging 'Common Concerns' content each category serves a specific purpose in the patient's journey.

AI That Documents, Monitors, & Analyzes Our Patient Visits

Answering patients' endless questions while documenting consultations was draining the staff's time and focus. Dental Bee solved this challenge by listening to patient visits, automatically recording notes, and identifying questions that need addressing. This AI system helps us create targeted content for common concerns while letting us focus on what matters most, curating the patient journey.

AI That Documents, Monitors, & Analyzes Our Patient Visits

Answering patients' endless questions while documenting consultations was draining the staff's time and focus. Dental Bee solved this challenge by listening to patient visits, automatically recording notes, and identifying questions that need addressing. This AI system helps us create targeted content for common concerns while letting us focus on what matters most, curating the patient journey.

User-First Navigation: Writing for Patient Understanding

I designed the navigation following minimalist principles championed by Tesla. Instead of cluttered menus, we focused on essential services with meaningful, patient-centric labels.

For example, rather than using traditional terms like 'Cosmetic Dentistry' or 'Smile Design' that emphasize aesthetics alone, we chose 'Smile Restoration' to reflect our comprehensive approach. This intentional language shift communicates that we're not just focused on surface-level appearances, but rather on restoring both the function and beauty of your smile for lasting oral health.

User-First Navigation: Writing for Patient Understanding

I designed the navigation following minimalist principles championed by Tesla. Instead of cluttered menus, we focused on essential services with meaningful, patient-centric labels.

For example, rather than using traditional terms like 'Cosmetic Dentistry' or 'Smile Design' that emphasize aesthetics alone, we chose 'Smile Restoration' to reflect our comprehensive approach. This intentional language shift communicates that we're not just focused on surface-level appearances, but rather on restoring both the function and beauty of your smile for lasting oral health.

Validating Navigation with Tree Testing

I knew that our dental clinic site's navigation was unconventional which led me to conduct a tree test using Optimal Workshop. The goal was to validate the clarity and effectiveness of our site's navigation structure, ensuring that patients can easily locate critical information such as aesthetic restorative treatments, general dentistry, pricing details, and our clinic's background.

Validating Navigation with Tree Testing

I knew that our dental clinic site's navigation was unconventional which led me to conduct a tree test using Optimal Workshop. The goal was to validate the clarity and effectiveness of our site's navigation structure, ensuring that patients can easily locate critical information such as aesthetic restorative treatments, general dentistry, pricing details, and our clinic's background.

Tree Test Results

Navigation label	% of users that got the task correct
Smile Restoration	100%
Cost & Coverage	100%
Book an Appointment	100%
Lifelong Care	70%
Learning Center/Your Questions Answered	70%
Learning Center/Our Story	100%

After receiving the results, we decided to further iterate over our navigation labels. Users seemed to get Lifelong Care confused with Your Questions Answered. We decided to change Lifelong Care to Lifelong Services to clarify that this where you can find information about preventative care services at TDA.

Tree Test Results

Navigation label	% of users that got the task correct
Smile Restoration	100%
Cost & Coverage	100%
Book an Appointment	100%
Lifelong Care	70%
Learning Center/Your Questions Answered	70%
Learning Center/Our Story	100%

After receiving the results, we decided to further iterate over our navigation labels. Users seemed to get Lifelong Care confused with Your Questions Answered. We decided to change Lifelong Care to Lifelong Services to clarify that this where you can find information about preventative care services at TDA.

Web Development

Webflow Development: I chose Webflow as our development platform because it is the industry leader for CMS-heavy sites, making it the perfect solution for our content-driven approach. Additionally, I integrated Google Analytics to measure engagement.
SME Collaboration: Gathering insights from subject matter experts to refine treatment descriptions and service structure on our site.
Brand Positioning and Messaging on Site: Developed trust-building site content like "Our Commitment to Excellence" instead of a traditional "awards" section to reflect authenticity.

Web Development

Webflow Development: I chose Webflow as our development platform because it is the industry leader for CMS-heavy sites, making it the perfect solution for our content-driven approach. Additionally, I integrated Google Analytics to measure engagement.
SME Collaboration: Gathering insights from subject matter experts to refine treatment descriptions and service structure on our site.
Brand Positioning and Messaging on Site: Developed trust-building site content like "Our Commitment to Excellence" instead of a traditional "awards" section to reflect authenticity.

What's next…

Persona Development: Using AI transcripts of patient visits to identify patterns and create data-backed personas. This helps tailor the experience to real patient needs and concerns.
Patient Journey Mapping: Designing distinct content and UX paths for each persona, ensuring the site adapts to various stages of the customer journey.
Conversion Tracking & ROI: Implementing tracking to measure which content influences conversions, enabling us to double down on what works and refine what doesn’t.

What's next…

Persona Development: Using AI transcripts of patient visits to identify patterns and create data-backed personas. This helps tailor the experience to real patient needs and concerns.
Patient Journey Mapping: Designing distinct content and UX paths for each persona, ensuring the site adapts to various stages of the customer journey.
Conversion Tracking & ROI: Implementing tracking to measure which content influences conversions, enabling us to double down on what works and refine what doesn’t.