Connecting young stroke survivors

People who had a stroke as a young adult were lacking age-appropriate information that was accessible and engaging.

This made them feel isolated and hindered their recovery.

My challenge as a UX designer (and Webflow developer) was to translate lived experience insights into an online hub for younger stroke survivors to feel connected and informed.

Co-designing with people with lived experience

The young stroke community shared with us that there is a lack of relevant information - making them feel isolated, lost, and disempowered.

Workshops and interviews guided us to build an online resource with relatable information and ways to connect with others.

As they didn't resonate with existing resources, our design challenges were to:

Engage younger people who had a stroke;
Foster a feeling of connection and inclusion;
Keep it simple and accessible after stroke;

Design challenge #1

Engaging a younger audience

Younger stroke survivors felt that existing stroke resources weren't relevant as they featured elderly people and focused on printed formats.

We honed in on content and delivery to make it feel relevant, relatable, and trustworthy:

Young stroke survivors are the focal point of every page.
Post-stroke topics focus on younger life stages - like relationships, working, and parenting.
Information is delivered through stories, raw interview videos, and podcasts.

I really respond to the very top of the page where it’s got a video of a young person. I would have found that really comforting. _{(Lived experience user feedback)}

Design challenge #2

From isolation to connection

Younger people recovering in hospital from stroke felt alone and excluded - that no one 'gets it' or can help them.

Our core objective was to communicate that they are not alone:

Succinct video collages of young survivors share their experiences.
Stories of relatable people and life topics take centre stage.
Peer support groups and online communities are made prominent.

It makes me feel included just by knowing that there’s other people out there saying ‘I had a stroke’. _{(User feedback)}

Design challenge #3

Keeping it simple & stroke-friendly

With potential cognitive and physical challenges after stroke, simplicity was key:

Key information can be accessed without the need for navigating.
Information is broken down, with buttons above the fold to help users jump to topics of interest.
Videos and short text were favoured, with detailed information initially tucked away.

I really respond to the simplicity of everything... I quite like how this is broken down. _{(User feedback)}

The screens are easy to read, and easy to understand especially after my stroke and I have aphasia. _{(User feedback)}

"I wish I had this as I felt so alone as young person."

Glowing feedback was received from the lived experience group, and 91.9% of broader test users wanted to engage with the website as it made them feel less alone.

It has become the health charity's core onboarding product for young stroke.