Project Reperio | Valentin Toia Design

Healthcare platform

Reperio: finding the right pharmacy

Date:
November 2020 — April 2021

Roles:
Creative Direction, Design strategy, UX and UI Design, Web Design, Visual Identity, Marketing

Client and sector:
Anonymous / SaaS & E-commerce

Reperio is a digital healthcare logistics platform created to help users find nearby pharmacies and their products. It was the business idea of an entrepreneur who chose to remain anonymous. They also wanted to keep the project anonymous, so for this reason, the name was changed and the branding was adapted (the app UX and most of the UI were kept the same).

Overview

Background & reasoning

The Romanian market was missing a unified platform of pharmacies offering their services. There were several large pharmacy chains offering online services with home delivery, but users needed to individually search these pharmacies if they wanted to compare prices or products.

During the Covid pandemic of 2020, the client observed this lack of unified information available online out of personal necessity (while caring for a sick family member). Given that moving around was restricted and people needed medication and safety products such as masks more than ever because of widespread disease, they identified the need for access to transparent information and an easy option to buy or reserve the products. They favored access to the products as soon as possible, so user pick-up was imagined as a better choice than courier delivery (which can be added to the platform at a later stage).

Business model & steps

Reperio's business model is two-fold, on the one side it’s B2B (Saas), meaning that Reperio as a start-up is selling the platform to pharmacies and charging them commissions when selling their products using the platform, while on the other side it’s B2C (e-commerce), given that the pharmacies can then directly sell to final customers using the platform. At a smaller scale, it’s what large platforms such as Amazon are doing, allowing multiple business to sell on a unified platform.

The project was imagined to have 5 main steps (1 & 2 are relevant at this point):

gather & analyse relevant market data about the need for the product (market research study);
design an MVP (as an interactive prototype) and basic branding;
while showcasing the MVP, get as many pharmacies as possible to join the platform;
implement the platform as a website and downloadable app;
promotion through marketing campaigns.

The process

Key Challenges & UX Solutions

The Reperio project required balancing strict medical regulations with a seamless user experience. These are the primary technical and logistical hurdles I navigated:

The Regulatory Split: Legally, users cannot "buy" prescriptions online, but they can for OTC items. I solved this by designing a hybrid checkout, where Rx items generate a 48-hour reservation code while OTC items proceed to a standard payment gateway.
Information Density: Showing 50+ pharmacies with varying stock levels risked user "choice paralysis." I implemented Progressive Disclosure, prioritizing a "Best Match" (Full Availability + Proximity) and using color-coded map pins to simplify complex stock data.
Inventory Fragmentation: User journey mapping and initial exploration revealed that users might need to combine products from multiple pharmacies, since a single pharmacy rarely carries 100% of a multi-item list. So during the process, I adapted the design from an initial single-choice pharmacy list in the map to a multiple-choice Selection UI, allowing users to pick partial stock from Pharmacy A and the remainder from Pharmacy B, merging them into one unified checkout basket.

A user journey map was created after analysing the user data gathered by a third party. Based on the same data and after research, I created user profiles and personas.

User benefits:

convenience (in comparing pharmacy databases from the comfort of the home/office/etc);
transparency (in seeing a comparison of product prices and stock);
ease of use (of a clear online platform);
immediacy (in getting necessary medical products as soon as possible);
certainty (that the product is reserved and waiting for pick-up);
ultimate goal is medical ailment as soon as possible.

User conditions:

ages: 18 and up
access to a device with internet
minimum tech savviness
mobility to go pick up the products

I conducted research on visual identity inspiration and a comparison of live platforms (UX functionalities, card structure, etc.). This led to a moodboard as a visual starting point and then wireframes.

Systems thinking:

Figma is my main weapon of choice for product and web design, and it's also where I create the design systems. For this project I created text & color styles, but also foundation elements such as cards and buttons as components so that they can easily be inserted and updated when required. This also ensures an easier transition for implementation, although for this project I did not go very far in that regard since the potential for implementation was unknown at this point.

For Reperio I chose vibrant green and purple as the main colors. Purple signals innovation and trust while green reinforces health and positive outcomes. They are combined with additional secondary colors in a playful but intentional way, intended to lighten up the otherwise serious topic of health. The logo symbolises an abstract pill in a digestive tract, while obviously nodding at a map route toward a definite point in a location pin. Reperio is a Latin term and means "to find, to realise, to discover". The visual identity is completed by 3D graphics (characters and objects) that inspire motion and lightness and guide the viewer's perception in the marketing materials, but also in the platform itself.

Deliverables

Marketing materials

I also designed a few graphics that showcase what the brand looks like out in the open. These include posters, a shopping bag and social media posts.

Interactive dummy prototype

The main deliverable of this project was the Figma interactive prototype. At the client's choice, this was designed in a desktop format because they intended to showcase it on a laptop while visiting pharmacies to try to get them on board in the later stages of the project.

The above is a video of the user journey through the platform.

Breadcrumbs were used to ensure a transparent and clear process for the user (green highlighting the curent step). Explainer info cards were also added where necessary to eliminate confusion.