Overview
Type 1 Diabetes is a disease, that requires continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels to prevent serious health complications. 48% of Type 1 diabetics rely heavily on continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) like Abbott Freestyle Libre to track their levels in real-time and use it as a decision support system. These Sensors significantly reduce the need for the traditional-finger prick test, which has been a life changing improvement to their daily life. People with diabetes already face constant decision-making throughout their day—what to eat, when to check their blood sugar, how to adjust their medication or activity levels. This ongoing cognitive load can lead to decision fatigue, making it harder to stay consistent with their care. When glucose data is presented in a complex or overwhelming way, it only adds to this burden rather than easing it. That’s why I aimed to redesign the experience, ensuring that the app delivers clear, intuitive insights that help users take action without feeling mentally drained.
Project Duration
3 weeks
Skills
User Research, Task Flows, Prototyping, Inclusive Design, Interaction Design
Tools
Figma, Photoshop
Project Type
Case Study
What is Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that affects how the body processes glucose, its main source of energy. There are two types—Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 happens when the body stops producing insulin, meaning you need to inject it daily. There are two types of insulin: long-acting, which provides a steady release throughout the day, and short-acting, usually taken about 15 minutes before a meal to help process carbohydrates and sugars. If you miscalculate and take too little insulin, your blood sugar goes high. This isn’t immediately dangerous but can cause discomfort—thirst, fatigue, and frequent urination. Over time, repeated highs can lead to serious complications like nerve damage, kidney disease, and heart problems. Take too much insulin, and your blood sugar drops low, which is much more urgent. Severe lows can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness, and in extreme cases, can be fatal.
Exercise plays a key role in managing blood sugar. Since muscles use glucose for energy, physical activity naturally lowers blood sugar levels. While this is beneficial, it also means that insulin and food intake need to be carefully balanced—too much exercise without enough carbs can lead to dangerous lows, even hours after working out.
Type 1 is usually diagnosed at a young age and requires constant monitoring, insulin management, and lifestyle adjustments. Over time, this becomes second nature.
Type 2 is more common in older adults, where the body still produces insulin but doesn’t use it effectively. The good news? It’s often reversible. Many people manage it through diet, exercise, and medication—some don’t need insulin at all. Regular physical activity helps improve insulin sensitivity, meaning the body can use its own insulin more efficiently. With the right changes, blood sugar levels can return to a healthy range.
Problems
Less than 1% of adults with type 2 diabetes use CGMs to manage their glucose levels, even though studies show that users experience 30% reduction in long-term diabetes complications. There are a number of reasons that could explain these low user numbers, including cost, discomfort and wearability, data overload and most importantly limited perceived benefit. A lot of users decide to use other applications in addition to Freestyle Libre as a workaround.
poor accessibility
complex data presentation
no personalization
overwhelming UI
Opportunity
The Libre App seems to mainly target tech-savvy and medically literate users, who are comfortable interpreting glucose data. The current interface assumes a familiarity with digital health apps which could create barriers for many users, including seniors, children and people with lower medical literacy.
How might we improve accessibility and engagement to cater to a diverse range of users, including seniors and children with diabetes?
01 Research
Why Redesign Freestyle Libre App?
Having family members who struggle with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes I understanding how crucial glucose management is to their quality of life. I have seen people in my life struggle with the app and have been wanting to do a redesign for years. There are 5 million users, across 62 countries who use this system and seeing as there is an yearly increase in cases, widening the range of users- perhaps it's time to think about those who have been left behind by the current design. Many users, especially older adults, those with limited tech literacy, or people with accessibility needs, find the app frustrating to use. A tool meant to simplify diabetes management should be intuitive, not a source of stress. By redesigning the app, I aim to create a more user-friendly, inclusive experience that empowers people to take control of their health with ease. That said, this project is purely a creative exercise. I am not considering the legal regulations, medical approvals, or country-specific compliance requirements—my focus is on exploring how the user experience can be improved
Pain points Beyond Personal Experience
To gain a more comprehensive view, I explored user experiences on the Apple App Store (2.9 Stars) and the Google Playstore (2.2 Stars), and platforms like Reddit. I found discussions that echoed many of the frustrations my family had shared. This helped me validate their feedback and uncover new pain points that I hadn’t considered before, giving me a more rounded perspective on the issues at hand. Here's a summary of pain points that users have:
01
Limited Graph Navigation
Users can’t easily navigate through the glucose graphs to see precise levels at specific times. Instead, they have to guess based on the graph’s overall shape, leading to uncertainty and difficulty in tracking trends.
02
Fixed Time Ranges
The app restricts users to predefined time periods for viewing data—7, 14, 30, and 90 days—without offering the ability to customize these ranges. This limitation makes it harder to focus on specific time frames or patterns relevant to individual needs.
03
Constant Alarm Monitoring
When an alarm goes off due to out-of-range glucose levels, users have to constantly check their device to see if their levels have returned to normal. This continuous monitoring can be stressful and disruptive, particularly in situations where immediate action isn’t necessary.
04
Inaccurate Note-Taking
Note-taking is only possible for live glucose readings, meaning users cannot add notes for past readings based on the graph. To add a note for a previous reading, users must guess the time from the graph and manually set it during the note process. This often results in inaccuracies and can be frustrating.
05
Screen Glare
Without a dark mode option, the app emits a bright glare, which can be particularly disruptive in low-light settings such as mid-sleep-checkins, the cinema or live performance. Users are left with no discreet way to check their levels without disturbing others around them.
06
Complex UI
The current user interface is not simplified for those who struggle with interpreting graphs or who may have visual impairments. A more accessible UI is needed to ensure that everyone can effectively use the app, regardless of their visual ability or familiarity with data visualization.
User Quotes
"App recommendations to use with FreestyleLibre ?…I already found it hard to understand my glucose trends from the app before the update, but now I'm struggling even more. " -Reddit User
"… You cannot set an interval for alarms to sound again if your BG is still low/high. This is really important to me at night!" -Reddit User
"I just moved from Dexcom and am missing simple things like the ability to place the cursor at a particular time on the graph and have it display the reading" -Reddit User
"I want to be able to zoom in or select a specific time in the graph to have more information" -Family Member
"I would love to have a widget for the app, so I do not have to open the app everytime I want to check my blood glucose" -Family Member
"It annoys me that I cannot scroll through daily graphs, or that I cannot set a custom range for trends. It would be helful to know how I was doing while traveling or during holidazs where mz diet isn't great" -Family Member
Personas
To have a better understanding of the issues, users might be facing I created the following personas to help guide my design process.
Tertiary User
Sarah H. , 9
Dependant User
Type 1 Diabetic
"I try to understand, but my parents tell me what to do and I listen to them"
Needs
Simpler UI for her to understand her glucose levels.
reliable way for parents to monitor her in real-time.
Frustrations
Her parents constantly interfere with her daily activities because of app connectivity issues- she wants more independance.
Primary User
Mark S. , 32
Analytical Athlete
Type 1 Diabetic
"I want to see exactly when my glucose levels fluctuate, not just an overview. Why can't I zoom into the data properly?"
Needs
More detailed graph and customizable ranges.
Log his workouts to see effects on his glucose levels.
Frustrations
Data is too vague and makes it difficult to analyse trends.
Secondary User
Harmony C. , 68
Overwhelmed User
Type 2 Diabetic
"I just need a simple way to see what’s important without all the extra steps. Why is there no dark mode?"
Needs
A simplified UI to access key information.
A dark mode to check glucose discreetly.
Frustrations
She doesn't check her glucose as much as type 1 diabetics, making the app too complex for her needs.
screen glare embaresses her when she is in theaters.
Design Goals
Understanding users' frustrations gave me countless opportunities for improvement. However, to stay focused and maintain perspective, I prioritized the most critical aspects. I distilled the key needs and translated them into clear goals for this redesign.
Different User Modes ( Basic & Analytical)
Improve graph navigation
Added Data Flexibility
Improved usability for event logging
Introduce dark-mode
02 Design
Why Redesign Freestyle Libre App?
Having family members who struggle with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes I understanding how crucial glucose management is to their quality of life. I have seen people in my life struggle with the app and have been wanting to do a redesign for years. There are 5 million users, across 62 countries who use this system and seeing as there is an yearly increase in cases, widening the range of users- perhaps it's time to think about those who have been left behind by the current design. Many users, especially older adults, those with limited tech literacy, or people with accessibility needs, find the app frustrating to use. A tool meant to simplify diabetes management should be intuitive, not a source of stress. By redesigning the app, I aim to create a more user-friendly, inclusive experience that empowers people to take control of their health with ease. That said, this project is purely a creative exercise. I am not considering the legal regulations, medical approvals, or country-specific compliance requirements—my focus is on exploring how the user experience can be improved.
Basic User Flows
As part of my design process, I focused on creating user flows that will guide me while working on my wireframes. I focused on user flows that reflect the most common interactions users will have with the Freestyle Libre App.
High Glucose Alarm
This flow showcases the user experience of receiving a high glucose alarm and logging the event. The user is guided through acknowledging the alarm and taking a note to track the event for future reference.
Notification
High Glucose
Home Screen
High Glucose
Take Insulin
Prompt
Log Event
Notification
Glucose normalizing
Home Screen
Glucose in Range
Home Screen
Glucose in Range
Review Logbook
Ignore Prompt
Yes
No
Log Event
Save Log
End
Low Glucose Alarm
In this flow, the user is alerted to a low glucose event while using dark mode for reduced strain on their eyes. It demonstrates how the app ensures visibility and accessibility even in lower light conditions.
Notification
Low Glucose
Home Screen
Low Glucose
Take Sugar
Notification
Glucose normalizing
Home Screen
Glucose in Range
End
Checking Log History for Insulin Dosage
Here, the user checks their log history to review past glucose levels to determine the correct dose of insulin for a cup of coffee. This flow underlines the importance of easily accessing and searching past data, helping the user make informed decisions.
Start
End
Home Screen
Glucose in Range
Simplify UI
Open Logbook
Search
for Cappuccino
Logging Exercise Session
This flow illustrates how the user logs an exercise session, which shows the importance of glucose tracking to avoid Low Glucose Events. Using a lock screen widget, the user finishes recording and logs the session seamlessly.
Start
Home Screen
Glucose in Rnage
Log Event
Exercise
Record Exercise
Start Timer
End
a while later…
Start
Lock Screen
End Exercise
Save Exercise
Check Glucose
End
Final Design
After defining the key user flows, I moved on to wireframing — starting with low-fidelity sketches to quickly explore layout ideas and structure. From there, I gradually refined the designs into mid-fidelity wireframes, focusing on usability and interaction details. Through multiple rounds of feedback and iteration, I developed the final high-fidelity wireframes, ensuring the interface was intuitive, consistent, and aligned with the defined user flows.
Below, you'll find the final wireframes that illustrate the completed design solution shaped through this iterative process.
What would a homepage look like if it truly supported users' most common goals?
View Toggle
Allows users to switch between the analytical view and the basic view.
Trend Arrow
indicating the direction of change
(stable, rising or falling).
Graph Cursor
Displays the exact glucose value at a specific time when dragged along the graph.
Note Taking Button
Opens a feature allowing users to log contextual notes tied to glucose events, for future reference.
Sensor Chip
A quick indicator showing how many days are left until the sensor expires and needs to be changed.
Upper threshold Line
User defined high glucose threshhold, once exceeded a high glucose alarm will sound.
Lower threshold Line
User defined low glucose threshhold, once exceeded a low glucose alarm will sound.
Target Range Area
User defined glucose range, helps users see wheather their levels mostly in or out of range.
High Glucose Event
In a high glucose event, Freestyle Libre sounds an alarm, and sends a notification to the user to check Glucose-already showing the glucose levels on the lockscreen. After the user takes action to control their levels and their glucose is back in Range, the app sends a notification letting the user know, so they dont have to open the app. The user is prompted to log this high glucose event for future history and decision making support.
Low Glucose Event
In a low glucose event, Freestyle Libre sounds an alarm, and sends a notification to the user to check Glucose-already showing the glucose levels on the lockscreen. After the user takes action to control their levels and their glucose is back in Range, the app sends a notification letting the user know, so they dont have to open the app. Prompts are turned off at night, to reduce sleep disruptions and stress. I have introduced darkmode, seeing as screenglare during night-time checks is a major painpoint among users.
Logbook checking
Part of the daily stress of living with diabetes is remembering how much short-acting insilin to take in specific situations. Giving users a quick way to search their log history helps reduce cognitive load during already stressful moments.
Exercise Logging
Managing glucose during exercise can be especially challenging for people with diabetes. Adding a feature that lets users record workouts and visualize them within the graph, would give valuable context to their data. Logged workouts are saved, giving users insight on how their glucose reacts to different types of activity ( like cardio vs. strength training) and ability to prepare for future workouts.
03 Reflections
Future Steps
Working on this project, I was able to identifiy many opportunities to expand the app’s functionality and address more usability issues and painpoints. I have listed them below and am hoping to implement them at a later stage:
1. AI-Powered Insights
Currently, users need to manually interpret their data and adjust long-acting insulin based on patterns they observe. AI-driven analytics could automatically highlight trends, predict potential risks, and offer actionable insights — reducing user stress and supporting better long-term glucose management.
2. Home Screen Widgets
Widgets enabling users to log notes, view trends, or take quick actions without opening the app — improving ease of use and supporting real-time tracking during busy moments.
3. Wearables Integration
Optimizing the UI for smartwatches and wearables, allowing users to see glucose data, receive alerts, and interact with key features directly from their wrist for even more seamless daily use.
4. Children’s Mode
A dedicated, gamified interface designed for younger users with diabetes. It would help children learn about their condition in an engaging way, encourage healthy habits, and foster independence while still allowing parental oversight.
5. Athletic Mode
A simplified UI designed for non-diabetic users — part of a growing trend of health-conscious individuals using glucose sensors for fitness and performance tracking. Athletic Mode would remove diabetes-specific elements (like insulin logging) and focus on metrics relevant to exercise and recovery.
What I learned
As this was my first redesign project, I intentionally approached it with a conservative mindset — focusing on making thoughtful improvements rather than changing the entire interface. I wanted to stay respectful of Abbott’s existing design system and the decisions behind it, while still addressing real pain points users experience.
One of my biggest takeaways from this project was the value of deep research. I spent a significant amount of time learning about diabetes, reading medical research papers on continuous glucose monitors , combing through user reviews, and speaking directly with people in my life who use the Freestyle Libre system daily. That investment paid off — it helped me better understand the emotional weight of managing a chronic condition and allowed me to design with empathy, not assumptions. I never thought I would cite Reddit in a case study - yet here we are.
Another key learning was realizing how important it is to work with an existing product and recognizing which features were vital to diabetes management. Early on in the process I concidered removing the upper and lower threshholds as well as the time in range area, to keep the UI as minimal as possible. This idea was thrown out quite quickly once I truly understood users' needs.
Finally, this project reinforced my passion for designing products that genuinely improve people's lives. It reminded me that good design isn't just about aesthetics, but rather about creating real positive impact on someone's daily experience.