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Gendered Design Conventions in PHI Speculative Design

This speculative design project critiques the gendered design conventions found in personal health informatics (PHI) applications. By analyzing qualitative data from top-rated men’s and women’s health apps on the Apple App Store, I identified recurring visual and interaction patterns that reinforce gender stereotypes. Using these insights, I created mockup applications that intentionally applied these conventions to highlight their biases and limitations. Through this contrarian approach, the project reveals that the most effective way to design meaningful, data-driven PHI experiences is to move beyond gendered design principles and instead focus on the quality, accuracy, and inclusivity of the data itself.

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