Designing a Corona tracing app

More and more countries are finally releasing Bluetooth tracing apps for Corona. But how do you design such an app so that many people use it? Here, I wanted to share a design sketch I made a few weeks ago. It’s for a Bluetooth tracing app similar to the one in Germany or France. However, my sketch integrates some additional features to give the user an end-to-end experience. Let’s go through the screens one by one.

Adaptive Main Screen

The app starts on a simple main screen (left): A blue circle at the top indicates that Bluetooth is working. Below, cards offer additional features which I will explain in a second. The clue here is that the main screen can change based on the app’s state: If a risk contact was recognized (center), the design turns red, shows a warning, and leads the user to the next steps. Likewise, the main screen can give behavior recommendations (right; e.g. “get a test”, “stay at home”).

Integrated Symptom Check

What should the user do if the app registered an infection risk? Or if they feel sick? Ideally, the app doesn’t just leave the user alone. That’s why my concept integrates a symptom check, which can either be triggered by the orange card on the main screen or automatically after a risk contact. The symptom check simply asks the user some questions about how he feels and gives a clear behavior recommendation (similar to the CovApp of Charité Berlin).

Interface to Local Help & Tests

A tracing app can’t solve everything. In case of an infection or other problems, local help is required — e.g. through dedicated hotlines, nearby test sites, or the health department. My design concept shows such local information, based on the user’s city or location (left). E.g., this screen could lead the user to their nearest test site in case of infection (in fact, I recently worked on an API for such a use case, check it out on Github). Lastly, the user can report test results back to the app to warn other users (right).

What do you think of this concept? Let me know in the comments or discuss on Twitter (@jrieke).