sentoms™ are customizable pain icons that can be used by those living with chronic, abstract pain symptoms to communicate with their healthcare providers.
about sentoms™
origin
sentoms™ emerged from the personal journey of creator Shani Abass, who grappled with chronic pain during her teenage years. She faced many challenges in conveying the unique and intricate sensations she experienced, ranging from sharp pain to numbness and tingling. Describing these sensations with words alone proved inadequate, often leading to doctors interpreting her experiences differently. Consequently, Shani never received a definitive diagnosis.
Moreover, the conventional pain description icons and rating systems in use proved inadequate in capturing the subtleties of her pain experiences and facilitating meaningful discussions.
Shani therefore embarked on a journey to explore the potential of multimedia icons, including visuals, motion, and sound, as tools to more accurately depict these diverse sensations.
R&D
Shani went on to conduct a user research study. Part 1 explored how individuals with chronic pain would represent ten common types of pain visually and sonically. Part 2 involved additional questions about participants’ general experiences with chronic pain and obtaining a diagnosis, their current treatment plans and activities they would be willing to try, and colors and sounds that relieved their pain.
The results from Part 1 were astonishing – respondents depicted the same pain terms with remarkably different visuals. For the same adjectives, some employed cool colors, while others favored warm tones; some used spiky shapes, while others opted for rounded forms.
This divergence underscored a crucial fact: a single generic term could encompass vastly dissimilar sensations for different people. The need for specificity became evident, and the introduction of visuals, motion, and sound to enhance conversations became imperative. However, it appeared the ability to customize was also necessary.
Thus, sentoms™ were born – customizable multimedia pain icons designed for clinical settings. They enable the description and identification of abstract pain symptoms, mitigating confusion arising from verbal terms. Beyond chronic pain, sentoms™ could also be invaluable for children, individuals with language barriers, or those with disabilities, such as (non-verbal) autism.
naming & branding
naming & logo
‘sentoms’ is a portmanteau of ‘sensory’ + ‘symptoms’.
The logo was designed to appear friendly and calming, avoiding feeling overly clinical or evoking pain.
#FCACCF
#FBCBA0
#D8FCE5
#BDE9F8
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fonts & colors
Work Sans was chosen as the brand font as it is web-safe and easy to read, but also has some character to it.
The color palette was drawn from the colors that research participants said they found calming and distracted them from their pain.
working icon designs
dynamic icons
These are refined the versions of the sentoms™ icons, crafted based on some of the responses from the user research study. Despite recognizing the need for customization, Shani still chose to create starting icons that could be heavily modified rather than making users create icons from scratch. This was to make the process less overwhelming and arduous, especially as users would be in discomfort when using the icons to log symptoms and may also have limited dexterity, patience, or stamina.
Ongoing work focuses on refining and eventually converting these into fully editable modules, utilizing a creative coding library such as p5.js or a vector animation code format such as Lottie.
dull ache
freezing
migraine
neuralgia
numbness
stabbing
throbbing
tingling
cramps
burning
static icons
The static icons are simplified versions of the dynamic icon set which can be used when motion is not possible or appropriate, such as when mapping symptoms on a 3D diagram of the user's body.
introducing…sentoms™ CP
mobile app
sentoms™ CP serves as the functional proof of concept for the sentoms™ icons. It is a mobile application enabling patients to create and tailor sentoms™, log their pain symptoms using the icons, and view the icons mapped onto a 3D model. Because the app allows users to change the visual intensity of sentoms™ through color, shape, motion, and sound, it is easy to see progress and relief at a glance as the icons are edited and logged over time, enabling meaningful clinical conversations to take place and motivating users to continue with their prescribed treatment plans.
The app also provides users with access to additional resources, including general information about chronic pain (curated by HCPs), chronic pain case studies, direct messaging with HCPs, and personalized physical and therapeutic exercise plans designed by HCPs to alleviate pain symptoms.
These features were all inspired by responses received during the user research study, as well as secondary literature on chronic pain management.
wearable app
The mobile app can seamlessly integrate with a wearable/smartwatch app, enhancing user convenience in symptom tracking and exercise monitoring. This addition was prompted by user research responses emphasizing the motivation gained from tracking progress and achieving specific goals.
Allowing users to witness improved accuracy in prescribed activities, as well as a general increase in physical activity over time, boosts morale. As HCPs can monitor app data, patients can also be held accountable for their adherence to treatment plans, and these plans can be adjusted more accurately when necessary.