Easing the daily burdens of diabetes
gluCal was a project birthed from my own frustrations using insulin calculators that didn’t work well. Over summer 2024, my partner and I set out to bring a redesigned, better experience for everyone who uses insulin therapy.
The problem
75 million people worldwide inject insulin daily.
This involves counting carbohydrates and calculating personalized doses, every time they eat.
5+ times a day. Every. Single. Day.
Despite being a daily task, there’s no straightforward tool that simplifies insulin calculation elegantly.
The process is tedious, monotonous, and complicated. No one wants to do math before each meal! Existing tools are either frustrating to use, or don’t address the specific need.
The Solution
gluCal: The all-in-one calculator and log to simplify insulin dosing
gluCal is a mobile app for users who prefer a simple tool for managing diabetes. It focuses on essential functions only: calculating insulin doses, logging insulin, and tracking food intake.
A quick look at the final product...
The app is split into three main functionalities, each targeting one need.
Insulin Calculator
Users input their current glucose levels and carbohydrate intake then select a carb ratio. gluCal then calculates the recommended insulin dose based on their personalized settings, which can be adjusted at any time. Users can also log specific foods along with the carb count.
Insulin Log
All insulin calculations are automatically stored in the insulin log. Users can also add logs manually from this page for doses taken without using the calculator for more flexibility.
Food Diary
The food diary logs all food items entered through the insulin calculator to help users track their diet alongside their insulin intake. Users can also create a food diary entry directly from this screen.
research
To start, I conducted 3 user interviews with people with Type 1 Diabetes, and identified 2 main pain points.
From this information, I asked:
How might we make calculating insulin doses easier and less frustrating for people with diabetes?
How will we stand out from existing products?
I conducted a competitive analysis and discovered that existing solutions varied along 2 key spectrums: visual design and scope.
A competitive analysis highlighting gluCal’s unique advantage.
Direct Competitors
T1D1: Basic Type 1 diabetes app with insulin calculations and food logging, but lacks visual appeal.
GlucoLog RapidCalc: Advanced insulin calculator with complex inputs, limited to Europe.
MySugr: Comprehensive diabetes management tool with bolus calculator, but not available everywhere.
Indirect Competitors
Glooko: Cross-platform app for syncing and analyzing diabetes data, used by patients and healthcare providers.
Diabetes:M: Multifunctional app for all diabetes types, with treatment tracking and data import from devices.
From this research, I concluded:
Existing diabetes tools excel in various areas but often fall short for users seeking a simple, focused solution.
gluCal aims to fill this gap by providing a straightforward, specialized tool for insulin calculations, catering specifically to those who need simplicity without the complexity of broader management systems.
Design
I started off by exploring different layouts and mapping out the basic app structure on paper.
Initial variations of the insulin calculator screen layout (I ended up going with something very different)
More early lofi wireframes of the insulin log (top) and settings (bottom)
DESIGN DECISION #1
How do we show that logging food is associated with the carb count input?
However, during interviews, users still expressed that the relationship between the carbs and food log were not clear - it still seemed like a separate process from inputting carbs.
One user suggested to nest the button within the carb input field. When the button is nested within the field, it visually indicates that the log food action is part of the carbs input process, rather than a separate action that is simply associated with carbs.
DESIGN DECISION #2
What would it look like to log multiple food items at once?
When logging food from the calculator, an intermediate screen appears that stores all the food the user is logging. I explored two different approaches for the food input form that appears after they click “Add Item”.
Based on the comparison of these metrics, iteration 1 is the clear top choice.
DESIGN DECISION #3
How should we structure the data synchronization of the insulin log and food diary?
When a user logs food with their insulin calculation, two logs are created: one in the insulin log and one in the food diary. These logs are connected by carb count data.
But what if the carb count is changed later in one log? Does the change sync with the other log? And if it does, does the associated insulin dose update too?
A note on technical constraints
For this decision, we also had to consider technical constraints. gluCal uses a single database with two separate tables for insulin logs and food logs. Syncing the carb count between these logs and updating other information would be technically complex.
For these reasons, we opted to keep the carb counts separate across logs.
The Final Product
Lo and behold… gluCal, the all-in-one insulin calculator and food log
Next Steps?
Now that the design of gluCal is done, my project partner and I are building the app in our free time! We aim to release it in the app store and share it within Type 1 Diabetes communities at my school and online. I’m super proud of this product — it’s something I would use myself, and something I wish existed when I was first diagnosed back in 2020.
I hope that gluCal can bring a modicum of simplicity to the complex, confusing, and often frustrating journey of living with diabetes, and make managing it just a little easier.
