Aalia Coovadia

I am on a journey of developing the mindset of a Service Designer with an academic and professional background in Interaction Design, User Experience Design and User Research.

Presently a UX Designer at Discovery Ltd and the Strategist for Ladies that UX, Cape Town. I have worked in a number of different organisations in the space of health and fintech.

I have my Bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design and a Master’s in User Experience – where I focused my dissertation on Service Design for Dental Healthcare: To improve the frequency of dental check-ups, this study focused on improving the patient experience with deliberate environmental design, to put patients in a more receptive state for treatment.

My interest in Healthtech stems from my parents who are both government healthcare providers. I’ve grown up seeing the need for improved experiences amongst patients as well as healthcare workers. I think there is a massive opportunity for UX in the South African healthcare system but monetarisation cannot be at the forefront.

I think the most valuable skill in UX for healthcare is empathy. This perspective comes from my interest in behavioral science and techniques of influence with my a strong social conscience of the ethical responsibilities of UX specialists.