ODHS 2024
TIMELINE
3 Months (From October - December 2024)
MY ROLE
Product Designer
TOOLS
Figma, Framer, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
Project Overview
As a Product Designer at Intellisoft Consulting Limited, I was responsible for designing and developing key assets for the first-ever Open Digital Health Summit 2024 (ODHS24). The summit took place from December 1-3, 2024, at the Argyle Grand Hotel on Mombasa Road, Nairobi, Kenya.
With a theme of "Accelerating Full-STAC on FHIR," the conference brought together developers, architects, innovators, and thought leaders to explore AI-driven and standards-based digital health transformation. ODHS24 featured two primary tracks:
Building with FHIR – Hands-on workshops for digital health developers and product teams, covering HL7 FHIR fundamentals, Open Health Stack, and AI-driven innovation.
DPIs for Health – Sessions for government digital architects on leveraging interoperability standards and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for national health transformation.
Since ODHS24 was a brand-new conference, my role involved designing and launching essential brand and digital assets, including the logo, website, payment integration, and event merchandise (T-shirts, bottles, banners, and gift bags).
Problem
One of the biggest challenges we faced while preparing for ODHS24 was time constraints. With the event fast approaching, we had to design and develop everything from scratch—including branding, a responsive website, and payment integration—while ensuring a seamless experience for attendees.
Objectives
Since this was the first-ever Open Digital Health Summit, there were no existing assets to build upon. We needed to:
Create a strong visual identity from the ground up, including a logo and branding materials.
Develop a fully functional website to provide event details, register attendees, and process payments securely.
Integrate payment solutions with expiry links to streamline transactions and encourage early sign-ups.
Design and produce event merchandise such as T-shirts, bottles, banners, and gift bags—all while ensuring consistency in branding.
Balancing these priorities with the tight deadline meant we had to work efficiently, iterate quickly, and ensure everything was ready in time for the launch.
Solution
Given the tight timeline, we needed a fast and efficient way to manage registrations and payments. Instead of building a custom website with integrated payments, which would have taken more time, we opted for a no-code approach using Framer for the website and email campaigns for payment processing.
To ensure a personalized registration experience, we:
Researched and compared payment integrations such as Paystack, Stripe, PayPal, and Flutterwave. I compiled a detailed report on their pros and cons and presented it to the team.
Initially settled on Paystack because of its support for local payment methods like Airtel Money and M-Pesa (Safaricom), which would have been convenient for Kenyan attendees.
Shifted to PayPal due to security concerns with Paystack and the need to accommodate international participants who were attending the event.
Created a Google Form to collect key details from participants, such as their preferred track (Building with FHIR or DPIs for Health) and their status (e.g., student, professional, or organization representative)
Used the collected data to segment attendees and send personalized emails tailored to their selected track and status.
Integrated PayPal payment links in these emails for seamless ticket purchases.
Used Linkly to generate expiring payment links, ensuring that payments were made within a specific timeframe to manage ticket availability and encourage early registrations.
Included QR codes for faster payments, allowing attendees to scan and pay instantly without manually entering payment details.
By leveraging Google Forms, Email Campaigns, Linkly, and QR Codes, we streamlined the registration and payment process while ensuring both local and international participants had a smooth experience.
Logo Design and Branding
The branding process for ODHS24 started with several iterations based on insights from the academic paper "A Full-STAC Approach for Digital Health Transformation: Interoperability, AI, and Digital Public Infrastructure". This paper provided a structured approach to digital health transformation, which influenced the design direction.
From this, I designed three different logo concepts, each incorporating elements of interoperability. After sharing these concepts with the team, we refined the designs and ultimately settled on one that best represented the event’s vision.
Responsive Website
For the ODHS24 website, I decided to use Framer due to its no-code flexibility and ability to support custom code when needed. This allowed us to move quickly while still incorporating interactive and dynamic elements.
During the design process, a suggestion was made to add a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency for ticket purchases. The team agreed that this would be a great addition to encourage early registrations. Since Framer allows custom code integration, I built the timer component using ReactJS and seamlessly embedded it into the website.
Additionally, I used Framer to create a Payment Link Expired page that would automatically display when a payment link had expired. This ensured a smooth user experience, preventing users from accessing outdated links.
Payment Integration
To streamline ticket purchases for ODHS24, I conducted research on multiple payment gateways, including Paystack, Stripe, PayPal, Flutterwave and PesaPal. After evaluating factors like local payment support, security, and international accessibility, we initially chose Paystack but later switched to PayPal due to security concerns and the need to support international attendees.
For the payment setup, I created two payment links:
Student Fee ($20)
Full Payment ($200)
To ensure timely transactions, I used Linkly to generate expiring payment links, preventing late or unauthorized payments. I also prepared a spreadsheet with the links and their corresponding expiry dates, and shared this with the Marketing Team Lead, Mercy Wanjama. She then integrated the links into the personalized emails sent to participants. Additionally, I designed a Payment Link Expired page in Framer to notify users when their link was no longer valid.
Product Mockups and Marketing Materials
As part of the branding and promotional efforts for ODHS24, I designed a range of product mockups and marketing materials to ensure consistency across both digital and physical assets. These materials were essential for promoting the event and enhancing its visibility.
Additionally, with the help of Mercy Wanjama, I designed slide templates for presenters and intermission screens to maintain a polished and professional look throughout the summit. These templates ensured visual consistency in all presentations and transitions during the event.
I created mockups for:
Shirts
Track 1 (Blue) for attendees of the Building with FHIR track
Track 2 (Orange) for attendees of the DPIs for Health track
Speakers (Black Polos) to distinguish event speakers
Volunteers (Green Normal Shirts) for event staff and volunteers.
Water Bottles
Lanyards
Banners for on-site promotion at the venue
Gift Bags which had logos of Organizing Partners
Name Tags for participants, speakers, and staff, ensuring clear identification during the event
These designs were carefully aligned with the established branding, ensuring a cohesive look and feel for the event. The physical materials were designed to not only promote the event but also to provide attendees with memorable takeaways.
Impact and Results
The implementation of key features in the ODHS24 event design had a significant impact on both registration speed and attendee experience.
The timer added to the website created a sense of urgency, leading to faster registrations as attendees were motivated to secure their spots before the deadline. This helped ensure a steady stream of registrations and contributed to meeting our target numbers.
The introduction of QR codes for payment links not only made it easier for attendees to pay quickly but also opened up an unexpected opportunity for onsite registrations. We hadn't initially planned for onsite sign-ups, but the QR code system allowed us to register attendees in real time, ensuring a smooth and efficient registration process on the event day.
As a result of these efforts and features, we successfully registered over 400 participants for the event, surpassing expectations.
Conclusions and Key Takeaways
The ODHS24 project was a rewarding experience that allowed me to implement a range of design, development, and integration solutions under tight time constraints. It was truly exciting to see my work come to life—from the branding and website to the seamless payment process and event materials—all contributing to a successful summit.
Importance of Flexibility: The decision to use a combination of no-code tools (like Framer) and custom solutions helped us meet deadlines without compromising quality. It was a great lesson in leveraging the right tools for the task at hand.
Team Collaboration: The experience highlighted the importance of effective collaboration with cross-functional teams. Working with project managers, marketing, finance, and other departments ensured that payment links, email campaigns, and other integrations were smoothly executed. Clear communication and coordination were crucial to meeting our goals.
Adaptability to Challenges: Handling time constraints and technical challenges made me more adaptable. The ability to switch between tools like PayPal for international transactions and Google Forms for data collection showcased my flexibility in finding quick solutions when needed.
A special thanks to Fred Hersch, Mercy Wanjama, Dr. Sylvia Mwelu, Dr. Emma Waiyaiya, Steven Wanyee, Irene Maitha and all the Volunteers for their guidance and support throughout the project. Their insights and collaboration were invaluable in making ODHS2024 a success.
