challenge
Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) wanted to make human-centered design (HCD) a core part of how it plans and delivers national health initiatives. While there was strong intent, there was limited practical experience, shared language, or internal confidence in how to apply HCD at scale. At the same time, four strategic programs—each tackling deeply human health challenges—were struggling with engagement, behavior change, and alignment across teams: → iQuit – A national smoking cessation program with declining success rates → Youth Weight Management – Addressing rising obesity in teens while respecting identity, motivation, and stigma → Parent Hub – Supporting busy parents through the chaos of early childhood development → Integrated Programme – Linking digital tools and services across HPB’s ecosystem to create continuity of care The mission was twofold: deliver better outcomes for citizens, and build internal capability to keep doing so.
Client
Health Promotion Board
Format
App
ACTION
I designed and led a 12-month applied HCD programme combining real-world innovation sprints with hands-on training for cross-functional HPB teams. Each initiative was treated as a live design lab, embedding HCD not as theory but as a shared practice: User Research as the Starting Point Conducted deep design research across each initiative—interviews, field visits, data synthesis—bringing forward real, often underheard citizen voices Created shared insight frameworks for each team, including journey maps and behavioral drivers Program-Specific Interventions → iQuit: Identified psychological blockers in existing journeys and co-created more emotionally intelligent service prompts → Youth Weight Management: Designed engagement around identity and agency, not just compliance and diet → Parent Hub: Reframed content and services to be context-aware, prioritizing moments that matter to time-poor parents → Integrated Programme: Worked across silos to map entry points and unify fragmented digital experiences Capability Building by Doing Coached HPB teams through design sprints, synthesis workshops, prototyping and testing cycles Developed custom tools, methods, and templates suited for policy-driven public health environments Facilitated reflective sessions and retrospective reviews to embed learning beyond the project
RESULTS
HPB teams delivered user-validated service concepts across all four programs, ready to inform pilots or implementation The Healthy365 pilot (from Integrated Programme) became a flagship example of behavioral design in action More than 60 HPB staff were upskilled across research, insight synthesis, prototyping, and iteration Built the foundation for HPB’s own HCD playbook, tailored to its public health context and internal workflows Enabled clearer conversations between policy, digital, and program teams, reducing misalignment and rework
LEADERSHIP LENS
We shifted how HPB listens, learns, and leads. I operated as both strategic lead and internal coach, translating design methods into public health practice. Clarity – Brought structure to ambiguity: from scattered initiatives to integrated design problems. Cadence – Balanced real-world delivery with time to reflect and learn—without overwhelming teams. Care – Met public officers where they were, respecting their domain expertise and pace of change. This was design as intervention, not as ornament. Empowering HPB to design with people, not for them.
