Teaching an AI to care like a human
How Hinge Health united fragmented features into one seamless, AI + human-centered experience.
Hinge Health is a pioneer in digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care, combining exercise therapy, connected hardware, and clinical support to help millions move pain-free. But as the platform grew, so did its complexity. Therapy, TENS relief, guided breathing, and rewards each lived in their own design worlds; effective, but visually and functionally fragmented. Hinge Health partnered with us to define what’s next: a unified experience anchored by Robin, their emerging AI-powered care assistant. The goal wasn’t just to streamline the app; it was to create a seamless, intelligent care platform where every interaction feels connected, supportive, and human.
Hinge Health is a pioneer in digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care, combining exercise therapy, connected hardware, and clinical support to help millions move pain-free. But as the platform grew, so did its complexity. Therapy, TENS relief, guided breathing, and rewards each lived in their own design worlds; effective, but visually and functionally fragmented. Hinge Health partnered with us to define what’s next: a unified experience anchored by Robin, their emerging AI-powered care assistant. The goal wasn’t just to streamline the app; it was to create a seamless, intelligent care platform where every interaction feels connected, supportive, and human.
Hinge app
Specialized care, built around you
Exercises are designed by physical therapists and adapt as your pain or symptoms change.
Breathe
Calm and reset with Treatment Experiences
Personified Health
Personified Health
When Winning Feels Broken: The Design Reality Check
By every metric, Hinge Health was winning; millions of active members, proven outcomes, and strong clinical credibility. But behind the success, the experience told a different story. Each feature was designed in isolation, lacking a shared language or rhythm. And Robin, the company’s most promising innovation, felt like an outsider,
a passive chatbot in a product built on active care. We saw the opportunity to change that. Robin needed a defined role in the journey; not as a gimmick, but as a true member of the care team. That meant redesigning the experience so AI could listen, think, and act in context; turning care into a continuous, intuitive partnership.
Holistic care journey
Holistic care journey
The moment we realized the AIneeded a personality
Robin wasn’t just another feature to integrate; it was the future of Hinge Health’s care experience. Yet, to fulfill that vision, it needed more than algorithms and insights. It needed warmth, empathy, and emotional intelligence. Our mission became clear: evolve Robin from “chatbot” to “caregiver.” We reimagined its purpose around human moments: where a nudge, a reflection, or a word of encouragement could change a member’s entire day. Robin would be present when it mattered most: guiding form during exercises, surfacing insights between sessions, and celebrating small wins with genuine emotion.
Robin wasn’t just another feature to integrate; it was the future of Hinge Health’s care experience. Yet, to fulfill that vision, it needed more than algorithms and insights. It needed warmth, empathy, and emotional intelligence. Our mission became clear: evolve Robin from “chatbot” to “caregiver.” We reimagined its purpose around human moments: where a nudge, a reflection, or a word of encouragement could change a member’s entire day. Robin would be present when it mattered most: guiding form during exercises, surfacing insights between sessions, and celebrating small wins with genuine emotion.
Designing the AI Caregiver:How Robin learned to listen, think, and feel
01
Listening
Robin observes through motion tracking and feedback loops, offering subtle cues to correct form and pacing.
02
Thinking
It processes patterns in user behavior, adjusting care plans dynamically to match progress and motivation.
03
Speaking
Through empathetic micro-conversations, Robin builds trust, using tone and timing to connect like a coach, not a bot, and connects patients with a human specialist (practitioner, doctor) if needed.
03
Writing
It summarizes milestones, updates care plans, and shares insights with both the member and their clinical team. Robin’s presence is intentionally ambient: always aware, never intrusive.
Building a designsystem that thinks
To make Robin’s intelligence scalable, we built a modular design system that defined how AI-driven states adapt across the app. Each pattern: “listening,” “thinking,” “suggesting”; came with clear behavioral and visual rules. This ensured that as Robin evolved, its presence would stay consistent, contextual, and trustworthy.
To make Robin’s intelligence scalable, we built a modular design system that defined how AI-driven states adapt across the app. Each pattern: “listening,” “thinking,” “suggesting”; came with clear behavioral and visual rules. This ensured that as Robin evolved, its presence would stay consistent, contextual, and trustworthy.
Onboarding
Onboarding
Exercise Therapy
Exercise Therapy
Breathing Exercises
Breathing Exercises
Calm down. Just breathe.
We reworked the user experience of our breathing exercises to make them more intuitive, engaging, and effective in helping members find calm and relief faster. The updated design emphasizes simplicity and guidance, making it easier to focus on breathing rather than navigating the app. With clearer visuals, smoother pacing, and personalized prompts, members can better connect mind and body during moments of stress or pain. This refreshed experience supports our goal at Hinge Health: to help people move, feel, and live better through treatments that address both the physical and psychological aspects of pain.
We reworked the user experience of our breathing exercises to make them more intuitive, engaging, and effective in helping members find calm and relief faster. The updated design emphasizes simplicity and guidance, making it easier to focus on breathing rather than navigating the app. With clearer visuals, smoother pacing, and personalized prompts, members can better connect mind and body during moments of stress or pain. This refreshed experience supports our goal at Hinge Health: to help people move, feel, and live better through treatments that address both the physical and psychological aspects of pain.
The Proof: How Empathetic AI DroveReal Human Results
In 12 weeks, Hinge Health’s app transformed from a collection of features into a cohesive, AI-augmented care platform. Robin became an integrated, visible member of the care team: personalizing support, anticipating needs, and deepening trust. Hinge Health’s new experience now embodies movement and intelligence in harmony; a seamless collaboration between human care and empathetic AI, built to help every member move with confidence and purpose. Early prototypes showed:
In 12 weeks, Hinge Health’s app transformed from a collection of features into a cohesive, AI-augmented care platform. Robin became an integrated, visible member of the care team: personalizing support, anticipating needs, and deepening trust. Hinge Health’s new experience now embodies movement and intelligence in harmony; a seamless collaboration between human care and empathetic AI, built to help every member move with confidence and purpose. Early prototypes showed:
✳︎ Users now move with assurance and purpose
+25%
A 25% increase in exercise session completion whenRobin offered real-time, in-context guidance
+18%
Members spending 18% more time engaging with progressdashboards and daily support tools
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