“I didn’t realize how much regular dental care could change how I feel every day. The team explained everything so clearly, and I could see exactly what my insurance covered. No surprises, just relief.” Evelyn Brooks, Weco, TX (Clarity user testimonial)
Walk into almost any dental office in America, and the experience is nearly identical: treatment plans buried in paperwork, costs with no context, options explained verbally with nothing to compare. These are the moments where patient confidence breaks down, and where most healthcare design has failed. As lead product designer on Clarity, Yutong Liu built a mobile UX platform to close it, one that surfaces savings, visualizes treatment, and guides patients from confusion to confident consent. The project won a 2026 iF Design Award in the User Experience / Product UX category.
Before any design decisions were made, Liu immersed herself in the patient experience, mapping exactly where trust broke down between patient and provider. The moment a paper estimate was handed over, the silence after a cost was quoted, the point where options were explained verbally, with nothing to compare. Each of those moments became a design opportunity, and together they shaped the four core needs Clarity was built to address.
The first is treatment understanding. Rather than burying care information in paperwork, Clarity gives patients a visual overview of their journey, showing consultation status, active treatment plan, team collaboration, and follow-up care in one place. A patient who just finished their first consultation can open the app and immediately see where they are, what has been decided, and what comes next, without calling the office.
The second is option comparison. Patients can compare treatment choices side by side, a porcelain crown versus a composite filling, with clear differences in steps, durability, stability, and longevity. A patient weighing cost against longevity can see that a crown lasts 10 to 15 years while a filling lasts 5 to 7, and make a decision that fits their life.
Third is savings and coverage clarity. The Smart Savings and Coverage experience brings eligible programs, insurance adjustments, and payment options together in one place. A retired teacher might discover they qualify for an educator wellness benefit and a senior dental credit, reducing their bill before reaching checkout.
Fourth is review and consent. Treatment details, savings, estimated patient pay, and digital signature come together in a single flow. Instead of signing forms at the front desk, a patient reviews everything on one screen and signs with confidence before leaving the chair.
Of all four, the Smart Savings and Coverage module proved the most impactful. Patients answer a short intake flow covering age, occupation, income, and payment preference, and the system surfaces every applicable discount automatically. In the scenario Liu built, a patient with an $785 subtotal arrives at just $115 out of pocket, a 73% reduction, before signing anything.
Photo Courtesy: Y.H. Studio
The work earned international recognition with an iF Design Award 2026 in User Experience / Product UX. With entries coming from 68 countries, the award underscored the scale of Clarity’s impact and its broader relevance as a new model for making dental care more understandable, accessible, and patient-centered.
The implications reach beyond dentistry. Clarity makes a broader argument about what health UX can be: not a digital replica of a paper form, but a tool that helps patients make better decisions.
Yutong Liu is a product designer specializing in AI systems and enterprise platforms, with over six years of experience at TikTok, Shopee, Lucid Software, and Judi Health. She holds a Master’s in Information Science from the University of Michigan and has studied Human-Computer Interaction at UC Berkeley. As lead product designer on Clarity, the 2026 iF Design Award is recognition that good design changes how people live.
Photo Courtesy: Yutong Liu
