1.04 Unlearning UX: Designing for Safety, Comfort, and Trust with Anna Oh

Written By Kelly Smith

Anna Oh is Head of Product & Design at Norbert Health, where she leads design on a robotic remote-patient-monitoring platform for seniors in nursing homes — working directly with patients and nursing staff. 

We discuss how Anna had to unlearn traditional UX frameworks when designing for nursing home residents, especially those with dementia. We talk about the evolution of the face of Norbert and how user preferences trumped designers’ tastes. And we chat about why it is essential for these nursing home residents to accept the robot through a sense of trust, comfort, and safety.

“There are moments when what the person really needs is another human being. That’s why we don’t think about the robot as replacing nurses.” —Anna Oh

Be sure to check out Anna’s Config 2026 talk.

Anna’s website: annaohgood.com

Config talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGQEbwm6yc8 

Kelly Smith

Founder of Podcat Creative Consulting, podcaster 🎙️, and firm believer that every great idea starts with caffeine ☕️ and a cat 🐈‍⬛.

https://podcatcreative.com
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1.03 Health AI for the People the System Leaves Out with Smit Doshi