--- title: "How I Make Complex Things Clear: iHealth" description: "Turning specialised, information-dense health content into visual language people understand and remember, through illustration, editorial structure, and visual systems." url: https://dasto.app/portfolio/en/clarity/ language: en alternate_zh: https://dasto.app/portfolio/clarity/ author: "Daco Hsieh 謝明達" published: 2026-07-06 updated: 2026-08-06 --- # How I Make Complex Things Clear: iHealth > Turning specialised, information-dense health content into visual language people understand and remember, through illustration, editorial structure, and visual systems. ![Maidenhair fern specimen hero image](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/case3-maidenhair-fern-hero-CX1uS19j.webp) - **Specimen**: iHealth 健康文章插圖與資訊編輯 - **Category**: Information Design / Editorial / SEO Content - **Location**: Taipei, Taiwan - **Collection Date**: 2018 - 2019 - **Collector**: Daco - **Role**: Visual Design / Editorial Structure / Content Marketing Project at a glance These works share a single task: turning abstract, specialised, or information-dense material into visual language that is easy to understand and remember. I use illustration, editorial structure, characters, and visual systems in response to the audience, brand tone, and communication context, making content more approachable without losing its meaning. It reflects the design ability I value most: helping people understand, then inviting them to keep reading. - **Project type**: Brand visuals / Content design - **My role**: Visual strategy, illustration, editorial integration - **Core strengths**: Information translation, narrative design, brand consistency If the iHealth SEO strategy case is about understanding the real problem behind SEO, this case is about turning complex information into content people could find, read, and actually understand. At iHealth, I was involved not only in article direction and editing, but also in producing many of the explanatory visuals used in health articles. For highly competitive topics such as diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension, our goal was not to add more information. It was to make the information clearer. My approach was consistent: first identify where readers were most likely to get lost, then decide what should stay as text, what should become an image, and what needed to be reorganized into a more scannable rhythm. The visuals were not decoration. They were tools for lowering the cost of understanding. The results supported that approach. Core topics including diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol all reached the top two positions in Google organic search. To me, that was not only an SEO win. It was evidence that content, design, and information structure were working together. ![Diabetes article cover illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B3%96%E5%B0%BF%E7%97%85v2_cover-CSjyP6qS.webp) *Figure 1 — These visuals were part of the article structure itself, designed to help readers hold onto the key points even inside long-form content.* Diabetes was one of the clearest examples. The topic spans causes, types, symptoms, risks, and physiological mechanisms. If all of that is delivered as continuous text, readers often lose orientation before they reach understanding. So I first separated the information into layers. Insulin action and insulin resistance belong to the mechanism layer. Symptoms belong to the recognition layer. Types and risk factors belong to the classification layer. Once the information is organized, visuals can truly help people understand instead of merely illustrating text. ![Types of diabetes illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B3%96%E5%B0%BF%E7%97%85v2_%E5%9B%9B%E7%A8%AE%E9%A1%9E%E5%9E%8B-B7Rdd_fI.webp) ![Diabetes symptoms illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B3%96%E5%B0%BF%E7%97%85v2_%E7%97%87%E7%8B%80%E4%B8%89%E5%A4%9A%E4%B8%80%E5%B0%91-DwOrMYn4.webp) ![Insulin action illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B3%96%E5%B0%BF%E7%97%85v2_%E8%83%B0%E5%B3%B6%E7%B4%A0%E4%BD%9C%E7%94%A8-C_Ic_BJ9.webp) ![Insulin resistance illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B3%96%E5%B0%BF%E7%97%85v2_%E8%83%B0%E5%B3%B6%E7%B4%A0%E9%98%BB%E6%8A%97-1KJjQ2qA.webp) ![Diabetes risk illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B3%96%E5%B0%BF%E7%97%85v2_%E9%A2%A8%E9%9A%AA-BoLTglOf.webp) *Figure 2 — This diabetes series breaks mechanism, symptom recognition, and classification into separate visual units so understanding can build step by step.* The cholesterol article posed a different problem. The issue was not lack of information, but that many readers had only a vague idea of what “good” and “bad” cholesterol meant. In that case, adding more explanation was less important than redefining the comparison itself. I placed the concepts readers most often confuse into the same visual frame, then used shape, direction, color, and grouping to clarify the difference. This is essentially visual hierarchy and chunking: cutting a complex subject into smaller units the mind can hold more easily. ![Cholesterol article cover illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E8%86%BD%E5%9B%BA%E9%86%87360v2_cover-DrA_pnUs.webp) ![Good and bad cholesterol comparison illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E8%86%BD%E5%9B%BA%E9%86%87_%E5%A5%BD%E5%A3%9E%E8%86%BD%E5%9B%BA%E9%86%87-lsnzSGaf.webp) *Figure 3 — The cholesterol visuals reduce conceptual friction by making the relationships legible before readers face more terminology.* Hypertension leaned more toward actionable organization. Readers were not only asking what it is, but also who should pay attention and what they can do now. That meant the article rhythm had to shift from conceptual explanation to risk recognition and prevention. I cared a lot about scan paths here. Long-form readers often do not read every word in order. They look first for the parts most relevant to them. So the visuals and headings had to function as entry points, helping readers find themselves in the article before they continued downward. ![Hypertension risk group illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E9%AB%98%E8%A1%80%E5%A3%93v2_%E9%AB%98%E9%A2%A8%E9%9A%AA%E6%97%8F%E7%BE%A4-BfmtsUZ_.webp) ![Hypertension prevention illustration](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E9%AB%98%E8%A1%80%E5%A3%93v2_%E9%A0%90%E9%98%B2-C9ojBojM.webp) *Figure 4 — The hypertension set turns risk groups and prevention into strong scanning anchors inside a long article.* I applied the same method to many other health topics as well: urine color, hydration, salt intake, vitamin D, medication disposal, and ADHD types. On the surface these topics differ, but the underlying task is the same: identify the hardest part to understand, then convert it into something recognizable, comparable, and memorable. I also cared about whether a visual felt worth saving or sharing. That is part of the SEO strategy too. Search brings readers in, but distinctive visuals help the content travel further after they arrive. Some illustrations deliberately borrowed unusual styles, like old-painting references or the visual logic of retro game packaging, so the explanation would feel more memorable and more likely to be passed along. ![Urine color chart](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E5%B0%BF%E8%89%B2-blog%E9%A1%8F%E8%89%B2%E8%A1%A8-e8nKNTKb.webp) ![Urine color LINE visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E5%B0%BF%E8%89%B2-LINE-CeopBPH1.webp) ![Hydration by body weight visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E6%AD%A3%E7%A2%BA%E5%96%9D%E6%B0%B4-blog%E6%AF%8F%E5%85%AC%E6%96%A4%E5%96%9D%E5%A4%9A%E5%B0%91%E6%B0%B4-Bw7OMgbF.webp) ![Hydration by hour visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E6%AD%A3%E7%A2%BA%E5%96%9D%E6%B0%B4-blog%E6%AF%8F%E5%B0%8F%E6%99%82%E5%96%9D%E5%A4%9A%E5%B0%91%E6%B0%B4-DYDHFRN1.webp) ![Daily salt intake visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E9%B9%BD%E5%88%86%E6%94%9D%E5%8F%96_%E5%9C%8B%E4%BA%BA%E6%AF%8F%E6%97%A5%E6%94%9D%E5%8F%96-CRrgLwpG.webp) ![Vitamin D deficiency LINE visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E7%B6%AD%E7%94%9F%E7%B4%A0D%E4%B8%8D%E8%B6%B3_LINE-DOTtFctE.webp) ![Medication disposal visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/%E8%97%A5%E5%93%81%E4%B8%9F%E6%A3%84-BG6UKK-t.webp) ![ADHD inattentive type visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/ADHD_blog%E6%B3%A8%E6%84%8F%E5%8A%9B%E4%B8%8D%E8%B6%B3%E5%9E%8B-B8Ney2Py.webp) ![ADHD hyperactive-impulsive type visual](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/ADHD_blog%E9%81%8E%E5%8B%95-%E8%A1%9D%E5%8B%95%E5%9E%8B-DJDgTLQl.webp) *Figure 5 — Different topics call for different visual tones, but all follow the same principle: organize the information before deciding how to express it.* This ability also shows up in logo design, because a logo is an extreme form of information design. You need to leave behind clear identity, emotion, and concept using very few elements. ![Phyto logo](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/phyto-BnnZOpMQ.webp) ![Sushi logo](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/sushi-BLBZEWbS.webp) ![Perro pet grooming logo](https://dasto.app/portfolio/assets/perro-cRo626iQ.webp) *Figure 6 — Each logo compresses a more complex brand idea into a minimal but highly recognizable shape system.* For Phyto, I treated upward growth as the main gesture and let the vertical structure feel plant-like, while the eyes add companionship and a more human personality. The symbol compresses function, character, and warmth into one structure. For the sushi shop, I relied on the high recognizability of salmon sushi itself. The fish texture becomes simplified horizontal stripes, supported by spacious typography. It draws on visual prototypes and figure-ground clarity so the concept lands almost immediately. Perro combines a dog silhouette with the impression of a speech bubble. That makes the mark about more than grooming. It suggests companionship, interaction, and a social place where pets meet others. The rounded line quality keeps the identity friendly and approachable. > What I care about most in information design is not whether the data is present, but whether people can follow it toward understanding. > > When something is complex, I do not begin by saying more. I begin by arranging it into a better order. > > Whether it is an article, an illustration, a layout, or a logo, the core work is the same: clarify relationships so meaning can enter naturally. > This case and the iHealth SEO strategy case come from the same period. That page focuses on strategic judgment; this one focuses on the actual craft of making information understandable. Related: How I understand problems ## Related cases - [EmoLog: Logging Hard-to-Name Feelings](https://dasto.app/portfolio/en/clarity/emolog/) — EmoLog turns hard-to-name feelings into a navigable coordinate system of 150+ original hand-drawn faces, so people can log emotions without forcing a label. - [This Portfolio: Information Architecture & MDX](https://dasto.app/portfolio/en/clarity/portfolio-system/) — How a multi-disciplinary body of work became six question-led entry points, framed as botanical specimens and built on a bilingual MDX content model. --- Author: Daco Hsieh 謝明達 · Contact: enodaco@gmail.com · Portfolio home: https://dasto.app/portfolio/en/ · 中文版: https://dasto.app/portfolio/clarity/