Galderma AART & HIT

Our first step toward a focused research objective was to understand the existing AART and HIT methodologies that form the foundation of Galderma’s medical education. Through analysis of training materials and interviews with their creators, we discovered that these approaches represented a paradigm shift in aesthetics—moving from product-centric to patient-centric treatment planning. Many injectors were skilled with individual products but lacked systematic methods for comprehensive facial assessment and a strategic combination of treatments. By mapping the current educational ecosystem, we identified key opportunities to enhance digital transformation: standardizing the assessment language across markets, visualizing the connection between facial analysis and treatment selection, and creating a coherent learning progression to build confidence in applying these complex methodologies. We grounded our research in the realities of practicing injectors across multiple markets, revealing that beyond content, they most valued expert guidance and practical application—elements we would need to translate to the digital environment carefully.

We conducted deep ethnographic research with medical educators, observing their teaching methods and capturing the tacit knowledge that made their instruction effective. The study utilized a two-phase approach, beginning with 12 semi-structured interviews with the medical education team who created AART and HIT methodologies, uncovering their teaching philosophy and educational objectives. These 60-90 minute conversations revealed the nuanced expertise that made their in-person training effective. We complemented this with four collaborative design sprint workshops involving stakeholders from medical education, digital marketing, and regional markets to co-create the vision for the digital experience. The quantitative analysis from GAIN Connect usage patterns showed that interactive content generated 3.2x higher engagement than passive materials, validating our approach toward interactive learning modules. To refine solutions further, we conducted three prototype testing sessions with 15 healthcare professionals across different markets to improve our design and address regulatory requirements. This approach shaped our design process—from interactive assessment tools to guided treatment protocols.
This revealed that successful digitization would require balancing standardization with localization, creating interactive assessment tools, and building a clear progression from foundational concepts to advanced techniques.

Participants valued the structured assessment methodology of AART but needed consistent visual references to apply it confidently. Our research found that 78% of practitioners had difficulty translating theoretical knowledge into consistent practice without ongoing reference materials. While effective in person, the AART disk tool lacked digital equivalents that could reinforce learning outside training sessions. For HIT protocols, 85% of participants expressed difficulty remembering specific product combinations across different facial areas, highlighting the need for accessible reference systems. Additionally, 92% of injectors preferred learning through case-based scenarios rather than abstract principles, suggesting a clear direction for content design. We proposed a multi-layered e-learning system built on three core use cases that our solution must address: 1) The platform must provide interactive assessment tools that visualize and guide facial analysis; 2) It must create clear connections between assessment findings and treatment protocols; and 3) It must offer progressive learning paths that build confidence through practice and feedback. The MVP was designed to support these use cases while adhering to market regulatory requirements.

Our prototyping process emphasized three essential components: interactive assessment tools that digitally replicated the physical AART disk, integrated treatment protocol libraries that connected assessment findings to customized treatment plans, and progressive learning paths that built expertise through structured modules. We tested with 15 healthcare professionals across three markets. Additional insights came up: users required immersive case studies to build confidence and needed explicit connections between assessment findings and treatment recommendations. Mentions of valued certification milestones to track their progress were recommended. We implemented a phased rollout, starting with Brazil as the pilot market and then expanding to regions with similar regulatory frameworks. This process involved navigating complex medical education regulations and ensuring compliance with promotional boundaries for pharmaceutical products. We established a technological foundation within the existing GAIN Connect platform, leveraging its authentication systems while building new interactive components that extended its capabilities beyond standard e-learning modules. Our strategy focused on creating a consistent core experience that could flex to accommodate regional regulatory variations through configurable content layers, ensuring compliance while maintaining educational integrity. Each development phase incorporated feedback from medical education experts and practicing injectors, particularly around the visualization of facial assessment techniques and the clear connection between assessment and treatment protocols. This comprehensive approach resulted in a platform that effectively digitized complex medical education while maintaining the expert guidance that made the face-to-face system valuable.