Clarity when every decision counts.
Designing a more understandable interface and a simpler sample-loading experience for a surgical hemostasis analyzer.
Two moments. One need for confidence.
A working device was only the beginning. We needed to understand how people loaded a sample and interpreted the results under pressure.
Make the physical task simpler.
Workflow observation revealed a process that was complex, time-consuming, and vulnerable to error.
Make critical information legible.
Results required a steep learning curve. The interface needed to support understanding at a glance.
Make the important state easier to see.
I explored ways to communicate wide-ranging results at a glance, looking to flight controls for inspiration and refining dial concepts through user feedback.
The final direction emphasized the active range and critical information. Color was supported by scale, shape, and an icon so meaning did not depend on color alone.
Interactive 1:1 prototypes let testing locations review updated versions remotely as the interface evolved.
A simpler workflow introduced a new physical challenge.
The team explored replacing a syringe connection with a vacutainer. The workflow could be simpler, but piercing the tube required approximately 20 pounds of force.
I developed loading concepts, wrote the evaluation protocol, recruited participants, and conducted a formative study to assess satisfaction, confidence, and whether the tube was pierced.
Hospital staff preferred concept V3.
Ten trained hospital staff with varied roles participated. Six preferred V3, one preferred V1, and three had no preference or an unknown preference. The findings informed the loading direction and an instructional layer in the interface.
Bring the experience together.
Alongside the interface, I helped define the device’s visual language and created a detailed surface model for engineering. The design used softened forms, texture, and breaks in large surfaces to reduce perceived size.
Designer Chet Larrow collaborated on enclosure ideation and exploration, refinement, color, material, and finish, and usability evaluation.
Clarity is a system, not a screen.
A clinician’s experience spans a physical task, the information on a display, and the confidence to act. This project brought those pieces together through observation, prototyping, and formative evaluation.