Remodeling DIAGNO
Project type: Product Design
Team: Group project in collaboration with scientists and engineers
Role: Visual designer, product designer
Audience: Clients in isolated environments without access to hospitals
Background
During the summer of 2020, I had the chance to be part of a team that developed a portable diagnostic COVID-19 detection kit that takes just seventeen minutes. I saw this portable device as a boon for those in nursing homes and isolated environments, and volunteered to lead the graphic design aspect of this project in order to facilitate the delivery of the product to the public.
My approach
When I first saw the model of the device created by an engineering post-doctoral student, I was confronted by a crude box with a huge, bulky screen tacked onto its upper edge. It looked intimidating, just like all of the other large and immobile devices in the lab. In contrast, the portable detection kit was meant to be easily distributed and used in public settings. So I proposed to redesign the exterior of the device, an idea that was initially met with skepticism by the team.
What lab engineers designed…
The first model looked just like other typical box-shaped instruments in labs although this detection kit is meant to save people’s lives by being distributed across the general public.
Versus mine.
Therefore, I wanted to demonstrate the initial approach to engage the user experience with visual components on top of functionality.
When I started to develop sketches of a device with rounded curves, the researchers scoffed at my design and told me that ellipsoids waste more space.
Nevertheless, I continued to push my idea forward as I strongly believed that a consequential diagnostic tool made to aid the public during such a difficult time should not be such a stark, intimidating box.
Functionality wise, I designed the device to be straightforward to operate, and made the results readout text a simple message to avoid confusing or intimidating the non-experts who would likely be using the device. I knew it could be more user-friendly without an unnecessarily detailed results screen.
When I asked my peers outside the lab what they thought of my new design, they said that it looked like a friendly robot assistant or a funny egg with eyes for buttons. In fact, my device did resemble an egg, a shape familiar to everyone, made that way in the hopes that it would be easier to handle.
From this, I wanted the device to look like a friendly face that would reassure the patients at first glance and be shaped in a way that would be easy to pick up and use. In the end, even the hard-liners in the lab that wanted a more space-efficient design agreed that my new suggestions offered more to the user and overall functionality; hence, the DIAGNO was born.
Aesthetics and functionality must work hand in hand in order for a product to be successful, and for me, this device was all about the interaction between technology and the patient under stress who has a lot to cope with, especially given that new diseases are often difficult to understand.
My collaborative work with engineers and scientists taught me that my role as a designer is to balance aesthetics and functionality, and how critical design truly is to a product. My DIAGNO could make the difference between life and death, and its previous one-dimensional design and unnecessary complexity would serve as a barrier for access.