Introduction -
My time at Dexcom was an absolute masterclass in the intricacies of medical design. During my years working within an agency and taking on some medical projects I felt that I was familiar with the arduous task of getting a medical product to market. Then I went in-house with Dexcom for 2 years and woah, I had no idea what was in store for me there.
Being able to contribute and work with so many talented thinkers was an experience that completely elevated the way I perceived design. I saw that the "best design" was really something that was optimized across so many different disciplines. It didn't matter how beautiful the Keyshot renderings were, if it got to ME and had to change significantly than we were back at square one. Doing this dance across multiple departments taught me so much.
Ultimately Dexcom is a company designing products that are intimately linked with their customers in a way that many other products are not. Finding myself in the middle of the process with a powerful team was a dream come true.
Iteration -
One of my first tasks was taking some serious iterative concepts on where we came from. The original receiver was something that was known and understood by the user base. The receivers main job is simple, display blood glucose data to the user in a simple and effective way. While we wanted something fresh and beautifully designed we had to come to terms with serious considerations.
1. Many customers were used to the receiver already out there. An entirely alien UX wasn't ideal.
2. Many customers have dexterity needs to be considered, so we couldn't reinvent the wheel there.
Because of these things we did our best to leverage existing key themes within the receiver and give them a fresh update. We went over the ideas of multiple buttons vs. one "d-pad" style. How big the screen should have been, the angling on the back and how it should feel. We agonized over all the details.
As we went forward in the design process there were so many possible color combinations with different implications. Of course we want the product to be beautiful but how can we maximize color for usability? There was a table in the ID studio where we would all take lunch. Almost everyday we would sit around this spot and mull over these ideas (plus talking about the answers to the Universe.. thats another project).
Labelling -
Anyone who has ever been in medical design before knows the number of regulations you need to meet is astounding. Additionally a lot of products need very specific labels with information that may or may not be dynamic depending on the user, country, or language.
This presents visual design challenges of course but it also represents an operations challenge. For example, if a label needs to have information written in English in one region where another region may need them Spanish (for example), how do you design a system to minimize the amount of individual labels and manual steps in application process. This is where design gets interesting. Its obvious that you want to make things beautiful, but the symphony of components to make that happen is so much larger and requires the complete collaboration across disciplines.
The label on the back of the receiver needed to have certain regulatory symbols and information while also being clear to the user when it comes time to pair the device.
Packaging -
Much like labeling, packaging at this level is an exercise in optimizing across platforms. By this, I mean finding a common denominator that meets all the different regulatory constraints we need to address. For perspective, Dexcom G7 was slated to be available in 14 countries. Each of these countries may have different language laws that define what can be on the packaging, different regions may require specific electronic components, and various other details create a singular question: What is the simplest solution to accommodate these diverse needs?
So, we dove into our process: iteration, mock-ups, and unboxing rehearsals. Quickly creating specific parts of the design process by hand yielded powerful results. It allowed the team to narrow down to a rough direction that could be refined. Throughout my design career, I've sometimes tried to hold too many of these parameters in my head and come to the "design table" with a finished solution. Maybe I'd get lucky once or twice, but generally, it causes more mental exhaustion. Working through low-fidelity prototypes with the team was the path to a solution that satisfied efficient manufacturing, regional regulations, and, of course, the design team.
Detailing -
As the design process moved forward, we faced countless small decisions that had to be addressed. During the onslaught of a thousand micro-decisions, it's hard to see how they all add up to the bigger picture, but looking back, it becomes much clearer.
A few examples: Navigating the surfacing on the "d-pad," I had a very specific geometry made in SolidWorks, and working with the mechanical engineering team required significant time. Deciding on the proper asymmetrical angle relationship for the part of the receiver that is held in the palm. How big should the logo be on the top? Should it be colored, embossed, or matte? The bezel width on the edge, the icons on the pad itself, and every single radius everywhere.
This collection of moments within any product are the pieces that make something special. I truly believe that. Attempting to see all those details from the beginning of a design process is nearly impossible; it's through the journey that they come up. How you deal with them is what makes for beautiful design.
Conclusion -
Working with a larger corporation on a single product can take a huge amount of focus, requiring significant time and energy. However, it was important to zoom out every so often and remember that this product was part of a larger family. The G7 family of products is not just the receiver. Lead Designer Young Lee was an invaluable mentor on this project, consistently reminding me of this fact. His sensitivity to the broad family of products and the understanding that a person will experience G7 as a whole, and not just any one part, was invaluable.
Without a doubt, my time at Dexcom took my understanding of design and business to an entirely new level. I cannot stress enough how my knowledge about design changed from that moment forward. Bringing a beautiful product to the world (not just renderings) requires a team, different departments, regulatory approval, and an unwavering vision. Thank you, Dexcom.
Credits:
Alex Diener: Design Director
Mark Selander: Industrial Design Manager
Young Lee: Lead Industrial Designer
Bobby Davis: Industrial Designer
Recognitions:
2024 German Design Award (Winner)
2023 Good Design Award (Winner)
2023 IDEA (Finalist)
2023 Innovation by Design (Honorable Mention)
2023 Good Design Australia (Winner)
2023 Good Design Korea (Winner)
2023 Red Dot Product Design Award (Winner)
2023 CES Innovation Award (Honoree)
