RECOMBINE

summary

As Lead Designer, I managed part-time designers and led design of the company's brand identity, consumer-facing digital experiences, and laboratory-facing systems.

Over the course of two years, my work helped the company grow from an early-stage startup to a successful company with $20M annual revenue an $85M acquisition.

DIFFICULT path to purchase

Because genetic carrier screening requires a doctor's authorization, the path for users to order the test was complex and opaque. Our website required potential customers to print a PDF, make an appointment with their doctor, and explain the test to their doctor. 
 

A BETTER solution

Our competitor had "solved" this problem with a very expensive solution. Rather than have potential customers contact their own doctors, they built a team of people to call the doctors for their patients. We were reluctant to implement this at our company for two reasons. First, the number of salespeople needed would cost too much. Second, doctors don't trust salespeople to speak for their patients. 
 

Automated authorizations

By conducting research interviews, I discovered that doctors' offices have an existing, fax-based workflow for signing test authorizations that we could fit into. Although fax sounds outdated, it is standardized and much more trusted by doctors than email. I realized we could create a completely automated authorization process by taking advantage of this workflow.

I designed and built an online checkout where, after the user orders the test, a fax is automatically sent to their doctor with a cover letter from the patient.

There was only one point of friction left: we needed to ask people for their doctor's fax number, which they would not know off the top of their heads.

Fortunately, I discovered a database of doctors with an API we could integrate with. By simply asking users for the name of their doctor, the website could obtain the fax number automatically.

In this new online checkout, users can simply order the test that they want, and type in the name of their doctor. The system automatically finds their doctor's fax number and sends the doctor an authorization form with a cover letter explaining the test and the address to fax it back to.
 

redesigning the website

I conducted user research on the existing website using Inspectlet to learn how people were interacting with it. I discovered that people were scrolling through pages of content without reading it, and only cared about certain key pieces of information. Content needed to be cut down and then organized better.

Mapping out user and business goals and following the 80/20 rules made it clear that most users were looking for a few things:

• Learn what carrier screening is

• Find how many diseases the test covers

• Find how much the test costs

• Purchase the test

All of the other content on the website only answered questioned that a small percentage of users cared about. The content couldn't be eliminated, because some people really needed it, but it could be hidden unless actively searched for.

For the new design, I gave each product an initial view that fit on a single page without scrolling, with only a short summary of the product, three content buttons and a call to action button. I then provided successive levels of deeper information that could be revealed by users looking for specific details.
 

empathy + science 

For the visual design, I had to balance three goals: We needed to convey that we were a new, innovative startup on the cutting-edge of genetics, that we were a safe and reliable company that could be trusted with major health decisions, and that were empathetic and personal.

I balanced these by combining creative animated scroll interactions, a clear, orderly and consistent organizational layout, and beautiful photographs of loving families.

After constructing Activity Analyses, and designing UX flows, wireframes, and visual designs, I conducted goal-oriented user interviews to test the assumptions behind the design. I also collaborated on the writing of content for the site. 

I then built the website as an isomorphic React application.

labs, tools and portals

Other projects on which I lead design included a software-as-a-service system for laboratories to analyze genetic samples, a portal for patients to learn about their reproductive genetic health, and a tool for genetic counselors to create family history trees for their patients. I can provide more information about these projects on request.