Medtech Snapshot Podcast: Stuart Karten - Secret Sauce to Great Medtech Product Design

Overview:
​Medtech Snapshot Podcast: Stuart Karten, founder of acclaimed product design firm Karten Design walks us through the secret sauce to medtech product design - specifically the 'User Experience Pyramid' from usability, convenience, enjoyment, and lastly significance. Learn how these layers of the pyramid work towards connecting people with products on an emotional level.

Transcript:

Travis: Welcome back to another Medtech Snapshot! The medical device podcast where we do a one-question one-answer discussion. With me today is Stuart Karten. Stuart for 41 years ran a really well-known medical device design firm, been based out of Los Angeles. I'm really excited to talk with Stuart today.

Alright Stuart, so when you think back to the best designs, you know--KD over the years has been awarded several Design Awards. For example, I remember you got an award with Axonics, that's one that sticks out in my mind. I think there was also one prior to that with Vessex Vascular. I know you've probably received many other awards, but the reason I bring that up is because you've obviously understand what it takes to really bring good design to the forefront in the device industry. Can you share with us what is it about that approach, what's the secret sauce there in coming up with great design as we bring our products to the market?

Stuart: I think the most simplistic way to look at it is the User Experience Pyramid. And you know, at the bottom of that pyramid is reliability and usability, and then there's a chasm that goes to the next level. And the next level asks 'Is it a convenient experience?'. Next up is 'Is it actually enjoyable?', and then, 'Is it actually significant?'. That chasm between convenient and usable is where designers come in. And the ultimate goal is to get to significance--is to connect with people on an emotional level.

You're asking them to do some additional tasks or new work, and in some cases they're actually dealing with their sickness or illness, and it's really important to make sure that this [design] fits with their habits and ceremonies as they go through their daily life. That includes clinicians as well, because they're all showing up having amazing experiences with devices from Apple and all other companies.

Travis: One of the things with the device industry, perhaps you know if you went back 10 to 15 years ago--I can't necessarily say our industry was known for sleek or maybe even attractive or sexy devices, right? It's kind of old school. You know, you had your boxes, you had your carts. But some of the work you have done, in my opinion, has really brought in some of the aesthetics that you would see more in consumer electronics. Can you share with us, why did you all take that approach? What was the outcome there?

Stuart: When I started the firm and up until about 15 years ago, we did consumer products, and we did medical devices, as well. The big difference between those two is that consumers typically have choice. [For example] if you go buy a pair of headphones [ ] and you're a jazz fan, there's going to be a few headphones that are specific to jazz, or rock, or whatever it may be. As a result, those products have to stand out. They have to speak to you in a way that messages 'jazz', or whatever it is you're pursuing.

In the medical field that is not necessarily the case--or had not been the case. It would have been, 'Oh I'm sorry you're sick, Stuart, here's what you need to use,' and that's just the end of it. And of course, now that experiences have been brought to a very high level in consumer space, people carry that over into their health care.

And when they're dealing with illness [ ] we always try to elevate the experience,--not just through SLE or appearance, but more through usability and connecting with people in their habits and ceremonies.

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