What do you do when you're designing for a surgical robot, where UX decisions can be the difference between life and death?
You tackle 5 stakeholder groups, cross-check your design against all 140 FMEA hazard cases, and align with the business timeline all at the same time...
…because incomplete design thinking means no regulatory approval, no Series A, and ultimately no way to help surgeons save lives.
Revolve Surgical's system represented years of iterative engineering refinement, evolving from a concept no larger than a desk lamp into a sophisticated 1-metre-tall robotic system as the requirements changed over the years. In that time, keeping a coherent product vision became more and more difficult.
To succeed in bringing an affordable, general-purpose surgical robot to market, Revolve needed to combine market positioning, user requirements, and regulatory constraints into a compelling product vision that could guide development decisions and communicate value to investors, hospitals, and surgeons alike.
I was the sole product designer on the team, working closely with the Product Lead and collaborating directly with the CEO, CTO, and cross-functional team of 8.
0-1 product strategy, market research, stakeholder alignment
2023—2024
At Revolve, they looked like this:
"We're only really interested if it looks sleek and like an Apple product. Don't make it look crude or cheap."
"We need to differentiate from our competitors...who all take design cues from Apple."
"Simple geometric forms are necessary to ease CAD and manufacturing processes."
"We'd rather your device be easy to clean and wipe down, and also look kind of plain to blend into the OR."
Attractive appearance that easily communicates affordances and a sense of functional quality.
Differentiates from competitors and communicates product positioning as affordable and general-purpose.
Simple, geometric forms that enable easy draughting and prototyping of device iterations.
Integrates well into OR environment and easy to maintain and sterilise.
The OR presented a complex information architecture challenge: multiple devices, multiple staffers and users, and a high-stakes, high-stress situation.
Key to success was understanding the behaviour of our specialist users: the laparoscopic procedure meant operators focused on monitor feeds rather than the surgical table itself.
With a design approach established, it was now a matter of fleshing out the details. I needed to develop a design system that addressed each of the stakeholder requirements, and our FMEA matrix of 140 hazard cases required every design decision be made to prevent possible injury or death.
Light metallic grey with sandblasted appearance.
Hospitals: Easy surface to sterilise and embodies professional medical appearance.
Black, matte, textured appearance.
Safety: Guides proper handling behaviours and reinforces ideal operational practises.
White with coloured accents matching brand colours.
Users: Clear indication of affordances and control points.
The nested light-dark-light contrast ensured visibility across OR lighting conditions. Form language reinforced material cues: curved surfaces invited touch, hard edges discouraged contact.
This systematic approach transformed 140 regulatory constraints from design limitations into the foundation of visual coherence, ensuring every aesthetic choice served both usability and life-critical safety requirements.
By Q3 2024, Revolve was presenting the system at major medical trade shows, demonstrating the new confidence from by having a unified product vision.
The comprehensive product vision enabled Revolve to confidently articulate their value proposition to investors and partners, supporting their transition their public debut.
By providing clear design direction for a first production-ready unit and investor materials, the framework positioned the company for Series A preparation while enabling immediate trade show exhibitions and regulatory milestone achievement.
