2024 1st Place Winner - Best Design System - Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Pitch: The purpose of the Intuitive Design System is to create a consistent, unified experience for all products and services our users touch. User touch points include da Vinci surgical systems, the Ion Endoluminal system, and the My Intuitive ecosystem of digital apps and services.
Overview: The Intuitive Design System has transformed the mentality of the Intuitive teams who build our products and services. Many teams across the organization now look to the design system to provide a single source of truth for user experience design, shifting the previous siloed approach to a unified experience tied together through the design system. Instead of reinventing the wheel with each new product or service, our cross-functional teams proactively seek documentation to reuse patterns and components. In the past three years, our internal documentation site has seen an internal user uplift of 71%. Our efficiency has cut front-end development time in half while simultaneously providing consistent, expected experiences for our customers. Intuitive teams rely on the design system to tie the whole user experience together. With the recent launch of our newest da Vinci robotic system, everything—marketing collateral, announcement imagery, hardware, and software experiences—is tied together using assets from the design system. This kind of unifying mission within the healthcare industry is rare, but Intuitive has invested in bringing it all together. The Intuitive Design System is at the center of driving that unifying message of “One Intuitive.”
Why:
The Silicon Valley UX Awards (SVUXA) is proud to announce Intuitive Surgical, Inc. as the 2024 Winner for Best Design System User Experience. This prestigious award highlights Intuitive Surgical’s exceptional work in developing a robust design system that emphasizes the four pillars of excellence: Simplicity, Engagement, Empathy, and Design Aesthetics. By creating a unified and consistent experience across all touchpoints, Intuitive Surgical’s design system stands out as a game-changer in the healthcare industry, providing operational efficiency and enhanced user experience.
Simplicity at Its Core
At the heart of the Intuitive Design System is simplicity. The system provides a centralized, unified experience that connects Intuitive’s products, including the da Vinci surgical systems, Ion Endoluminal system, and the My Intuitive ecosystem of digital apps and services. Previously, teams worked in silos, creating fragmented user experiences. Now, the design system serves as a single source of truth, making it easy for cross-functional teams to reuse patterns and components. This has drastically reduced front-end development time by half while ensuring a consistent and predictable user experience. Intuitive has streamlined product creation and user experience by removing complexity across its suite of healthcare innovations.
Engagement Through Consistency
The Intuitive Design System fosters engagement by creating a cohesive, immersive experience across all product interactions. From the latest da Vinci robotic system to digital platforms, Intuitive teams have harnessed the power of the design system to deliver a uniform look, feel, and interaction model across marketing materials, hardware, software, and user interfaces. This level of consistency enables users—whether they are surgeons, healthcare professionals, or patients—to feel confident and engaged when using Intuitive products. The design system has transformed how teams collaborate internally, making it a cornerstone for developing tools that offer consistent, user-centric experiences.
Empathy Drives Innovation
Empathy is a critical element of Intuitive Surgical’s design approach, deeply embedded in their design system. By understanding the needs of both medical professionals and patients, Intuitive ensures that their design system isn’t just about efficiency but also about creating experiences that truly matter. The system’s ability to unify the experience across different platforms allows healthcare professionals to focus on what matters most—patient care. The design system’s empathetic approach helps build trust and confidence in the technology, ensuring that every interaction with Intuitive’s products feels familiar and seamless, ultimately helping to improve patient outcomes.
Design Aesthetics that Elevate the Experience
In a highly technical and complex industry like healthcare, design aesthetics play a critical role in elevating the overall experience. Intuitive Surgical’s design system integrates clean, functional, and visually compelling elements that enhance the user’s interaction with the products. From the intuitive interfaces of surgical systems to the seamless navigation within digital apps, the aesthetic choices in the Intuitive Design System make advanced healthcare technologies feel more approachable and usable. The result is an elegant fusion of form and function that enhances usability while ensuring that all experiences reflect Intuitive Surgical’s commitment to innovation and precision.
A Unifying Force in Healthcare
One of the most remarkable achievements of the Intuitive Design System is its role in unifying the entire organization under a shared vision—One Intuitive. By providing a consistent design language across products and services, the system has improved internal efficiencies and created a seamless, reliable user experience that is crucial in the healthcare industry. The recent launch of the newest da Vinci robotic system demonstrates how this unifying mission comes to life, as every element, from marketing to hardware and software, is connected through assets from the design system.
Revolutionizing Healthcare User Experience
Intuitive Surgical’s dedication to creating a unified, people-first experience is rare within the healthcare industry. The Intuitive Design System catalyzes collaboration and innovation, driving a mission beyond design. By enabling teams to work together more efficiently and providing consistent, intuitive user experiences, the design system is critical in supporting Intuitive’s goal of improving patient care. The system’s 71% uplift in internal user engagement over the past three years is a testament to its effectiveness in transforming internal workflows and the user experience.
The 2024 Silicon Valley UX Awards congratulate Intuitive Surgical, Inc., for its visionary work in developing a design system that pushes the boundaries of Simplicity, Engagement, Empathy, and Design Aesthetics. Their commitment to unifying experiences across healthcare technologies is advancing the industry and driving the future of patient care.
Congratulations, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., for winning the Best Design System User Experience at the 2024 SVUXA and for your ongoing dedication to enhancing healthcare through thoughtful, innovative design!