Who I’ve worked with
Where I fit in a typical program
Most medical products go through these five stages, from the first concept to launch. You can bring me in at any stage, including after launch.
| No. | Phase | What I do | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | I build several deliberately differentiated concepts as working prototypes and put them in front of users and customers to provoke reactions and find out what matters most to them. | A design direction backed by evidence from the people who will use and buy it, before you commit to building it. | |
| 02 | We pull the strongest ideas together and work out the features with engineering. I prototype within their constraints and use formative testing with users and customers to check the major feature decisions and how they’re understood. | A design checked with users, customers, and engineering, settled early, while changes are still easy. | |
| 03 | I work inside engineering’s sprints, and we reach most solutions together in working sessions and design reviews, with focused formative rounds along the way. I check the risk analysis for anything that touches the UI and work to address it. | Engineering builds from a UI specification written against the design inputs, and a design system that keeps the product consistent. | |
| 04 | I support the whole team, product management included, through verification and the summative. I check the UI against its specification, supply what the study needs, sometimes observe it, and handle any UI changes it calls for. | A UI checked against its specification before the summative, and design support if anything comes up. | |
| 05 | I team up with product management on the design side of the launch and what we’ll watch closely. Then I review and synthesize usage data and early feedback as it comes in. | An early read on how the launch is going, so what you learn shapes the next release. |
Recent work
Products used at home, in hospitals and surgical practices, and at the pharmacy counter.
My recent work is under NDA. I only show work I led, and I’m happy to walk through what I can share.
How I work
I join your product team on set days each week. I work in your tools and join the meetings where design matters most: reviews, planning, and working sessions with engineering.
Between those, I work async and keep everything visible, so nobody waits on me.
- Location
- Remote from Pittsburgh (Eastern time). I travel when needed.
- Pricing
- Fixed price per deliverable, or hourly for ongoing and open-ended work.
- Paperwork
- Under your MSA or mine. Humane Interfaces LLC is insured and set up for vendor onboarding.
About me
Keith Fraser
I started Humane Interfaces, an independent medtech UX practice in Pittsburgh, in 2023, after leading design teams at Philips and THRIVE. The name comes from Jef Raskin’s book The Humane Interface, which says an interface is humane if it is “responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties.” In healthcare almost nobody chooses the software they use. It comes with the job, the device, or the diagnosis. My job is to make their day a little easier.
Sixteen years in medtech, more than 60 products launched, and most of what I designed shipped. I have eight design patents on device and software interfaces and three design awards (Red Dot, MDEA Gold, Good Design). For regulated products, I work inside your usability engineering process. IEC 62366-1, FDA human factors guidance, AAMI HE75, and the EU MDR usability requirements inform how I design.
A quick question is a fine place to start.
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