Lefty Scissors Studio: Creating medical devices with caregivers in mind

Adam Kemp is a senior in the Multi-disciplinary Design Program at the University of Utah. As an inaugural member of the Adobe Creative Commons, he has created spaces for other students to build skills in design and access software resources. Adam’s passion for design extends to a broad scope of work, spanning from charitable projects in Guinea-Bissau to customer experience work in his role at Vivint Smart Home. Recently, Adam’s design work has focused on equity and accessibility in the medical technology field. This interest bridges the gap between personal and professional experience. As a new parent, Adam can see the interaction between the needs of medical providers and users of medical devices firsthand as a parent and caregiver of a child who needs extra medical care. Adam hopes to shift the experience of using medical devices to ensure that the end users feel comfortable using the device. Often, devices are developed by medical professionals who have a deep understanding of the end goal of the process, but not always the user experience. Adam balances a focus on design and user research with an understanding of how to bring pride, accessibility, and humanity into the process of creating medical devices. “What if we made this something that didn’t make people feel like they have a hindrance or something to feel ashamed about or need to hide?” Adam believes that no user experience is too small to inform the design of a product or process. Through his work at Doman Innovation Studio, he hopes to build a medical design process that integrates these experiences. In his personal life, he is working to develop his own skills in design, parenting, and restoring a 1960s Ford Falcon.

Potential impact // 2.17.23

The doctors and nurses that Adam is working with have expressed interest in using Adam’s device to improve existing treatments to improve the users’ experience. Adam used the frequent hospital visits at the beginning of his sons care process as an opportunity to gather information and feedback from the physician perspective. In addition to his own experience, Adam also has gathered insights from other parents and caregivers to gain as much insights about the process and different kinds of circumstances and experiences within it. Working with input from multiple paradigms and priorities allows helps insure that the end product meets the research backed parameters of providers, while still improving the day to day experience of the patient and caregiver. adamkemp.design

Introduction to Doman // 10.22.22

Adam joined Doman in October of 2022 with. The intention of getting more expertise and perspectives on his project. One of the aspects of Doman that most appealed to Adam at the beginning was the opportunity. To engage in creative problem solving with a diverse set of individuals, that all were able to approach a problem with a different viewpoint. Defining goals, discussing progress, and being held accountable helps guide Adam’s project towards existence.

Applying a human centered background // 7.14.22

Adam has a background in user experience having studied design and currently works with diverse clientele, both in a freelance format and more structured across several industries. Being trained and working as a designer has helped Adam gain a specific focus on the user and their experience, rather than solely basing a project on a success/fail mindset. Adam’s introduction to this specific project came as user rather than as a designer, being a parent of a child born with bilateral clubbed feet. Through being a caregiver and going through the difficulties and procedures of treatment with his son, Adam saw an opportunity to approach the current correction method with his design process.