GE Healthcare Design System

Project Summary
GE Healthcare’s imaging teams design software for a wide range of clinical devices and environments, from bright radiology departments to low-light CT scan rooms. Feedback from CT technologists about poor usability in low-light conditions revealed deeper issues across the software—low contrast, inconsistent UI patterns, and accessibility gaps which disrupted critical clinical workflows.

Research & Process
I led a system-wide design initiative, starting with a global field study to capture real-world lighting data from GE facilities. This led me to create calibrated light and dark mode palettes, ensuring accessible contrast for buttons, typography, and data visualizations. Usability testing refined the values, which became part of a WCAG-compliant, tokenized framework with a flexible data visualization palette. Validation with internal teams and clinical partners confirmed improvements in clarity, comfort, and usability.

Results
The outcome was GE Healthcare’s first unified, environment-aware design system—addressing immediate usability concerns while laying the groundwork for a scalable design language. The system improved accessibility, streamlined UI patterns, and provided a clear structure for cross-team alignment. Its adoption across multiple product lines and business units demonstrated the value of a strategic, research-driven approach in transforming fragmented product design into a cohesive enterprise-wide system.