Primary research
Interviews
Refeyn / Scientific Instrument / MyMass
A new mass photometer. Designing the full experience, end to end
As Product Design Lead, my work went beyond the interface. With Product Management, I shaped the complete MyMass experience, from unboxing and installation to guided measurements, support, telemetry, consumables, and follow-up.
01 - My Role
My role
I led the end-to-end UX for MyMass, from discovery research through definition, workflows, wireframes, prototypes, touchscreen interaction design, testing, high-fidelity delivery, and ongoing support for the software team.
UX vision
Personas
Pain points
Journey maps
Workflows
Wireframes
Prototypes
Touchscreen components
High-fidelity designs
Usability testing
Alpha testing
Service testing
Iterative software support
Design system documentation
Alongside the UX work, I collaborated across departments to shape the full product experience.
Service
SAT definition, cleaning instructions, and training videos.
Marketing
Branding, messaging, photography, and launch video direction.
Consumables
Usability and subscription model thinking for slides, carriers, and calibrants.
Operations
Clear, labelled packaging for a smooth unboxing experience.
Software
Telemetry metrics to inform continuous improvement.
Customer Excellence
Post-delivery check-ins, post-SAT surveys, and 6-month follow-ups.
02 - Business Opportunity
The business opportunity
Cryo-EM users need a fast, affordable way to check sample quality before booking imaging sessions. These sessions can cost over $5,000 and have waiting lists of two months or more.
Existing options were too slow, too expensive, or did not provide enough information about the protein complex. The brief was to design an instrument that lets researchers check a sample in minutes before committing to cryo-EM.
04 - Discovery
Discovery Research
We ran in-depth interviews with cryo-EM users, academic and pharma researchers, the sales team, and lab technicians. I focused on how teams check samples today, what makes them trust a result, and what stops them adopting new equipment.
Who I spoke with
Cryo-EM users
Academic and pharma researchers
Sales team
Laboratory technicians
What I focused on
Sample-checking workflows and pain points
Trust factors in experimental research
Device accessibility and adoption barriers
What came out of it
A product vision
Three primary personas
An end-to-end user journey
The Vision
The Vision
One box. One piece of software. Minimal training. A small footprint, an affordable price, so checking samples becomes routine.
05 - Personas
Personas
Three primary user types emerged from the research, each with different pressures and goals.
06 - User Journey
User journey
I mapped the journey across three phases, covering user goals, actions, business goals, emotions, pain points, and design opportunities.
Phase 01 First interaction
Stage
User goals
User actions
Business goals
Emotions
Pain points
Opportunities / design solutions
Shipping
Receive parcel in perfect condition.
Track delivery, inspect packaging.
Deliver in time, ensure intact shipment.
Curious, expectant.
Damaged or delayed parcel.
Reinforced packaging, unboxing checklist, QR link to Getting Started page.
Installation
Set up easily without needing IT or engineering help.
Follow printed and video guide, stickers, connect instrument.
Reduce onboarding friction and create a professional unpacking experience.
Slightly anxious.
Confusion or overly technical steps.
Clearly labelled packaging and printed setup materials.
SAT
Confirm the instrument works correctly and is covered by guarantee.
Follow guided SAT workflow, perform test measurements, send results.
Validate instrument functionality and delivery success.
Focused, slightly nervous.
Unclear steps, failed SAT due to sample prep or user errors.
Guided SAT workflow, progress bar, videos, support link, pass/fail summary.
First calibration
Successfully perform first valid calibration.
Dilute calibrant and run a calibration.
Demonstrate reliability and ease of use.
Satisfied.
User unaware of calibration need, dilution, or consumable assembly.
Guided workflow with instructions, videos, illustrations, and FAQs.
First cleaning
Understand cleaning frequency and method.
Follow instructions after four measurements.
Establish proper cleaning habits.
Careful, cautious.
Using wrong cleaning material or not cleaning properly.
Step-by-step cleaning guide with icons and reminders.
First measurement
Validate own sample and compare to expected outcome.
Load known sample, analyse, interpret result.
Reinforce trust in measurement quality.
Excited, expectant.
Misinterpretation of peaks, bubbles, low confidence, concentration issues.
Automated warnings, recording, clear peak statistics, FAQs and instructional videos.
Phase 02 Everyday use
Stage
User goals
User actions
Business goals
Emotions
Pain points
Opportunities / design solutions
Calibration
Quick, reliable calibration.
Calibrate every session.
Sell calibrants and provide accurate results.
Focused.
Old calibration or wrong buffer calibration.
Warnings for old calibration and calibrant dilution guidance.
Cleaning
Maintain performance.
Run cleaning protocol.
Extend instrument life.
Routine.
Forgetting cleaning, damaging the objective.
Cleaning reminders and cleaning instructions.
Measurements
Run consistent measurements.
Assemble sample carrier and load sample.
Ensure reproducibility.
Confident.
Sample prep errors.
Step-by-step guided loading.
Data interpretation
Understand peaks and trust results.
Use software visualisation.
Build trust in instrument data.
Uncertain.
Misinterpretation and unclear confidence.
Smart hints, confidence intervals, auto-labelling peaks.
Data management
Access, review, and organise stored measurements.
Browse previous runs, tag data, group by project or sample type.
Increase user engagement and repeat use.
In control.
Hard to find previous results.
Filtering, tagging, and advanced search functionality.
Comparing samples
Identify changes easily.
Overlay or batch compare.
Encourage repeat use.
Engaged.
Too manual.
Simple UI to navigate past measurements.
Sharing results
Share with PI and colleagues.
Export or screenshot.
Spread adoption.
Proud.
Limited export formats.
Quick export of histogram and statistics table.
Phase 03 Loyalty
Stage
User goals
User actions
Business goals
Emotions
Pain points
Opportunities / design solutions
Ordering consumables
Always have what's needed.
Reorder slides, sample carrier, calibrant.
Sell consumables and ensure uninterrupted use.
Routine.
Forgetting to reorder, ordering delays.
Subscription model, auto-reminders, QR codes, low-stock notifications, e-shop.
Maintenance
Keep instrument reliable.
Subscribe to service, follow maintenance schedule.
Extend instrument lifetime.
Reassured.
Unclear maintenance status, instrument memory full.
Service reminders and storage management alerts.
Software update
Stay current with features and bug fixes.
Accept or schedule updates.
Improve UX and add capabilities.
Neutral.
Lack of internet connection or IT needed for updates.
Update notifications, scheduled reminders, and support for updating without IT.
Feedback collection
Feel heard and valued.
Use telemetry, respond to surveys, or talk to Customer Excellence.
Gather actionable insights for product roadmap.
Appreciated, involved.
Feedback fatigue or unclear action from feedback.
Telemetry plus structured surveys, check-ins, You asked, we did updates, contextual surveys.
07 - Industrial Design
Industrial design
I worked with R&D, Operations, and an external industrial design consultancy on the instrument's form, ergonomics, and unboxing experience.
Physical design goals
Friendly, functional, trustworthy
Cost-effective to manufacture
Visually consistent with the rest of the product family
Usability & ergonomics
Works for left- and right-handed users
Screen at standing height, tiltable
Smooth lid-closure mechanism
Dedicated place for magnets
08 - Workflows & Wireframes
Workflows & wireframes
I defined the core workflows with Product Management. The Site Acceptance Test (SAT) flow was developed with the Service team, so the data collected at install would confirm reliability and consistency.
09 - Early Usability Testing
Early usability testing
I tested the wireframes with 8 participants, focused on three areas:
Touch interactions
Touch interactions for gloved hands.
Guided workflows
Guided workflows with progress indicators.
Error prevention
Error prevention with contextual help.
10 - Touchscreen Constraints
Touchscreen constraints
The instrument runs on an integrated touchscreen. Scientists use it with nitrile gloves on, in a busy lab, and cannot afford to restart an experiment because of a mis-tap. Anything based on hover, right-click, or precise pointing had to be rethought.
No hover, no right-click
Every interaction had to be visible, tappable, or triggered some other way.
No precise pointer
Large hit targets and generous spacing prevent the wrong tap with gloved fingers.
Low latency, instant feel
Any delay reads as failure. Users will tap again, and the instrument will register both.
The Principles, Applied
The principles, applied
Large touch targets
Hit areas larger than visuals
Even spacing
One task per screen
Clear way out
Strong hierarchy
Flat navigation
Confirm destructive actions
Recoverable errors
Messages supported by video
11 - High-fidelity Output
High-fidelity output
Interface and workflow examples
12 - Testing
3 more rounds of testing
Three rounds of testing on the hi-fi design: usability testing, alpha testing in real labs, and service testing.
Round 01 - Usability
8 participants, real touchscreens, gloves, task success, completion time, and error frequency.
Round 02 - Alpha
3 institutions, 15 participants, 10 days, real workflows, and surveys.
Round 03 - Service
6 service-team members testing workflows, wording, consumables, and recovery.
13 - What Changed
Improvements after testing
SAT
Reworked the workflow, added a QR code to instructional videos, and added stop/resume.
Instruction clarity
Reworded key instructions and added illustrations.
Measurement organisation
Added tagging and filtering on stored measurements.
Added warnings for guidance
Worked with Software to add a warning for abnormal unbinding events.
Unboxing
Worked with Operations on clearer instructions and labelling.
Error recovery
Clearer guidance for common errors and recovery paths.
Cleaning
Simplified cleaning instructions with Service.
FAQs
Added FAQ pages based on questions from testing.
14 - Outcomes
Testing Outcomes
I can't believe how easy this is to use. When can I order one for my lab?
Senior Scientist, King's College London
15 - Trade-offs
Balancing needs & constraints
User needs
Simplicity
Reliability
Minimal training time
Scientific value
Affordability
Business goals
Minimum cost, maximum margin
Sustainable manufacturing and logistics
Limited specs to avoid cannibalising the flagship
Technical constraints
Hardware, consumables, and software developed in parallel
Timeline pressures and supply-chain delays
Limited time for internal testing
Success factor - constant alignment with Product Management, R&D, and Engineering enabled rapid pivots while keeping focus on core user value.
MyMass brought together research, hardware, software, consumables, service, and customer support into one coherent product experience.
By testing with real users and keeping Product Management, R&D, Engineering, Service, Operations, and Customer Excellence closely aligned, we were able to move from concept to a launch-ready instrument with confidence.
The product was successfully launched in April 2026, turning a complex scientific workflow into a more accessible way for labs to check samples before committing to expensive downstream techniques.
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