Site Design
Product Design
AstraZeneca Site Design
Purpose
Boost engagement and recruitment with a patient-focused and experience-led clinical trials platform
Role
UX Director
Year
2024 (~4 Months)
Site Design
Product Design
AstraZeneca Site Design
Purpose
Boost engagement and recruitment with a patient-focused and experience-led clinical trials platform
Role
UX Director
Year
2024 (~4 Months)
Site Design
Product Design
AstraZeneca Site Design
Purpose
Boost engagement and recruitment with a patient-focused and experience-led clinical trials platform
Role
UX Director
Year
2024 (~4 Months)
Redesigning clinical trial access
Clinical trial recruitment remains inefficient, slowed by mistrust, limited transparency, complex eligibility, and low awareness. In 2024, AstraZeneca partnered with AKQA to change that—tasking our team with designing the UX and UI for a human-first recruitment platform grounded in simplicity, transparency, and trust.
Following discovery, we mapped the end-to-end patient and caregiver journey—from awareness to trial site referral—then translated it into detailed user flows and data schematics to define how the experience would function at scale. This was no easy feat, considering the complex relationship, technical architecture and multitude of stakeholders, but was needed to set us up for a successful design phase.
Clinical trial recruitment remains inefficient, slowed by mistrust, limited transparency, complex eligibility, and low awareness. In 2024, AstraZeneca partnered with AKQA to change that—tasking our team with designing the UX and UI for a human-first recruitment platform grounded in simplicity, transparency, and trust.
Following discovery, we mapped the end-to-end patient and caregiver journey—from awareness to trial site referral—then translated it into detailed user flows and data schematics to define how the experience would function at scale. This was no easy feat, considering the complex relationship, technical architecture and multitude of stakeholders, but was needed to set us up for a successful design phase.
Match, made simple
At the heart of trial recruitment lies the eligibility questionnaire—yet our audit of existing solutions revealed confusing medical jargon, unclear question logic, unwieldy answer lists, mismatched progress indicators, and no way to save progress.
As our first major milestone, we reimagined the experience from the ground up—designing a clearer, more guided, and human-first flow that simplifies complexity and builds trust through transparency. What sets it apart is it’s clear interaction design and ability to provide context and human help at any point during the process.
At the heart of trial recruitment lies the eligibility questionnaire—yet our audit of existing solutions revealed confusing medical jargon, unclear question logic, unwieldy answer lists, mismatched progress indicators, and no way to save progress.
As our first major milestone, we reimagined the experience from the ground up—designing a clearer, more guided, and human-first flow that simplifies complexity and builds trust through transparency. What sets it apart is it’s clear interaction design and ability to provide context and human help at any point during the process.
Trials, made discoverable
For patients, caregivers, or clinicians not ready to complete a questionnaire, we designed an intuitive and flexible trial search experience as a clear alternative entry point.
As our second milestone, we delivered an industry-leading scalable, user-centered search and a patient-friendly trial detail page—featuring plain language, focused FAQs, clear study timelines, key activities, and easy access to locations, support resources, all while providing a direct connection to trial guide professionals and the eligibility questionnaire.
For patients, caregivers, or clinicians not ready to complete a questionnaire, we designed an intuitive and flexible trial search experience as a clear alternative entry point.
As our second milestone, we delivered an industry-leading scalable, user-centered search and a patient-friendly trial detail page—featuring plain language, focused FAQs, clear study timelines, key activities, and easy access to locations, support resources, all while providing a direct connection to trial guide professionals and the eligibility questionnaire.
Bringing warmth to clinical care
To stand apart from the often cold and clinical tone of existing trial recruitment platforms, we intentionally infused the experience with warmth and humanity. Subtle motion design, thoughtful animation patterns, and purposeful color coding create moments of guidance and delight—making the journey feel more connected, intuitive, and engaging. The result is a platform that balances innovation with empathy, reinforcing trust while feeling distinctly more human.
To stand apart from the often cold and clinical tone of existing trial recruitment platforms, we intentionally infused the experience with warmth and humanity. Subtle motion design, thoughtful animation patterns, and purposeful color coding create moments of guidance and delight—making the journey feel more connected, intuitive, and engaging. The result is a platform that balances innovation with empathy, reinforcing trust while feeling distinctly more human.
Recap and outlook
By rethinking recruitment from the patient’s perspective, we transformed a complex, often intimidating process into a clearer, more human digital experience. From eligibility and search to motion and visual language, every touchpoint was designed to build trust, reduce friction, and increase engagement. As the platform evolves, its scalable foundation and human-first principles position AstraZeneca to expand globally—continuously improving access to clinical trials and accelerating the path to life-changing treatments.
By rethinking recruitment from the patient’s perspective, we transformed a complex, often intimidating process into a clearer, more human digital experience. From eligibility and search to motion and visual language, every touchpoint was designed to build trust, reduce friction, and increase engagement. As the platform evolves, its scalable foundation and human-first principles position AstraZeneca to expand globally—continuously improving access to clinical trials and accelerating the path to life-changing treatments.
Interested in working together on something great?
Interested in working together on something great?
Interested in working together on something great?