Can a decades-old medical product become more human through just one small design shift?
Background
Can a decades-old medical product become more human through just one small design shift?
A leading Indian medical devices company had been manufacturing popular orthopedic products for decades. As the leadership shifted its focus from cost efficiency to product innovation, they invited TinkerLabs to run a Design Thinking workshop for their cross-functional R&D team.
Approach
Instead of beginning with specs or constraints, TinkerLabs asked the R&D team to do something uncomfortable yet eye-opening: step out of their offices and into the world of real users.
They zeroed in on a group with intense, daily neck strain autorickshaw drivers, who spend hours on bumpy roads. During interviews, the team noticed something unexpected: almost every neck collar the drivers used was visibly dirty. When asked why they didn’t clean them more often, the drivers said it was simple they didn’t have the time. Washing and drying a collar took too long, and full days off were rare.
This insight led to a reframed problem statement:
“How might we enable a busy autorickshaw driver to carry a clean neck collar every day to work?”
Key Strategic Lever
The innovation wasn’t about redesigning the entire collar. It was about removing the friction in keeping it clean. By shifting focus from core medical functionality to real-life usability, the team tapped into a previously overlooked need daily hygiene, not just neck support. That meant solutions didn’t need to be complex; they needed to be context-smart and user-first.
Output
The team prototyped a removable soft collar cover — a simple layer that could be washed and dried quickly, without needing to clean the entire collar.
- Quick to wash
- Dries in no time
- Easy to keep a spare
What began as a methodology workshop turned into a breakthrough in product thinking. The experience changed how the company approached user insights moving from relying on sales team feedback to direct empathy and observation. The softcover went on to be tested and well-received by target users, marking a shift toward human-centered innovation within the company’s product pipeline.
