Chai Biotechnologies
Chai’s mission: democratize biotechnology by making premium testing solutions affordable and accessible to anyone.
Chai products were used in 60+ countries and 19 of the world’s Top 20 biomedical research universities.
Context
I was Chai’s founding designer, growing with the company throughout its 8+ year run.
A simple branding and fundraising deck project evolved into a Design Director role as the company steadily expanded and needed design solutions for its software, packaging, and beyond.
Primary Roles
Design Director/Founding Designer
Product Design, UI/UX, Web Design, Advertising, Design Systems
Additional Contributions
Copywriting, Packaging Design, Photo Editing, Presentation Design, Trade Show Materials, Document Formatting
Primary Roles
Product Design
Chai’s flagship product is the Open qPCR thermocycler. I designed its cross-platform app experience; matching the feature set of more expensive competitors and making even the most complex experiments simple to design and run.
Open qPCR Desktop/Tablet App
We started with a native iPad app to streamline development and maximize accessibility.
Optimizing for a touch screen kept workflows simple and interactive. Our unique protocol design tool helps users visualize heating and cooling cycles, preventing errors.
Open qPCR Built-In LCD App
The primary design goal for the Open qPCR was to serve as a mobile testing site, able to run experiments on-site with no additional devices required.
A brief case study of the design process is available.
Web Design
My secondary responsibility was to design and maintain Chai’s web presence. This included design, copywriting, information architecture, and development support.
Feature, Product, and Article Pages
We developed a clean, easy-to-scan design system to streamline development and help pages load quickly on any internet connection. I also helped out with the copywriting and editing.
Content Strategy & Information Architecture
To keep pace with our rapidly expanding product lineup, we overhauled the Chai domain.
Our solution consolidated siloed domains, introduced a web store, and made content creation simple without design or dev support.
Additional Contributions
Hardware Advertising
The Open qPCR is marketed to a very broad audience. A mix of brand awareness and targeted, solution-based campaigns helped expand our customer base.
Software Advertising
Chai master mixes’ versatility gives them an even broader target audience than the hardware. That presented an opportunity to show less traditional ads that make an impact and stave off ad-blindness.
Packaging Design
Chai mixes spend most of their time in freezers. We wanted packaging that stood out in dark environments and against our more muted competitors.
Document Layout & Formatting
Like Chai boxes, our manuals are designed to be found easily in dark or cluttered lab environments.
Summary
I’m proud of what we accomplished, and that we delivered on our promise of Real-Time PCR solutions for the real world.
Beyond expanding my technical skill set, my time at Chai refined my design process. Working iteratively at low-fidelity and maintaining buy-in from all stakeholders throughout the process makes life easier for everyone.
