STairs
A digital platform to support ST doctors in anaesthesia
& intensive care in Region Stockholm.
Brief
STairs is an existing digital platform used by ST doctors in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care across Region Stockholm. While it offers access to courses, guidelines, podcasts and ST-Friday events, the structure and usability were lacking. Our brief was to improve the experience through user-centered design — making the platform easier to navigate, more relevant, and visually aligned with a modern healthcare environment.
Solution
We redesigned the platform with real users in mind. Through surveys, interviews, and multiple user tests at Karolinska Hospital, we identified key needs and rebuilt the site structure around them. The result is a clear, intuitive prototype where ST doctors can find and act on what they need — without friction. The new version simplifies core tasks like event registration and access to clinical material, while also supporting long-term goals like specialist certification.
Today’s design
New design
My contribution
This was a collaborative project between me and Casandra Sohlström. While we worked closely across all stages, I took lead on the UI design and structural layout. Together, we:
– Designed and analyzed surveys and interviews
– Identified key user journeys and pain points
– Created wireframes and iterated on prototypes
– Conducted user testing with ST doctors at Karolinska
– Delivered a high-fidelity, developer-ready prototype
My focus was on translating insights into a clean, intuitive interface — ensuring the platform felt both professional and easy to use for doctors.
Design
The design focuses on visual clarity and usability in a clinical context. We introduced a modular layout and consistent visual hierarchy, making the content easier to scan and interact with. Special care was taken to reduce cognitive load and guide the user toward key actions. The goal was to create a professional yet friendly interface — one that builds trust and works seamlessly for both doctors and administrators.
” Just seeing this makes me want to use it.
It’s clear, easy, and finally feels like
it’s made for us.”
ST doctor, Karolinska University Hospital
The design process
Step-by-step
Step 1
Start-up
meeting
Step 2
Survey
Step 3
Interviews &
User Testing
Step 4
Prototype 1 &
User Testing
Step 5
Prototype 2 &
User Testing
Step 6
Final design
Step 1 - Start-up meeting with Karolinska
Purpose: Understand the scope and needs of the client.
Action: We kicked off the project with an on-site meeting at Karolinska Hospital to align with stakeholders and define the challenge.
Result: A clear brief and shared understanding of the platform’s goals and context.
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Step 2 - Survey
Purpose: Identify usage patterns and key tasks.
Action: We created and distributed a survey to ST doctors to understand how they currently use the platform and what functions they value most.
Result: Quantitative insights that helped define core "Jobs to be Done" and informed the next research phase.
Step 3 - Interviews & User Testing with ST-doctors
Purpose: Explore pain points in depth and observe real behavior.
Action: We conducted interviews and moderated usability tests with ST doctors to understand where the current platform failed to support their workflow.
Result: Rich qualitative insights that highlighted UX problems and guided the design of our first prototype.
User research insights
STairs lacks structure!
– The content is difficult to overview
– Navigation feels messy and unclear
– Important information is too far away
– The homepage feels cluttered and unfocused
– The visual style of the platform feels outdated
Step 4 - Prototype 1 & User Testing
Purpose: Test early structure and layout ideas.
Action: We built a low-fidelity wireframe in Figma and tested it with users at Karolinska. We focused on navigation logic and key user flows.
Result: Users found the new structure intuitive, and we collected actionable feedback for the next iteration.
User test insights
– Clear and logical layout. Easy navigation!
– Relevant and easily accessible content
– Smooth registration flow
Suggestions for improvement:
– Add filtering and search functionality
– Ability to view past ST-Friday events
Step 5 - Prototype 2 & User Testing
Purpose: Refine and validate updates based on feedback.
Action: We implemented small changes like filters, renamed sections, and added new content areas. The updated prototype was tested with both users and admin staff.
Result: The structure was confirmed, and the design was considered ready for final visual polish and handoff.
Step 6 - Hifi prototypes (final design)
Purpose: Deliver a complete, development-ready product.
Action: We translated the refined UX into a high-fidelity prototype with a clean, modular design system — built for clarity and speed in clinical settings.
Result: A fully tested and approved solution, ready to hand over to developers at Karolinska.
