Waters Corporation — Tony Wareck

01 Overview

The Challenge

Waters Corporation is a global leader in analytical instruments, serving laboratories in pharmaceutical, life sciences, and industrial sectors. Their digital ecosystem—spanning e-commerce, software platforms, and internal tools—needed a cohesive UX strategy to match their world-class hardware.

I joined as Senior UX Designer to lead three critical initiatives: modernizing their e-commerce experience, establishing a unified design system, and improving the user experience across their laboratory informatics suite.

3 Major Platforms

50K+ Global Users

18 Months Engagement

02 E-Commerce

Reimagining Scientific E-Commerce

Scientific purchasing isn't like buying consumer goods. Researchers need to navigate complex product configurations, regulatory compliance, and institutional procurement workflows.

Understanding the User Journey

Through extensive user research—including contextual inquiries at 12 laboratory sites and interviews with 40+ scientists and procurement specialists—we mapped the complete purchasing journey.

Key insights revealed that users weren't just buying products; they were solving complex analytical challenges. The existing e-commerce experience treated chromatography columns like commodity items, missing the nuanced decision-making scientists required.

User Journey Map

Product Configuration Experience

The centerpiece of the redesign was a new product configuration system. Scientists could now specify their analytical method, sample types, and instrument compatibility—and the system would recommend optimal product configurations.

Method-based product recommendations
Real-time compatibility checking
Technical specification comparisons
Integration with existing instrument data

Configuration Interface

E-Commerce Results

+34% Conversion Rate

-45% Support Tickets

+28% Average Order Value

4.6/5 User Satisfaction

03 Design System

Building a Unified Design Language

With multiple product teams working across different platforms, Waters needed a design system that could scale across web, desktop, and mobile applications while maintaining scientific precision.

Foundation & Principles

We established design principles rooted in the scientific method itself: precision, clarity, reproducibility, and trust. Every component was designed to convey accuracy and reliability—critical attributes for software used in regulated laboratory environments.

01 Precision

Every pixel matters when displaying analytical data

02 Clarity

Complex information made accessible without oversimplification

03 Trust

Visual language that reinforces data integrity and compliance

Design Tokens

Component Library

Buttons

Inputs

Data Tables

Charts

Modals

Navigation

Documentation & Adoption

A design system is only as good as its adoption. We built comprehensive documentation including usage guidelines, code snippets, and Figma libraries. Regular design system office hours and embedded support helped teams transition smoothly.

120+ documented components
Figma component library with variants
React component implementation
Accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Theming support for white-label products

Documentation Site

Design System Impact

60% Faster Design-to-Dev

8 Product Teams Adopted

120+ Components

100% WCAG 2.1 AA

04 Process

Research-Driven Design

Working in a highly regulated industry required rigorous validation at every step. Our process balanced agile iteration with the documentation requirements of FDA-regulated environments.

01

Discovery & Research

Contextual inquiries, stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, and heuristic evaluations to understand the problem space deeply.

02

Strategy & Planning

Journey mapping, information architecture, and prioritization frameworks to align teams on vision and roadmap.

03

Design & Prototyping

Iterative wireframing, high-fidelity design, and interactive prototypes tested with real users at each milestone.

04

Validation & Handoff

Usability testing, accessibility audits, and detailed specifications for development with embedded design support.

05 Reflection

Key Learnings

Domain Expertise Matters

Investing time to deeply understand chromatography, mass spectrometry, and laboratory workflows was essential. Users immediately recognized when designs came from someone who understood their work.

Compliance as Opportunity

Rather than viewing FDA regulations as constraints, we reframed them as user needs. Scientists need audit trails, data integrity, and traceability—good UX means making compliance invisible.

Design Systems Need Champions

Technical documentation alone doesn't drive adoption. Building relationships with engineering leads and demonstrating time savings created the internal champions needed for widespread adoption.

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