Designing IFUs and User Manuals for Medical Products

About this course

The instructors will draw sharp distinctions between instructions for consumer products, for example, and medical devices that serve important and even critical purposes. They will outline a structured approach to designing instructions that (a) help users accomplish tasks and overcome problems that might arise, (b) serve effectively as a use-related risk mitigation, and (c) enhance the overall user experience. A common mantra among designers is that “form follows function,” and it applies to the design of instructions as well. During this course, you will learn how to design instructions according to the fundamental, functional needs that are really an extension of user needs, as mentioned above. The course will also cover the basics and some advanced topics pertaining to effective communication via words, graphics and overall form.

Within 1-month period following the online course, you may schedule a 1-hour, complimentary consultation with the instructors to ask any specific and company-confidential questions about designing instructions as well as seek feedback on instructions at any stage of design (e.g., conceptual to final).

Meet the instructor

The instructor, who is co-author of “Designing for Safe Use,” will draw upon extensive experience designing instructions to meet the unique needs of laypeople, healthcare professionals and technicians.

Cory Costantino, design director

For over 20 years, Cory has helped guide products, from hand-held consumer electronics to medical devices and software user interfaces, from concept to production. Cory is a board-certified human factors professional. He received his M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University and his B.S. in Industrial Design from Wentworth Institute of Technology. Cory oversees and contributes to a wide range of projects, including software user interfaces, instructional materials, hardware/ergonomic design reviews, and multi-phase projects, where he often contributes to user research and usability testing. Cory has served as design director and co-founder of two start-up companies, an adjunct professor of design, and as a design consultant. His unique and diverse experience enables him to deeply understand the intersection of client resources, user needs, and design vision.