Amélie Summerfield profile photo
A multidisciplinary designer driven by curiosity and creativity, shaping meaningful experiences across products, services, and digital spaces. I craft thoughtful, user-centred solutions for industrial design, UX, visualisation, and branding, with a focus on creating stories with purpose.

Phoebe

Phoebe is a reusable blood sampling device designed for decentralised clinical trials, where participants are required to collect blood samples from home rather than attending repeated hospital appointments.

Clinical trials often rely on regular blood samples to monitor safety, dosing and treatment response. However, clinic-based blood collection can create significant participant burden through travel, waiting times, disruption and needle anxiety.

As healthcare moves closer to the home, blood sampling must become more accessible, reassuring and sustainable.


Clinical doesn’t have to mean complicated.

The system combines a reusable electronic body with a disposable cartridge and base, supporting safe sample collection while reducing single-use plastic waste. Soft form language, LED feedback, magnetic assembly and clear instructions are used to make sampling feel less clinical and more manageable.
The system combines a reusable electronic body with a disposable cartridge and base, supporting safe sample collection while reducing single-use plastic waste. Soft form language, LED feedback, magnetic assembly and clear instructions are used to make sampling feel less clinical and more manageable.

Say goodbye to needle fear!

Phoebe’s user journey was designed to reassure at each stage of sampling. The process begins with clear packaging and instructions, followed by simple assembly, guided application, LED-feedback, and clear sample return instructions. The aim was to make the user feel supported even when completing the process without a clinician present.


Designed for Repeat Trial Use

Phoebe is intended as a product-service system for clinical trial providers. The reusable body is retained across multiple sampling events, while disposable cartridges and bases are supplied for each collection.

This approach reduces single-use plastic waste compared with fully single-use systems, while still supporting hygiene and clinical workflow requirements. After use, the sample cartridge is returned for lab processing, and the reusable body can be cleaned, checked and reused.


Brand and Experience

Phoebe’s brand identity was designed to feel reassuring, supportive and medically trustworthy without appearing cold or intimidating.

The visual language combines soft colours, rounded forms, and reassuring messaging. The aim was to position Phoebe less like a clinical tool and more like a supportive guide through the sampling process.

This brand direction is carried across the device, packaging, instructions, website and marketing touchpoints, creating a consistent experience before, during and after sampling.