What's a Designer For?, or Hidden Challenges of UX Design in Healthcare and Public Services

Industries often labelled as “unsexy” such as airport management, public sector services and, to a lesser degree, healthcare, are crucial to the well-being of society and the economy. Yet historically, they demand and receive far less attention from the UX discipline, compared to retail, social networking, and dating apps, let alone Big Tech.

While technology and finance dominate as the leading employers of UX designers, industries such as healthcare, government, and education are slower to recognize the transformative potential of UX design and remain under-invested. Healthcare, for instance, employs only 3% of UX designers despite its critical need for user-friendly digital health solutions, especially as the sector undergoes rapid digitization. Education, also at 3%, stands to benefit significantly from improved UX in online learning and administrative systems, making education more accessible and efficient.

If we zoom in on these fields, we’ll see designers having to be ambassadors for their role before they can defend a particular design piece or solution. Stakeholders might possess some knowledge of the value of design. They might have practicable design ideas of their own, emanating from their deep insight into their field— which are rough diamonds that need to be harvested fresh, and polished. But in the context the everyday work, this clarity fades.

This article explores what it means to be a designer in such contexts: the need to connect with users, advocate for meaningful change within the organisation, and ensure accessibility and usability are prioritised alongside functionality. More importantly, it highlights how designers can navigate these environments with constructive energy, building systems that serve their users while fostering collaboration with teams across disciplines.

The Designer’s true role, a Bridge

At its core, the role of a designer is to bridge the gap between the people who use a product and the people who build it. It’s a role rooted in empathy, research, and advocacy. Designers aren’t just responsible for making things “look good” or “work well”; they’re tasked with understanding the user’s context— how they think, feel, and behave — and translating those insights into actionable solutions.

In healthcare for example, whether private or public, this responsibility is even more critical. Users in these spaces often have higher stakes (e.g., accessing care, managing terminal or chronic conditions) and may face additional barriers like low digital literacy or disabilities. And what might come across as obvious in a design-driven environment, here is a harder sell. Without direct contact with users, designers risk making assumptions that lead to solutions that don’t meet these needs.

It goes without saying, but User Research is indispensable. Whether it is conducting interviews, usability tests, or contextual inquiries, designers need to have a direct line to the people they’re designing for. This isn’t just about gathering data; it’s about building empathy and understanding the nuances that don’t show up in metrics or reports. Qualitative, not quantitative. When organisations empower designers to directly engage with users, they are investing in solutions directed at improving user task completion rates, but also indirectly affecting human lives.

Internal advocacy and design ceremonies

While user research is indispensable, it’s only the first step. Again, designers must also act as internal advocates, ensuring that the insights from users translate into tangible changes that benefit both the user and the organisation. This can be particularly challenging in industries where constraints like regulatory compliance, legacy systems, or resource limitations dominate the conversation.

One of the most critical areas for internal advocacy is addressing technical debt and accessibility. These are often seen as “nice-to-haves” rather than “must-haves,” but ignoring them can have long-term consequences, measured in budget, user pain points, and headaches. Technical debt slows down future development, increases costs, and frustrates users with outdated systems. Similarly, failing to meet accessibility standards not only excludes vulnerable populations but in extremis, risks legal repercussions.

Designers must be equipped with the skills—and support—to navigate organisational resistance, frame conversations in terms of business value, and rally cross-functional teams around the importance of these issues. For example, a designer proposing an accessibility improvement might highlight how it expands the user base, and data quality, and aligns with corporate social responsibility goals.

In this context, advocacy isn’t just making a case for a solution but recruiting the wider team to collaborate on improving it. Designers can act as translators, bridging the gap between user needs and business priorities with evidence-backed solutions.

Handover is a two-way street.

A key part of a designer’s role is collaborating with developers, product managers, and other stakeholders to bring designs to life. However, the handoff process is often treated as a one-way exchange: designers create detailed documentation, and developers implement it. While documentation is essential, it’s not enough. Verbal discussion is equally critical to ensure shared understanding.

Why? Because no matter how thorough the documentation, there will always be nuances — logical gaps, edge cases, or contextual details — that require clarification. Miscommunication at this stage can lead to wasted time, rework, or features that don’t behave as intended. By fostering open dialogue, and keeping the appropriate design ceremonies in any Design Thinking or Method of your preference, designers and developers can work together to identify and resolve these issues early, reducing friction and building trust.

This collaboration becomes even more important in healthcare or similar industries, where systems are often highly complex. Designers must be prepared to explain not just the “what” of their designs, but the “why” — the rationale behind decisions, the user pain points being addressed, and the trade-offs made. Likewise, developers should feel empowered to ask questions, propose alternatives, and highlight technical constraints that may not be immediately apparent.

Avoid knowledge silos. Regular check-ins, collaborative problem-solving, and mutual respect expertise lead to better outcomes for everyone—especially the user.

Leonardo Falaschini - Lonko.co.uk - LinkedIn - Twitter

Image credit: @pachonparedes on Instagram, Madrid Cyclespace.