Our mission is to make diabetes as invisible as possible by taking a people-centered approach to diabetes technology. We aim to push the boundaries of technology with a strong focus on empathy and human needs.

We practice people-centered design.
We work with diabetes community groups to understand the impact and requirements of CGMs, insulin pumps, digital insulin pens, blood glucose meters, and AIDs.
We embrace complexity and seek simplicity.
We combine the strength of students from all disciplines at UC San Diego, to iteratively design, develop and test new concepts.
CGM in Hospital
Due to the COVID pandemic, the FDA announced an enforcement digression for CGM use in hospitals to simplify diabetes management and minimize the time in the patient rooms. A student team analyzed how hospitals are integrating the Dexcom consumer technology into their workflow and how Dexcom can support them.
E-Commerce
Managing supplies and keeping on top of orders can be challenging. Dexcom asked the team to design a new way to simplify online purchases online for new and existing users. Inspired by the Canadian Dexcom shop, the students analyzed business and user needs, iterated on several prototypes, and finally presented them as a product roadmap.
Diabetes Education
Living with diabetes can be stressful. On top of the physical, emotional, and financial challenges, once a person is diagnosed, there is an overwhelming amount of information they need to learn and understand quickly in order to manage healthy lifestyles. How can we make diabetes, specifically the relationship between insulin and glucose, easier to understand and manage?
We start with human needs.
We work with the leading companies, communities, advocacy groups, foundations, researchers, clinicians, and government.
We invite healthcare professionals and students from all disciplines at UC San Diego to join us.
“The design students developed some really exciting prototypes! They have come a long way and we’ve enjoyed learning with them.”

Alex Diener
Director of UXD, Dexcom
"With an extraordinary level of compassion and insight, the students were able to understand the service-related issues patients face and provide relevant, useful prototypes."

Nolan Rey
Global technical support, Dexcom
“DDI was an amazing learning experience! I’m so grateful to have worked with real industry professionals at Dexcom who provided wonderful mentorship and guidance that pushed me to grow immensely as a designer and researcher.”

Amanda
Undergrad Student, UC San Diego
"It was a total pleasure collaborating with the UCSD Design Lab students. I look forward to partnering with them again."

Anne Santoro
Director of Customer Experience, Dexcom
Get involved with us.
We are always looking for people living with diabetes and their loved ones to help us understand the challenges of current technology. If you are interested in helping test these new ideas, please sign-up as a volunteer.
Whether you are a student, a healthcare designer, a person with diabetes, or a patient's loved one, there are many ways you can help.