Healthcare expenditures in the U.S. reached $4.5 trillion in 2022, and could reach $6.2 trillion by 2028. And within this colossal industry are yet more fast-growing sectors, not least of which is med-tech, a space that rewards precision, regulation, and innovation. But how do you translate complex surgical procedures, medical devices, and clinical advancements into compelling creative work? For designers and marketers, the challenge isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about making a true impact in a highly specialized and regulated field.
Joel Warneke and Greg Fehrenbach, both principals at (matter) agency, have many years of experience navigating this complex landscape, bringing fresh perspectives and bold ideas to countless brands in the med-tech space. From their early days working with Ethicon to recent work designing hugely successful campaigns for innovative surgical devices, they’ve learned how to balance creativity with compliance, push boundaries without overstepping, and transform even the most clinical concepts into engaging, meaningful brand experiences. Keep scrolling to read our conversation, then head over to the (matter) website to see more recent work from across all industries.
How did you get started designing and developing creative work in the medical-tech space?
Joel: We got our start with Ethicon Endo-Surgery [now Ethicon]. It was technical and complicated, and we were trying to catch up—understanding the technology, how the products were used, and the different kinds of procedures they were involved in. Coming from CPG brands, and then jumping into this new category was challenging, but also exciting. And they had big budgets, which made it even more exciting.
From a creative standpoint, understanding the technology, procedures, and industry jargon was a major learning curve for us. But from a design perspective, we brought some fresh thinking simply because we didn’t know any better. We didn’t know what we didn’t know, and that gave us the freedom to think differently and offer a fresh perspective.
Another big shift was the rigorous regulatory and compliance review process. That was new for us. On the consumer side, you have more latitude, but in the medical device space, you have to be really careful about what you can and can’t say. Since then, we’ve become much more efficient because of all the experience and knowledge we’ve gained in this space.
But that can be a downside too—you start to govern yourself creatively because you know where you can’t go. For instance, I was recently working with the younger designers on a new project for Teleflex, and I noticed that they have a more untethered approach to it. Some of the concepts were really provocative and pushed the boundaries.
Normally, Greg or I might have pulled back on those ideas before they even went to the client. But showing that work, even if there’s no chance they’ll approve it, is valuable. It pushes the client and gives them insight into our creative approach. Letting them pull us back, rather than us pulling ourselves back, is always good for the agency and the client.
How did your experience with med-tech expand from there?
Greg: Because of our initial experience with Ethicon, we have seen our network expand. Just like any other industry, when your contacts leave for another med-tech company, they bring you along if they liked working with you and see value in your work. If you bring something fresh, if you’re flexible, cost-effective, and produce good creative, that helps too.
Our primary experience—the depth of it—is in medical devices, specifically minimally invasive surgery. We’ve dabbled a little in pharmaceuticals since Ethicon is part of Johnson & Johnson, which has other divisions, like Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Joel: Most of our experience is in the minimally invasive surgical space. But we’ve done some other work in the medical space. Camargo Pharmaceutical was another small pharma company. We worked with Children’s and Mercy hospitals in Cincinnati, and we also rebranded Symmetry Surgical. It had a huge portfolio of products spanning both open surgery and minimally invasive devices, so that was an interesting project. I believe they were acquired a few years ago. We’ve been around long enough to see companies come and go, merge, get acquired, rebrand, unbrand, and rebrand again.
Can you tell me a little about your process for designing in the med-tech space?
Greg: It’s all about learning and being open to research. Watching videos, understanding the procedures, and not getting grossed out by certain surgical procedures you might be looking at. The learning curve can be steep, but it’s like anything else.
If you’ve never done laundry and suddenly have to sell laundry detergent, you might think, “Well, I know it cleans clothes,” and make assumptions from there. Joel and I aren’t surgeons, obviously, but we’ve been around this space long enough that we can explain things in a way that makes sense to other non-experts. Sometimes, people even think, “Wow, you could probably perform this procedure!” Of course not. But we can communicate the concepts clearly.
That’s a challenge for creatives, but it’s also rewarding. Now, when I hear team members new to the business or med-tech in general talk about these topics after being exposed to them a few times, they can explain what a sleeve gastrectomy is and why the sleeve shape matters. That’s really cool. Joel described it as feeling like a proud parent when you hear your team confidently discussing these topics.
We’ve also been lucky to work with people like Ron Galovich. He was at Standard Bariatrics and is now at GT Metabolic. He’s very articulate—he repeats things over and over, slightly tweaking the phrasing each time. That’s helped us develop a strong understanding of bariatric and metabolic surgery. At the end of the day, we can’t be afraid of complex topics. We have to lean in and make sense of them.
Joel: I think as designers and creatives, we’re inherently curious. We want to understand how things work—whether it’s a procedure or how a device functions within that procedure. Our job is to take complicated concepts and communicate them in a way that people can easily grasp—whether that means simplifying them or making them more emotive. For me, that’s been the fun of it. Diving deep into a complex industry and finding creative, new ways to position, market, and advertise these companies, devices, and procedures.
Greg: Not only do we have to explain these things to our internal team when we’re developing a new campaign, design, or brand strategy, but we also have to explain them to outside collaborators—animators, copywriters, photographers. For example, you have to be able to tell someone, “You wouldn’t hold the device that way” or “That’s not how the procedure actually works.” Luckily, we can watch videos of older or legacy products to see how they function—or how they don’t function.
Now, when we’re searching for stock imagery on Getty, we can spot when a supposedly great surgical image is completely inaccurate. You see an image labeled as “minimally invasive surgery,” but it’s full of scalpels, sutures, and open surgery elements—that’s just not how it works.
Joel: That’s why there’s a huge advantage in working with a company that already has deep experience in this category. You don’t have to explain things to them—they just know. And that’s the level of expertise we bring to the med-tech and minimally invasive surgical space. There aren’t a ton of agencies out there with the same depth of experience in this area. But it’s not something others can’t learn—it just takes time.
How do you encourage younger designers to keep things fresh while ensuring they don’t push things too far?
Greg: I always try to get them into the mindset of the audience. If we’re talking about a surgical audience, we need to be direct and specific: focused on features and benefits. You can’t rely too much on emotional appeal because that’s not how they make decisions. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but in general, you need to balance creative ideas with practical considerations.
We tell our team, “If you want to present a bold, push-the-envelope concept, that’s great. But we also need one or two ideas that hit the mark right between the eyes.” Then, we can bring a third concept that’s more provocative—something that challenges them to think differently. Even if we know they’ll never go for it, it builds credibility. It keeps them coming back to us when they want something beyond the typical, cookie-cutter approach.
Joel: You don’t want to restrain creativity—whether it’s a young designer or an experienced one who’s never worked in this industry before. We always need to push ourselves. At the same time, we have to show that we understand the category, the product, and the audience. So, we present some concepts that are closer in—less provocative, more practical. It’s a balance. You don’t want to limit creatives by telling them where they can’t go, but they also need to understand the constraints of the category.
Surgeons, for example, make decisions based more on rational, evidence-based factors than emotional appeal. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push the boundaries. We can’t just deliver the same old, same old. The real danger is when we stop challenging ourselves, the agency, and the client.
The reality is, our clients have already been told “no” more times than we have—by their regulatory, compliance, and legal teams. So, they come into projects with a reserved, almost resigned mindset. That’s why we have to challenge them, even if it’s just to get them excited. Sometimes, we show them a concept they could never publicly launch, but they love how provocative it is.
Just yesterday, we showed a client a creative concept they’ll probably never be able to use publicly, but they loved it. It sparked a conversation. They even said, “Maybe we could use something like this internally for a product launch, where we have more flexibility.” And that’s the value of pushing creative thinking.
What are some of the challenges of designing and creating in the med-tech space?
Greg: Let’s talk about one of our recent projects for Pleur-evac™, which was for one of their devices that assists with chest drainage. When you’re in the hospital after surgery or dealing with a collapsed lung, this is what keeps your lungs functioning. It’s essential. But from a creative standpoint, it’s like, “Oh my God, I’d almost rather work on anything else.” Or even do nothing at all. But then, once you start getting into it, you realize the ideas can actually be pretty cool.
The challenge is bringing fresh ideas to what is often a very clinical industry. That’s where creativity comes in—finding ways to make it engaging. You don’t want to fall into the trap of feeling beaten down by compliance regulations. Sure, there are certain things you can’t say, but you can grab people’s attention and find ways to engage them.
For example, on a recent project with Weck, they gravitated toward the safer concepts we presented, but they also liked some of the more daring ones. They started thinking, “Maybe we could use these for trade shows.” That’s progress. It shows that they don’t have to settle for just another standard product brochure with a nice picture and a list of features. Of course, they’ll still need that kind of material. But they can also create something eye-catching—something that makes people stop and say, “Wait, what is this? This doesn’t look like a typical medical device ad.”
Joel: It’s something we talk about a lot—how creating for any category, any business, or any product is never easy. But when you’re asked to design something for chest drainage—something that seems inherently boring—that’s the real creative challenge.
If you can create something beautiful, engaging, or even funny for a product like that, that’s the true test of creativity.
Taking something mundane, unsexy, or seemingly uninspiring and applying great creative thinking to it—that’s what impresses me. Sure, I’d love to work on Nike. But in some ways, it’s probably easier to create an ad for Nike than it is for chest drainage. The challenge is finding a way to differentiate something in the market that doesn’t naturally lend itself to excitement. That’s the real challenge.
