Rachael Hunt

I design complex software for patients and clinic teams.

Lead product designer and UX lead with 19 years' experience in Australia and New Zealand. I frame problems through research, design and test in sprints alongside product and engineering, and mentor designers at every level.

UX Lead at Best Practice SoftwareHamilton / Auckland, New ZealandHybrid or remote

Rachael Hunt smiling, in a grassy paddock with hills behind

Selected work

  • Patient sign-up redesign

    Research-led redesign: from a journey map of real frustration to a sign-up 80% of users preferred.

    Best Health · Research · Usability testing

  • Appointment booking flow

    Data-informed fixes: analytics showed where patients dropped out of booking, and two screens changed to stop it.

    Best Health · Analytics · Content design

  • Information architecture for a clinical product

    Structuring a complex product: navigation for clinicians, admin and finance, based on card sorts with every group.

    Clinical SaaS · Card sorting · Navigation

  • Accessible SMS reply indicators

    Accessibility done thoroughly: a WCAG audit and a redesign so colourblind staff can see patients' replies.

    Appointment book · WCAG · Colour

  • Booking policy configuration

    Making complex admin tools safe: clear live and draft states, so clinics publish what they mean to.

    Clinic admin · B2B · Interaction design

  • Component library and design tokens

    Raising the whole team's output: a Figma library with tokens matched to development.

    Design systems · Figma · Design–dev hand-over

  • AI

    AI in my design process

    Bringing a team into new ways of working, responsibly, with clear rules for patient data.

    Process · Leadership · Draft

About

Research first, then design and test with the team.

I've designed software for 19 years, most of it in healthcare: patient booking and sign-up, clinical products used by clinicians, admin and finance teams, and the appointment books clinics run their day from.

I started out as a software engineer with a Master's in human–computer interaction, so I'm at home working closely with engineering and prototyping in code.

I live on a lifestyle block in the Waikato with my horses.

How I work

  • Research that shapes decisions: Hotjar, interviews, card sorts and journey maps.
  • Design and test in sprints alongside product and engineering.
  • Accessibility built in, from WCAG audits to colourblind-safe design.
  • Design systems: Figma components and tokens matched to development.
  • Mentoring designers at every level, and coaching juniors to grow their skills and confidence.
  • AI-assisted ways of working, introduced with leadership support.

Experience

Download CV (PDF)
  1. 2023 – present
    User Experience Lead · Best Practice Software

    Patient booking and onboarding, clinic booking configuration, the design system, mentoring and bringing AI into the design process.

  2. 2019 – 2023
    UX Designer · Best Practice Software

    Information architecture and workflows for a next-gen cloud clinical product; user studies with physiotherapists.

  3. 2013 – 2019
    UX Designer · Wild Bamboo

    User-centred design across the product lifecycle of health software for community services, in-sprint user studies and front-end development.

  4. 2007 – 2013
    UX Designer & Software Engineer · Endace Technology

    International user studies, two full UI restyles, and primary technical contact for all UI work.

  5. 2004
    Master of Computing & Mathematical Sciences (Hons) · University of Waikato

    Human–computer interaction.

Contact

Looking for a lead designer? Let's talk.

rachaelmhunt@gmail.com LinkedIn CV (PDF)