Ethos Design System (EDS)

In healthcare, every second counts. A well-designed system enables designers and developers to work faster, allowing them to focus on creating innovative solutions that enhance patient care. GE HealthCare’s expansive software ecosystem—spanning over 200 applications, embedded devices, and software services—requires unified, accessible, and scalable design. The Ethos Design System (EDS) was developed to address this complexity by providing a consistent design foundation across all GE HealthCare products.

EDS delivers a cohesive language of typography, color, responsive grid, motion, iconography, and gesture—all aligned with WCAG accessibility standards. Each component includes built-in keyboard, mouse, and gesture support, internationalization, and scalable layouts to support global, multi-device usage. Design tokens ensure seamless alignment between design and development, enabling effortless theme switching.

For designers, the shared Figma library includes over 1,000 components to streamline workflows. For developers, 50+ coded components and 400+ variants offer plug-and-play efficiency. An icon library with 800+ clinically validated icons enhances clarity and precision in medical environments.

EDS is more than a system—it’s a catalyst for change, built in close collaboration with product teams and rooted in real-world clinical needs. It enables teams to move faster, design better, and focus on what truly matters: Improving patient outcomes.

EDS is already driving measurable impact across GE HealthCare. In its first year, 246 component features implemented across 13 products, delivering an estimated intrinsic cost value of over $8M. A shared Figma library with over 1,000 components is now actively used by 36 product teams, resulting in more than 100,000 component instances per month across hundreds of applications.

Product teams report that EDS has harmonized user experiences, created a unified brand identity, and significantly reduced design and development time. Its stability, configurability, and robust guidance have improved maintainability, simplified testing, and reduced design churn. EDS has made adherence to design standards seamless and has become a trusted foundation for delivering consistent, high-quality healthcare software.