Paging Dr. Design: Crafting Medical Textbooks for Students

Let me tell you—medical school is no joke! After working closely with med students, residents, and future doctors, I quickly learned that medicine isn’t for the faint of heart… and neither are medical textbooks.

I had the honor of working with Physeo, an online medical education platform dedicated to helping med students pass their board exams—aka the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam, for those of us who had to Google it—no shame!). Initially brought on as part of the content creation team, I soon found myself leading the charge as Textbook Manager & Designer. Now, with 21 published books (and counting!), here’s a behind-the-scenes look at this massive project.

When the previous textbook creator stepped down, I stepped in. The challenge? Pick up where they left off and streamline the entire textbook development process. This meant:

Managing a team of 15 specialists (mostly med students and interns with juggling insane schedules)

Developing an efficient workflow to keep content creation moving

Personally assembling every textbook section and page - yep, all of them.

And my favorite - designing and formatting both the book interiors and covers.

Oh boy, this project was a crash course in organization! With a team full of busy med students and interns, I needed a system that kept work flowing without bottlenecks. Using Monday.com, I built a streamlined content pipeline that kept everything on track. After a few months, my amazing team and I were working like a well-oiled machine—churning out high-quality content at an incredible pace.

Once the writing was done, it was my time to shine in the design phase. Using Adobe Illustrator, I formatted thousands of paragraphs, images, and chapters—many featuring some of the wildest medical images I’ve ever seen! Let’s just say I have a whole new appreciation for med students and the sheer amount of knowledge they have to absorb. And after designing 21 books, I can proudly say I’m fluent in textbook creation.

For me, the most exciting part of this project was designing the book covers. Each textbook focuses on a specific subject within the USMLE Step 1 or Step 2 exams. My goal? Create a cohesive design system that:

Maintains brand consistency while distinguishing between exam levels.

Clearly identifies the subject at a glance.

Seamlessly integrate the previous designer's work while elevating Physeo's visual identity.

Every day, med students around the world download these books, whether as PDFs online or hard copies proudly sitting on their shelves. These textbooks are recognized in universities and seen across the internet, solidifying Physeo’s brand in the medical education space.

And honestly? Seeing my work in the hands of future doctors is something I’ll always be proud of. These books aren’t just textbooks—they’re a testament to design, education, and the power of a well-structured system. And yes, they’ve become a prized possession on my own shelf, too!