Virtual Assistant
Government of Canada (EY)
Employment and Social Development Canada
UI UX Designer

Key Responsibilities

  • As the UI Designer on a group of over 20 UX and Service Designers, I was responsible for creating accessible designs for the ChatBot across both desktop and mobile platforms.

  • Developed and implemented engaging illustrations to enhance the ChatBot’s landing and scenario pages. Additionally, reviewed and updated the ChatBot’s colour scheme to ensure it was modern, user-friendly, and compliant with accessibility standards.

  • Redesigned the ChatBot, including its logo, and updated the design systems to meet AAA accessibility criteria. Collaborating closely with project managers, developers, and UX designers in agile sprints, I evaluated user navigation and recommended design improvements.

Goals x Results
Here are some specific challenges faced during the project:

  • Accessibility Compliance: Ensuring that all designs met AAA accessibility standards required thorough research and testing, which involved iterating on designs based on user feedback.

  • Illustration Development: Creating illustrations that effectively communicated the ChatBot’s functionality while being visually appealing was a key challenge, necessitating a balance between creativity and clarity.

  • Colour Scheme Updates: Revising the ChatBot’s colour palette to enhance accessibility involved careful consideration of contrast ratios and user preferences, ensuring a modern and inclusive design.

  • Collaboration in Agile Sprints: Working in agile sprints with PMs, developers, and UX designers required effective communication and flexibility to adapt designs based on team feedback and project timelines.

  • User Navigation Evaluation: Assessing user navigation on the landing and scenario pages helped identify pain points, leading to actionable design recommendations that improved overall usability.

  • Animation/Interactivity Creation: Designing all animations, including message sending, typing indicators, and logo animations, added a dynamic element to the ChatBot, enhancing user engagement.

  • Show & Tell Presentations: Presenting design updates during bi-weekly Show & Tell meetings to an audience of over 300 people. Usually presenting only one or two screens, but allowed for valuable feedback from a diverse audience.

Development notations in Figma:

I designed the landing page, flow animations, and custom illustrations (EN & FR). Redesigned the Virtual Assistant robot icon and text message center for better symmetry, scalability, and accessibility.

Mobile:

Desktop/Scenario 1 screen:
UI UX, Illustrations, Chat:

Optimized readability, consistency, and accessibility:

Comparison of a chat conversation on a virtual assistant app before and after interface update. The 'Before' version shows a chat with a Virtual Concierge, including messages about sending a follow-up email from the Canadian government and asking for
Comparison of messaging interface designs labeled 'Before' and 'After'. Both include message list items with icons, timestamps, and different styles for unread, read, selected, and focused states.