What shapes design work for the Canadian market
Design for Canada is design for variation. The same screen has to work in two languages, under privacy rules that differ by province, for organizations held to accessibility standards.
| Topic | What it means for your product | Decide early |
|---|---|---|
| Two languages, one layout | French runs longer than English, and Canadian French has its own terms, punctuation spacing and formats for dates, numbers and money. Buttons, tables and navigation that fit English often break in French | Whether French is in scope, and who supplies and reviews the text |
| Accessibility | Ontario sets web accessibility requirements for larger organizations, the Accessible Canada Act covers federally regulated ones, and other provinces have accessibility laws. WCAG at Level AA is the shared reference | The level you design to, and any deadline that applies |
| Privacy by default | Quebec's privacy law expects a product offered to the public to start at its highest level of confidentiality. Functions that identify, locate or profile a person stay off until the user turns them on, and consent is asked separately for each purpose, in plain words | Which settings exist, and what each one defaults to |
| Consent for messages | Under the anti-spam law, agreement to receive commercial messages cannot be bundled into general terms or preselected. The request states who is asking and why | Where the product asks for marketing consent, and how it is worded |
| Price display | Drip pricing is prohibited. A price shown on a plan card, a product page or a booking screen includes the mandatory fees, with only government taxes added later | Every screen that shows a price, and what it includes |
| Regulated sectors | Banks are required to give customers information that is clear, simple and not misleading, and provincial health privacy laws shape screens that show health records | Whether a sector rule governs any of your screens |
| Research data | Recordings of interviews and usability sessions are personal information. Where they are stored, and for how long, should be decided before sessions begin | Storage location and retention for research material |
Design work we do for Canadian products
Four engagements shaped by the rules above. Each can stand alone or form part of a larger project.
Bilingual interface design
For products that must work equally well in English and French.
- Screens designed with room for longer text
- French strings loaded from your translator
- Wrapping and truncation checked
- Formats set for dates, numbers and money
- A French reader on your side reviews
- Both versions approved together
Privacy-by-default onboarding
For apps and services offered to people in Quebec.
- Data collected at sign-up listed
- Consents separated by purpose
- Defaults set to the most private option
- Explanations written in plain language
- Tested for understanding
- Settings screen designed to match
Accessible component library
For organizations with an accessibility duty and many screens.
- Existing components reviewed against WCAG AA
- Contrast and focus states corrected
- Keyboard behavior specified
- Screen reader labels written in both languages
- Library documented for developers
Usability research
For teams that want evidence before they redesign.
- Participants recruited in your target provinces
- Sessions run in English
- French sessions arranged with a moderator you approve
- Findings ranked
- Design changes proposed
What we design
Bilingual design structure
Layouts, components and content models that carry English and French without redesign. French wording is supplied by your team or your translator.
Privacy screens
Onboarding, consent and settings designed around the most private default, with each purpose explained and separately chosen.
Accessible interfaces
Screens and components specified to WCAG AA, including labels and alternative text in both languages.
Clear pricing and checkout
Plan cards, product pages and payment steps that show the all-in price from the first view.
Product design for web and mobile
End-to-end design for new products and redesigns, covered in more depth on our product design services page.
Handoff to developers
Annotated files, bilingual string tables, specifications and a walkthrough with the engineers who will build it.
What we need from you
- The provinces your users live in
- Your translator or French content owner, if French is in scope
- Your privacy officer's view on consents and defaults
- Existing analytics, research and support data
- The developers who will build from the designs
Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
A readiness checklist for a Canadian design project
Before design starts
0 of 8 checkedUnsure how much to change? Our comparison of a UX audit and a full product redesign explains both routes.
What to do next
Tell us what the product does, which provinces it serves and whether it needs French. We will reply with the engagement that fits, the rules that affect your screens and what you would receive. Start a conversation or book a 30-minute call.
Common questions
Do we need to design in French as well as English?
If the product serves Quebec, plan for French from the first screen. Businesses established there are required to serve customers in French, and employers above a certain size provide work tools in French. Designing both together is far cheaper than retrofitting, because French text is longer and breaks layouts that were sized for English. We design the structure, and the French wording comes from your translator.
Which accessibility standard should a Canadian product meet?
WCAG at Level AA is the practical answer. Ontario's law names WCAG for the public websites of larger organizations, federally regulated organizations fall under the Accessible Canada Act, and several other provinces have accessibility laws at different stages. Even where no duty applies to you today, public and enterprise buyers ask for it, and designing to the standard from the outset is the low-cost route.
How does Quebec's privacy law change interface design?
It moves the default. A product offered to the public should start at its most private settings, without the user doing anything. Features that identify, locate or profile someone stay off until switched on, and consent is requested for each purpose in clear and simple terms. For designers that means separate, plainly worded choices in onboarding and a settings screen that matches.
Where is user research data stored?
We agree that before any session. Recordings and notes from research are personal information, so the project records where they are stored, who can open them and when they are deleted. If your organization or your client requires storage in Canada, or a Quebec assessment before data leaves the province, we plan the tools around that requirement instead of choosing them first.
Where to go from here
Related serviceUI/UX DesignInterface design that engineers can actually build