What shapes design work for the American market
In the United States a design choice can end up as evidence. A contrast ratio, the wording on a consent screen or the number of steps it takes to cancel may all be read later by a lawyer or a regulator.
| Topic | What it means for your product | Decide early |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | Disability law reaches websites and apps, and WCAG at Level AA is the working standard. Color contrast, focus order, target sizes and error messages are design decisions, and they are far cheaper to get right in a design file than in finished code | The standard for the project, and who reviews designs against it |
| Government and education buyers | Federal agencies buy technology that conforms to Section 508, and universities and public bodies ask vendors for an accessibility conformance report before they purchase | Whether you sell to the public sector, and when a report is needed |
| Manipulative design | The Federal Trade Commission pursues interface tricks as deceptive practices: preselected extras, confusing buttons, hidden costs. Several state privacy laws add that agreement obtained through such tricks is not valid consent | Who reviews consent, upsell and pricing screens before release |
| Cancellation | State renewal laws, California's first among them, expect a customer who signed up online to be able to cancel online without obstruction. Extra screens, forced calls and repeated offers are what regulators look for | The steps to cancel, counted against the steps to join |
| Required disclosures | Consent for text messages, renewal terms and financial terms each have to be clear and conspicuous. Design decides whether a disclosure is read or merely present | Which disclosures the product needs, with wording from counsel |
| Audience and devices | American users are split between iPhone and Android, and each platform has conventions people expect. Spanish is the country's second most spoken language | The platforms you design for first, and whether Spanish is in scope |
Design work we do for American products
Four kinds of engagement, from a first product to a single flow that needs fixing.
Research to tested prototype
For teams about to build something new.
- Stakeholder and user interviews
- Journeys mapped
- Key screens designed
- Clickable prototype built
- Tested with people from your audience
- Design revised from what was seen
Accessible redesign
For products that have received a complaint or want to avoid one.
- Current screens reviewed against WCAG AA
- Problems ranked by severity
- Components redesigned
- Keyboard and screen reader behavior specified
- Developers briefed with annotations
Sign-up and cancellation review
For subscription products that want honest flows.
- Both flows mapped screen by screen
- Steps counted on each side
- Disclosures rewritten in plain words
- Counsel reviews the wording
- Comprehension tested with users
- Changes specified for release
Design system
For teams whose screens no longer look like one product.
- Existing interface inventoried
- Colors, type and spacing defined as tokens
- Components designed with accessible states
- Usage documented
- Handed to engineering
What we design
User research
Interviews and usability sessions with participants recruited from your audience or your own customer list, reported as findings you can act on.
Interface design
Screens for web and mobile that follow each platform's conventions and your brand, from first wireframe to final visual design.
Accessible components
Contrast, focus states, target sizes and error handling specified for every component, so accessibility arrives with the design.
Honest flows
Consent, pricing, renewal and cancellation screens designed to be understood, with a record of the choices made and why.
Design systems
Tokens, components and documentation that keep a growing product consistent. Our comparison of a design system and a UI kit explains the difference.
Developer handoff
Annotated files, specifications and a walkthrough with your engineers, so what gets built matches what was approved.
What we need from you
- Access to the current product, or the brief for a new one
- Analytics, support tickets or research you already have
- A route to real users, or agreement to recruit them
- Your counsel's wording for consent and renewal disclosures
- The engineers who will build from the designs
Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
A readiness checklist for a US design project
Before design starts
0 of 8 checkedNot sure whether you need a redesign or a targeted fix? Our comparison of a UX audit and a full product redesign helps you choose.
What to do next
Tell us what the product does, who uses it and where they struggle. We will reply with the kind of engagement that fits, what we would test first and what you would receive at the end. Start a conversation or book a 30-minute call.
Common questions
Does accessibility law apply to our product's design?
If the product is offered to the public in the United States, assume it does. Courts apply disability law to websites and apps, and public sector buyers require conformance before purchase. Most accessibility failures begin as design decisions: low contrast, small targets, errors shown by color alone, focus that jumps around. Fixing them in a design file takes minutes. Fixing them in a released product takes a project.
What is a dark pattern, and why does it matter legally?
A dark pattern is an interface that steers people into a choice they would not otherwise make: a preticked box, a decline button written to shame, a cancel link buried several screens deep. The Federal Trade Commission treats these as deceptive practices, and state privacy laws say consent obtained that way is not consent. Removing them is a legal precaution and, usually, a relief to customers.
What do we receive at the end of a design engagement?
The source design files, a clickable prototype, component specifications, accessibility annotations and research findings, with a walkthrough for your developers. For a design system you also receive tokens and usage documentation. The exact list is written into the proposal before work begins. Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
Do you test designs with real users?
Yes, when the project allows for it, and we recommend that it does. Participants come from your own customer list or from a recruiting panel matched to your audience. A small number of well-run sessions usually exposes the main problems in a flow. We share recordings and findings, with participants' consent, and change the design in response.
Where to go from here
Related serviceUI/UX DesignInterface design that engineers can actually build