UX/UI Design

Design that works for the people who use it.

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Who we work with

We partner with marketing and communications directors who are responsible for how their organization shows up digitally and who need a design partner that understands the weight of that responsibility.

  • Healthcare systems and specialty practices where patient experience directly affects trust and appointment volume
  • Member associations redesigning platforms that serve thousands of constituents across diverse needs
  • Nonprofits and social impact organizations balancing limited budgets with high expectations for digital presence
  • Organizations preparing for a rebrand and needing digital design to follow with the same care and rigor
  • Marketing teams managing sites that have outgrown their current structure, design system, or CMS
  • Organizations going through growth, merger, or platform transition and needing design to hold things together

Why COLAB for UX/UI design

[1]

We start with your users, not your preferences. Research, stakeholder input, and content review shape our design decisions before any visual work begins.

[2]

Our designers stay engaged through development. We review implementations and answer questions to make sure the work translates accurately from Figma to the finished product.

[3]

We design systems, not just pages. Component libraries and documented design systems reduce drift and give your team something they can build on without starting over.

[4]

Accessibility is part of the work, not an add-on. We apply WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines and test for compliance from the start, which is a baseline requirement for most of the organizations we serve.

[5]

Good design is one of the few things that’s hard to recover from doing poorly. For mission-driven organizations, a confusing or outdated digital experience erodes the trust of the patients, members, and donors you’re trying to serve.

[6]

We design with your team’s capacity in mind. A design system your team can’t maintain isn’t a system, it’s technical debt we’re leaving behind for you to deal with.

What UX/UI Design Includes

Scope varies based on where you are and what you need. Full redesigns and new product builds typically draw from most of the following. Focused engagements may address only a portion.

Stakeholder discovery and research

UX research and stakeholder workshops. Structured discovery that surfaces how your users think, what your organization needs, and where your current experience is falling short.

User research and audience analysis

Information architecture. A clear, logical structure for your content and features that makes the site easier to use and easier to maintain as it grows.

Information architecture

We define how content and features are organized so your site is easy to use, easy to maintain, and built to grow.

Wireframes and interaction flows

Low-fidelity representations of key pages and user paths that give your team something concrete to react to before visual design begins.

User journey mapping

Mapping the paths your audiences take helps us design experiences that guide people toward the actions that matter most.

Wireframes and interaction prototypes

Visual design and UI systems. High-fidelity design that translates your brand into a digital experience, built around a consistent visual language your team can apply across pages and contexts.

Design systems and component libraries

Documented, reusable design components that reduce inconsistency, speed up future updates, and give development a reliable foundation to build from.

Prototyping and usability testing

Interactive prototypes that let real users navigate key flows before anything is built, surfacing problems when they’re still inexpensive to fix.

Accessibility review and WCAG compliance

Design choices that meet accessibility standards from the start, with testing for contrast ratios, keyboard navigation, and semantic structure built into the process.

Responsive and performance-conscious layouts

Designs that account for how your audience actually accesses your site, across devices, connection speeds, and contexts.

Motion and interaction

Direction for transitions, animations, and micro-interactions that support usability without adding unnecessary complexity for the development team.

Our Approach

Design at COLAB is a considered process, not a deliverable handed off at the end. We work iteratively, in close collaboration with your team and ours, keeping strategy, design, and development in tight alignment throughout.

Understand

We start by learning how your users think and what your organization needs. That means stakeholder interviews, content audits, and a careful review of your current digital presence to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and why. For marketing directors who have been through a previous implementation that didn’t go well, this is also where we listen for what went wrong and what needs to be different this time

Align

Before we design anything, we align on direction. We establish shared criteria for what success looks like, surface competing priorities across your team, and make sure everyone is working toward the same outcomes before visual work begins. The decisions made in this phase are what prevent expensive pivots later.

Grow

We design the experience your users need now, with the flexibility to support what comes next. That includes defined information architecture, interaction flows, and a visual system your team can maintain and build on. Design and content work run in parallel so neither is waiting on the other, and development is looped in early enough to catch anything that would be difficult or costly to build as designed. Our designers stay engaged through build, reviewing implementations and making sure the finished product reflects the design accurately.

What Design Delivers

Clarity for your users. Thoughtful information architecture and interaction design that helps people find what they need without friction, whether they’re scheduling an appointment, renewing a membership, or making a donation.

A visual system your team can use. Component libraries and documented design systems that reduce inconsistency and make future updates faster, without requiring outside help for every change.

Accessibility from the start. WCAG-compliant design choices that serve all users, built in from day one rather than retrofitted after the fact when they’re harder and more expensive to address.

Validated direction before anything is built. Prototypes and usability testing that surface problems early, when they’re still inexpensive to fix rather than after development has begun.

Less rework in development. Close collaboration between design and engineering means fewer surprises, more accurate implementation, and a finished product that actually reflects the design.

A digital presence that holds up over time. Design decisions made with longevity in mind, so the site still feels current and functional two years from now, not just on launch day.

When Design Matters Most

Design work tends to deliver the most value when at least one of the following is true for your organization.

  • You’re planning a website redesign or building a new digital product from the ground up
  • Your current site no longer reflects your brand or serves your users the way it should
  • You’re preparing for a rebrand and need digital design to follow with the same rigor
  • You need a design system to support a growing or distributed team working across multiple properties
  • Your team is spending too much time managing a site that wasn’t built to be maintained
  • You want to improve conversion or usability without committing to a full rebuild
  • You’re going through a merger or platform transition and need design to bring things together coherently
Belinda Falconer, Director of Development

I feel secure knowing that COLAB is on the other side of everything we do to our website. Even at five years out, the design still feels current, relevant, and right for our needs.

The Virginia Home

Belinda Falconer
Director of Development

Frequently asked questions

How developed does our brand need to be before we start?

A clearly defined brand makes the process more efficient and the outcomes more effective. That said, we’ve worked with organizations at various stages of brand maturity. If brand definition is a gap, we’ll flag it early and can help you work through it as part of the engagement.

How many design revisions are included?

There’s no hard limit, but all work is budget and timeline-bound. We typically work through one to two rounds of revisions per major design decision, with the goal of reaching a strong direction quickly and refining from there rather than cycling through multiple rounds on the same page.

Does COLAB design with accessibility in mind?

Yes. Accessibility is part of our standard design practice, not an add-on. We apply WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines, use semantic design patterns, and test for keyboard navigation, contrast ratios, and other compliance requirements from the start.

What tools do you use?

We work primarily in Figma for interface design and prototyping. We adapt to your existing tools and workflows where it makes sense to do so.

Can we engage COLAB for design only, without development?

Yes. Some organizations bring us in for design and handle development internally or with another partner. We structure those engagements to ensure the handoff is clean and well-documented so nothing is lost in translation.

How does design relate to strategy and development?

We work iteratively, so these phases often overlap. Once strategic direction is clear for a section, we begin detailed design for that area while other parts of the project are still being planned. Developers are looped in early, which reduces rework and improves accuracy. Learn more about our approach.

How long does a design engagement take?

It depends on scope. A focused UI effort might take two to three weeks. A full UX/UI project for a redesign typically spans six to twelve weeks. We provide a detailed estimate after an initial conversation.

Are design services limited to marketing websites?

No. We design interfaces for web applications, internal tools, member portals, and other digital products beyond traditional marketing sites.

Meet the team behind the design

COLAB’s design team is a tight-knit group of strategists, creatives, and systems thinkers who live at the intersection of beauty and utility. We sweat the pixels, obsess over UX flows, and never forget that design should solve real problems.

Whether you’re a marketing leader, product owner, or digital stakeholder, you’ll have a design partner who gets it—and who gets you.

A young woman with long, straight hair is smiling while seated in a bright, airy workspace. She wears a white, short-sleeved button-up shirt and light blue jeans. In her hand, she holds a pen. The background features blurred figures of other people engaged in activities at tables, with large windows allowing natural light to fill the room. The atmosphere appears collaborative and creative.
A person is playfully posing with a large, colorful scoop, raised above their head as if about to throw it. They are smiling and wearing a plaid shirt over a graphic t-shirt, paired with loose jeans and sneakers. The background features a pink wall with a neon sign that reads "YOU" in bright colors. The floor is covered in green grass-like material, and there is a circular, yellow platform nearby.
A man with a short haircut, wearing a gray t-shirt and a beige baseball cap, is seated and writing in a notebook. He appears focused and is positioned next to a woman with pink hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a plaid shirt and glasses, who is also writing. In the background, a whiteboard displays a welcome message and other notes. The setting has a casual, collaborative atmosphere, with brick walls and natural light coming through the windows.
A man with short, light brown hair and a beard is seated in a modern office environment. He is wearing a gray polo shirt and appears to be engaged in conversation, gesturing with his right hand. In the foreground, part of another person's arm and a document or magazine can be seen, indicating a collaborative discussion. The background features a brick wall and some greenery, contributing to a casual yet professional atmosphere.
A young man with long hair and a beard is smiling while seated at a table. He wears a light-colored cap with the word "LOVE" on it and a t-shirt that says "CAMP COLA" with a graphic of a computer. In the background, other people are engaged in conversation, and various items like notebooks, mugs, and a water bottle are visible on the table. The setting appears to be a casual meeting or workshop environment.

UX/UI design insights