Georgia Department of Corrections

Empowering 5,000+ officers with a fully accessible, unified training and incident-reporting portal.

My Role

Lead Designer
UI/UX Designer
Front‑End Developer
Project Manager
Product Designer

Challenge

Revamped and consolidated the Department’s fragmented intranet by migrating dozens of disconnected training modules, policy documents, and incident-reporting tools into a unified, fully Section 508–compliant SharePoint portal. The solution improved information architecture and usability, enabling more than 5,000 staff members to locate critical procedures in under two clicks and submit incident reports in under one minute, even in high-pressure operational environments.

Key Metrics

508 Compliance: 100%
Incident-report submission time ↓60%
Training-module completion rate ↑80%
Document-lookup time ↓60%
Staff satisfaction (post-launch survey) ↑18%

Responsibilities & Resolutions

As the Lead Designer and Front-End Developer on a multidisciplinary team, I owned the end-to-end redesign and redevelopment of the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) public website. The initiative focused on modernizing the digital experience, improving usability and accessibility, increasing public engagement, and ensuring compliance with state and federal web standards.

The legacy platform, built on Drupal 7, was outdated, difficult to navigate, and non-compliant with accessibility requirements. I led the migration to Drupal 8, delivering a scalable, accessible, and search-optimized platform aligned with the department’s mission, regulatory requirements, and operational needs.

Key Reponsibilities:

Content Strategy & Information Architecture: Collaborated with agency stakeholders to audit existing content, gather requirements, and define a new information architecture informed by user behavior data and analytics from the legacy platform.
UX and UI Design: Designed wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes to support usability testing and stakeholder review, with a focus on simplifying navigation and enabling one- to two-click access to critical content.
Development and Platform Migration: Designed and developed responsive, Section 508–compliant page templates within Drupal 8, ensuring mobile optimization, cross-browser compatibility, and improved performance.
Analytics-Driven Decision Making: Used Google Analytics and heat-mapping tools to identify high-traffic content, common user paths, and engagement patterns, directly informing layout decisions, navigation hierarchy, and content prioritization.
Stakeholder Collaboration and Governance: Maintained consistent communication with internal teams and department leadership to align design decisions with policy requirements, gather feedback, and report progress throughout the project lifecycle.

Primary Challenges Addressed:

Lack of SEO optimization and structured metadata.
Inaccessible and non-compliant user interface (Section 508 / ADA).
Fragmented navigation with critical content buried multiple levels deep.
Outdated visual design and inconsistent branding.
Absence of a structured framework for presenting service-based and informational content.

Solutions Implemented:

Implemented SEO best practices, including semantic markup, structured metadata, and keyword strategy.
Redesigned and developed a simplified, ADA-compliant navigation system.
Reorganized content hierarchy and page layouts to improve readability and engagement.
Established a modern, consistent visual system aligned with state branding standards.
Improved user flow and information discoverability across all audience groups.

Outcome:
The project resulted in a significantly improved digital presence for the Georgia Department of Corrections, delivering a clean, accessible, and high-performing website. The redesigned platform supports public information access, meets regulatory compliance standards, and improves efficiency for both users and internal stakeholders.

Image of GDC website on a laptop mockup — Brand workshop & wireframe sketches

Research, Planning & Design

The initial phase of the Georgia Department of Corrections website redesign centered on structured research, strategic planning, and UX-driven design exploration. This phase established the foundation for an accessible, scalable, and search-optimized digital platform while ensuring alignment with stakeholder requirements and regulatory standards.

As the primary point of contact for design and development, I led cross-functional collaboration with internal teams and executive leadership through structured weekly working sessions. These discussions aligned business objectives, technical constraints, and user needs, ensuring that design decisions supported both operational goals and public usability.

Key Contributions:

Stakeholder Alignment and Planning:Facilitated weekly planning sessions to identify limitations within the legacy Drupal 7 platform and define a clear roadmap for migration to Drupal 8.
SEO and Content Strategy:Conducted comprehensive SEO audits and keyword research to improve search visibility, strengthen metadata structure, and support content discoverability across the site.
UX Research and Behavioral Analysis: Analyzed user interaction data, analytics, and heatmaps to identify behavior patterns, high-traffic content, and usability friction points—directly informing layout decisions and content prioritization.
Service and Content Presentation Strategy:Researched best practices for structuring and presenting service-based and informational content to ensure clarity, accessibility, and consistency for diverse user groups.
Wireframing and Prototyping:Produced wireframes and interactive prototypes to validate navigation models, support usability testing, and gather stakeholder feedback through iterative design reviews.
Navigation Optimization:Designed a streamlined one- to two-click navigation framework to reduce user friction, improve accessibility, and enhance overall site usability.
Search Index Optimization:Aligned metadata, content hierarchy, and page structure with SEO and accessibility standards to improve indexing efficiency and ranking performance.

Outcome:
This phase resulted in a clearly defined UX framework, a streamlined content hierarchy, and a comprehensive roadmap for both rebranding and technical execution. The groundwork established during research and planning ensured that subsequent design and development efforts supported the project’s broader objectives: improving public trust, increasing engagement, and strengthening the effectiveness of digital services.

User-Centered Navigation Strategy and Accessibility Optimization

During the usability evaluation of the Georgia Department of Corrections’ legacy website, I conducted structured UX research, behavioral analysis, and interaction testing to assess how users were navigating and engaging with critical content. This evaluation surfaced significant issues related to content discoverability, accessibility compliance, and overall navigation efficiency.

Analysis revealed that high-value resources—such as downloadable policy and procedural PDFs—were significantly underutilized due to poor visibility, unclear labeling, and weak contextual placement. Additionally, the existing navigation framework lacked Section 508–compliant structure, creating barriers for users relying on assistive technologies and negatively impacting overall usability and trust.

From a B2B and public-sector standpoint, these issues increased user friction, reduced content effectiveness, and undermined the site’s role as a reliable, authoritative information platform.

Key Problems Identified:

High-value content and documentation was buried within the site hierarchy or overlooked due to ineffective layout and labeling.
Navigation did not meet Section 508 / WCAG accessibility requirements, limiting usability for users with disabilities.
Users experienced difficulty retracing steps or re-locating previously viewed content, increasing task completion time.
Inconsistent link behavior (opening new tabs/windows) disrupted user flow and reduced usability consistency.

Solutions Implemented:

Information Architecture Optimization: Redefined the site’s information architecture by developing a user-focused flowchart that clarified content hierarchy, reduced complexity, and streamlined primary user pathways.
Section 508–Compliant Navigation System:Designed and implemented a fully accessible navigation framework that supports keyboard navigation, screen readers, and assistive technologies in compliance with WCAG and Section 508 standards.
Content Visibility and Prioritization:Repositioned high-value links and critical documentation to more prominent, contextually relevant locations within page layouts to support faster discovery and task completion.
Improved Content Findability:Restructured page layouts, link placement, and content groupings to reduce cognitive load and enable users to access priority information within fewer clicks.
Consistent Link Behavior:Standardized same-window navigation across the site to preserve user context, improve back-button usability, and support predictable interaction patterns.
Breadcrumb Navigation Implementation:Integrated breadcrumb navigation to provide clear orientation within the site hierarchy and enable efficient navigation back to previously visited sections.

Outcome:
These improvements delivered a more intuitive, accessible, and trust-driven digital experience that supports both public users and internal stakeholders. By reducing friction, improving accessibility compliance, and optimizing content discovery, the redesigned navigation system strengthened the site’s effectiveness as a B2B-style information platform—reinforcing the department’s commitment to transparency, inclusivity, and operational efficiency.

Graphic of site construction and user navigation — User flow & sitemap diagram

Illustration of roadblocks and solutions — Overcoming stakeholder and budget hurdles

Challenges & Risk Management

Redesigning and rebranding the Georgia Department of Corrections website involved a complex set of organizational, operational, and technical challenges. In addition to migrating the platform from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 and delivering a user-first, accessible experience, the initiative required navigating internal governance dynamics, constrained resources, and varying levels of stakeholder readiness for change.

As the lead designer and developer, I owned both the execution of the digital solution and the management of cross-functional alignment—maintaining momentum while balancing technical requirements, policy constraints, and organizational realities.

Key Challenges Addressed:

Budget and Resource Constraints:The project operated within strict budget limitations, restricting access to advanced tooling, third-party plugins, and external support. To deliver within scope, I prioritized high-impact features, leveraged open-source solutions where appropriate, and applied pragmatic design and development trade-offs without compromising accessibility or usability standards.
Content Gaps and Fragmentation:Legacy content was outdated, incomplete, and distributed across multiple departments with inconsistent ownership. I led a coordinated content audit and consolidation effort, working with stakeholders to inventory, rewrite, and reorganize material in alignment with the new information architecture and Section 508 compliance requirements.
Organizational Change Management:Some stakeholders expressed resistance to the rebrand and modernization effort, favoring legacy systems and established workflows. I addressed this through research-backed recommendations, interactive prototypes, and early UX improvements that demonstrated measurable gains in usability, accessibility, and efficiency—helping build confidence and alignment over time.

Outcome:
Despite these constraints, the project progressed through proactive communication, adaptive planning, and a consistent focus on user needs and institutional objectives. The result was a modern, accessible, and strategically restructured digital platform that improves public access to information, supports compliance requirements, and reinforces the Department’s commitment to transparency, inclusion, and operational excellence..

Testing & Quality Assurance

As the final phase of the Georgia Department of Corrections website redesign, I led a comprehensive testing and quality assurance initiative to validate platform stability, accessibility compliance, and cross-environment performance. This phase ensured the Drupal 8 implementation met production standards for reliability, security, and usability prior to launch.

Testing combined unmoderated exploratory evaluation with structured validation across devices and browsers. Users were encouraged to navigate the site organically and intentionally stress functionality without predefined guidance. This approach surfaced real-world usability issues, broken interaction paths, and edge-case failures that are often missed in scripted testing alone.

Validation was conducted across multiple device types (desktop, tablet, and mobile) and major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge) to ensure responsive consistency and predictable behavior. While the platform did not include eCommerce functionality, particular emphasis was placed on public-facing form submissions to confirm reliable processing, data integrity, and secure handling of user input.

Objectives of Testing:

Cross-Device Responsiveness:Verified consistent layout integrity, navigation behavior, and interaction patterns across screen sizes and operating systems.
Browser Compatibility:Identified and resolved browser-specific rendering issues, layout shifts, and interaction inconsistencies to ensure a uniform experience.
Content Visibility and User Flow:Evaluated how efficiently users could locate high-priority content and complete common tasks, identifying opportunities to reduce friction and improve clarity.
Performance Optimization:Assessed page load times, scroll behavior, and interaction feedback to identify areas for performance tuning and improved responsiveness.
Accessibility and Compliance Validation:Confirmed adherence to Section 508 and WCAG standards through keyboard navigation testing, screen reader validation, contrast checks, and focus-state evaluation.
Security & Data Integrity:Reviewed public submission paths and form inputs to ensure secure handling, functional reliability, and resistance to misuse or data exposure.

Outcome:
Insights gathered during this testing phase directly informed final refinements to layout structure, user flows, and technical implementation. The result was a stable, accessible, and compliant digital platform that delivers a consistent, user-friendly experience while meeting public-sector security and regulatory requirements.

Multidevice QA & usability tests