Overview
Strongest Families Institute is a Canadian not-for-profit that delivers evidence-based mental health programs to children, youth, adults, and families across 10 provinces. Their IRIS platform is the digital backbone of that delivery — a web-based system where patients access intervention materials and coaches manage cases, track progress, and communicate with clients. By 2021, the platform was on its first version: functional, but showing its age. SFI was preparing for a new investment round, and a modernized platform was one of the criteria to move forward. I was brought in as UX lead, responsible for the full redesign.
The Challenge
IRIS had two distinct user groups with very different needs: patients navigating a mental health program (often in distress, needing clarity and calm), and coaches managing multiple cases simultaneously (needing efficiency and data at a glance). The original platform addressed neither well — it wasn't responsive, the information architecture made core tasks harder than they needed to be, and the visual design hadn't evolved since launch. The redesign had to serve both sides of the platform while meeting a strict deadline tied to the investment process. There was no dev team waiting — my deliverable was the complete Figma file from which the team could build directly.
My Role & Process
Discovery & Information Architecture
- Mapped all existing flows across both the patient-facing and coach/staff sides of IRIS to identify structural problems before touching the visual layer
- Produced site maps and user journey documentation covering the full scope of both platforms
- Gathered requirements through stakeholder sessions with SFI's leadership, aligning design decisions with the criteria for the investment round
Design System & UI
- Built a design system from scratch in Figma — color tokens, typography scale, spacing system, and a full component library covering all UI patterns used across both platforms
- Applied WCAG accessibility standards throughout: contrast ratios, keyboard navigability, screen reader-friendly structure — especially critical for a mental health context
- Designed for full responsiveness from the ground up, resolving one of the original platform's core limitations
Prototyping & Usability Testing
- Built high-fidelity interactive prototypes in Figma covering all screens and flows for both platforms
- Ran usability testing sessions with the prototypes, measuring task completion and dropout points across key flows
- Iterated based on test results — the final round of testing showed a 25% improvement in usability scores compared to the original platform flows
- Delivered the complete Figma file as a development-ready handoff — annotated, component-based, with all states and edge cases covered — and established the design system and QA handoff process for the build
Results & Impact
The redesign supported a successful $2M funding round. The platform has since gone live — login.strongestfamilies.com — with development proceeding from the Figma handoff. The 25% improvement in usability scores during testing validated the architectural changes made to both the patient and coach experiences. As UX lead on the project, every artifact — from the information architecture to the final prototype — was produced end to end.