Designing Safety

Context

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) faced an urgent need: to track the sanitation status of facilities in real time. With employee and traveler safety on the line, our team was tasked with designing and deploying a tool that could monitor cleanliness across locations nationwide. And they needed to be able to do this quickly, accurately, and accessibly.

My Role

As the UI Designer, I was responsible for ensuring the application was intuitive, accessible, and visually aligned with FAA’s strict branding standards. My contributions included:

• Partnering with the lead UX designer to design the user interface with a focus on clarity and ease of use for a wide range of technical and non-technical users.
• Implementing styling and layout in CSS, bridging design and front-end development.
• Collaborating closely with developers and stakeholders to rapidly iterate and align on requirements.

Challenges

The urgency of the pandemic created unprecedented constraints:

• Time pressure: We had days, not months, to design and ship a working solution. I often worked nights and weekends to meet deadlines. We worked ‘round the clock with myself and the lead designer swapping shifts to support development.
• Evolving requirements: Needs shifted quickly as FAA leadership responded to new safety protocols. Designs had to adapt in real time.
• Cross-functional alignment: Coordinating between stakeholders, upper management, and developers under pressure required clear communication and flexibility.

Process

• Discovery & Requirements – Gathered evolving needs from FAA stakeholders and translated them into design priorities.
• UI Design & Accessibility – Created layouts that emphasized clarity and compliance with FAA branding and WCAG accessibility standards.
• Rapid Iteration – Built live prototypes in code, implementing the designs with CSS in real time, and tested with internal users for immediate feedback.
• Collaboration – Worked side by side with developers to ensure design intent translated accurately into production.

The Outcome

The application launched on schedule, providing FAA personnel with a real-time dashboard of facility cleanliness. This system became a critical tool during the height of the pandemic, helping maintain safety for essential workers and supporting public confidence in air travel operations.

Impact highlights:

• Enabled faster decision-making on facility safety.
• Supported essential operations continuity during a global crisis.
• Showcased the ability of design to solve urgent, real-world problems under pressure.

Key Takeaways

• Adaptability matters: Tight deadlines and evolving requirements demanded flexibility and creative problem solving.
• Collaboration is critical: Success came from seamless teamwork between design, development, and leadership.
• Design drives impact: A clear, accessible interface helped ensure data could be acted on quickly and confidently.

Reflection

This project reinforced my ability to thrive under pressure and deliver thoughtful design solutions in high-stakes situations. It demonstrated not just technical skill, but resilience, teamwork, and a commitment to creating tools that directly support people in times of need.