My Role
Creative Direction, Project Manager, Lead Designer, Experience Developer
Skills
Creative Ideation and Brainstorming, Project Management, Communication and Presentations
Programs
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Ceros, AirTable
A firm’s website is often its first real conversation with a prospective client—and for an accounting practice, that impression matters. Clients want clarity, trust, and expertise before they ever reach out, and a strong digital presence helps communicate all three.
This redesign, which was initially launched in December 2022 and continued to evolve over the following years, aimed to create a site that felt as reliable as the firm’s work while embracing modern, engaging, and people-centered design. Interactive elements, intuitive navigation, and clear visual storytelling turned complex services into approachable, confidence‑building experiences that invited users in and highlighted the firm’s value.
Design Considerations and Creative Direction
Developing the redesigned website required a thoughtful, research‑driven approach that balanced strategic insight with creative execution. We began by gathering input from both internal stakeholders and external audiences, conducting interviews and collecting feedback to understand how people were currently using the site and where their needs weren’t being met. This discovery phase helped us identify what was working, what wasn’t, and what was missing—forming a clear foundation for the design direction.
Collaboration played a central role throughout the process. We worked closely with an external vendor as well as BDO Canada’s design representatives to ensure alignment with broader organizational standards and expectations. Together, we moved through multiple design iterations, refining structure, interactions, and visual elements to address the insights uncovered during research.
A key focus of the redesign was creating a cohesive experience across both desktop and mobile. Rather than treating mobile as an afterthought, we designed in parallel—ensuring that layouts, interactions, and content felt equally intuitive and engaging regardless of how someone accessed the site.
My Role and Outcomes
My role in the redesign centered on translating BDO’s visual brand into a modern, flexible digital system that could scale across a large, content‑rich website. This meant not only applying the existing CVI, but also expanding it—developing new guidelines, patterns, and visual behaviors that preserved brand integrity while giving the design team and content owners room to grow. The goal was to create a visual language that felt unmistakably BDO, yet adaptable enough to support evolving needs and future digital initiatives.
A significant part of this work involved designing and building interactive components that elevated the user experience without overwhelming it. I created both native site widgets and Ceros‑based embedded elements that introduced subtle, purposeful movement aligned with the brand’s visual identity. These interactions were crafted to feel seamless—enhancing clarity, guiding attention, and adding value to the content rather than distracting from it.
Collaboration was essential throughout the process. I worked closely with the broader design team to shape 19 unique initial page templates and a suite of reusable widgets that ultimately supported more than 1,500 pages of content. In parallel, I designed new microcontent elements through Ceros and managed the development of over 125 interactive experiences leading up to launch. This combination of system‑level design and hands‑on production ensured consistency, efficiency, and a polished final product.
Post-launch, I also supported the development of a web-specific CVI guide and Figma library.
The impact of this work was recognized externally as well: the updated BDO.com was named a Kentico 2022 Site of the Year finalist in the Financial Services category—an acknowledgment of the strength of the design system, the quality of execution, and the collaborative effort behind the project.
The visual direction for the BDO.com homepage was built around clarity, confidence, and approachability—three qualities essential to communicating the firm’s expertise in a modern, client‑centric way. The design balances bold, high‑impact brand elements with a clean, structured layout that guides users through the firm’s story without overwhelming them.
We anchored the page with strong hero imagery and purposeful use of BDO’s signature color palette, creating an immediate sense of identity and trust. Typography played a key role as well: clear hierarchy, generous spacing, and accessible sizing ensured that content remained easy to scan while still feeling polished and authoritative.
Interactive elements were introduced with intention. Subtle motion cues, hover states, and scroll‑based transitions added depth and energy to the experience while staying true to the brand’s professional tone. These interactions helped highlight key content areas—services, insights, and industry expertise—making the homepage feel dynamic without sacrificing usability.
The layout was designed responsively from the start, ensuring that the visual system translated seamlessly across desktop and mobile. Components were built to reflow gracefully, maintaining visual balance and preserving the integrity of the brand regardless of screen size. The result is a homepage that feels cohesive, modern, and distinctly BDO—an experience that welcomes users in and sets the tone for the rest of the site.