Zendesk Redesign - WCAG Compliance
For the Psychology, UX + Visual Design module I chose to redesign Zendesk in accordance with WCAG guidelines while applying universal design principles with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), developing accessibility settings to match these needs.
Information Architecture Universal Design Site Map Persona WCAG Guidelines
Challenge
Zendesk's ticket workspace had complicated, inconsistent navigation, making it hard for agents to track where they were or how tickets, users, and organisations related to each other. Agents were relying on small, ambiguous interactions like the "take it" link, which added unnecessary cognitive load to a task performed dozens of times a day. The interface lacked any personalisation options beyond light and dark mode, making it harder for ASD users to manage sensory load.
Results
The redesigned workspace replaces the ambiguous "take it" link and unlabelled breadcrumb with an icon-led trail and a full-size "Assign to Me" button, making ticket ownership and hierarchy easier to read at a glance.
The accessibility settings panel gives agents direct control over colour theme, animations, font size, and line height — four adjustable settings mapped against 8 WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria, rather than a single fixed "accessible" mode applied to everyone.
This module had no testing phase, so these are design outcomes grounded in research and audit findings, not measured results — the redesign is built to reduce sensory and cognitive load for users like Mark, not yet validated against usage data.
01
Research & Analysis
I conducted desk research into ASD-specific design patterns and developed Mark, a proto-persona representing a remote support agent with ASD, to ground every decision in a specific set of needs rather than a general audience.
02
WCAG Audit
I audited Zendesk's existing ticket workspace against WCAG 2.1 AA, mapping each issue — colour contrast, breadcrumb navigation, ticket assignment language, missing accessibility settings — to specific success criteria.
03
Information Architecture
I mapped the existing site structure for the All Tickets and Ticket Detail views, then used card sorting on FigJam to test whether split settings menus should be combined, and a user journey to identify redundant steps in the ticket workflow.
04
Prototyping
I built high-fidelity redesigns in Figma of the key flagged components — breadcrumbs, ticket assignment, colour system — along with a dedicated accessibility settings panel giving users control over theme, animation, font size, and line height.
05
Visual Design & Style Guide
I chose Hind as the typeface for its legibility, combined Heroicons with Phosphor for consistent iconography, and limited the colour system to a muted palette to reduce visual complexity in early iterations.
Conclusion
The redesign turns eight WCAG 2.1 AA criteria into accessibility features and improvements. An accessibility settings panel, clearer navigation, plain ticket-assignment language built around Mark's specific sensory and cognitive needs while also improving experience for the general user.