Background
In 2023, President Biden announced a new initiative to train young people in high-demand skills for jobs in the clean energy economy.
American Climate Corps members would gain the skills necessary to access good-paying jobs after they complete their paid training or service program.
18F was tasked with building the new American Climate Corps job board website with an ambitious launch date of Earth Day 2024, alongside an intake form for state and regional climate organizations to submit jobs to be aggregated on the new website.
And, I worked on testing plans and was part of a critical QA loop as the site approached launch and through the crucial first week of going live.
Mel and I worked together in a high-pressure, high-profile environment, and she was amazing. She produced high-quality mocks that were incredible and easy to work with. She even jumped in to help with styling! She is a highly talented designer that I would be happy to work with again.
Pream Totaram, Software Engineer at Fearless
Process
As the sole product designer on this high-profile project, I took design from zero to launch. The visibility of the project made it even more vital that I include partners in every step of the project.
Using a branding book and wireframes, I educated the partners on design and helped them envision the new site.
I continuously iterated on designs, flows, and interactions with the partners, regularly folding in feedback for updates and worked with development and user researchers to ensure that designs adhered to technical possibilities and user experience best practices.
Approved style tile
Style tile concepts
Ensuring quality
As the sole liaison to the partner’s brand agency, I gave critical feedback on how to turn print-focused designs into accessible web design components. I blended the partner’s brand design and materials with the USWDS design system, creating a seamless experience for users.
And, I worked on testing plans and was part of a critical QA loop as the site approached launch and through the crucial first week of going live.
Mockups
Style guide and component examples
Results
I created robust and well-documented designs that diverse stakeholders could easily understand and that the dev team could easily convert to code. I also helped build the site, submitting and reviewing code pull requests on GitHub during the development cycle.
My work also helped shape design reviews for the partner’s branding agency and future internal reviews after their departure.
Metrics
273
unique listings at launch
130,000+
unique users in the first week
1886
total openings at launch
1.5 million+
events tracked in the first week
I was fortunate to have Mel as the lead designer on a high-profile, high-demand project we worked together. Her design skills are unmatched — she created outstanding visuals, communicated seamlessly with the client, and even jumped in to polish our CSS. She also guided the engineering team to ensure everything was implemented flawlessly. If you need a designer, you’ll be lucky to have Mel on your team.
Edwin Torres, Software Engineer at 18F