The immigration process for international students can be complex and confusing, often leaving newcomers isolated and vulnerable throughout. BorderPass makes the process simpler, transparent, and accessible through a digital platform of immigration services reviewed and represented by trusted Canadian immigration lawyers.

With accessibility a priority, specific colours were selected for WCAG compliance. The fonts, Readex and Noto Sans were chosen for their legibility and expansive language set.

Brad McDonald

Johanna Stewart

Andre Ford

BorderPass and Better Supporting International Students

Christina Marie Fuchs

DVXD partnered with Chamberlain University to enable access for those who aspire to serve their communities through healthcare science and nursing.\
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We improved Chamberlain’s platform and funnel through data-informed experience design to achieve two goals: empowering aspiring nurses from all backgrounds to take the next step, and for existing nurses to enhance their careers.

Through site surveys, data analytics and user interviews, we crafted an experience that truly captured campus life, something the previous experience failed to do.\
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Our data-informed design saw an 27% uplift in conversion.

We revised the existing inquiry form to accommodate new program offerings and mitigate user error.\
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We upgraded the form to modern UX patterns and saw a 16% uplift in conversion.

A common pain point for those entering the nursing field is confusion of career options. We designed a way to recommend study tracks according to a prospects personality.\
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The solution assists students while generating admissions leads.

Tuition is one of the common questions fielded by admissions. Through a cost estimator, we help students consider fees, grants and financial support to provide a realistic picture of expected tuition.

Chamberlain and Empowering Healthcare Professionals

Indigo and Shopping with Intention

With a renewed commitment to sustainability and inclusivity, Indigo collaborated with DVXD to redefine its e-commerce experience. Together, we explored new shopping patterns focused on more intentional shopping and defined a design system to enable ongoing innovation and development.

The new design system enables Indigo to innovate faster and more efficiently as they work to create a more personalized shopping experience for their customers.

Ongoing product development, like the refreshed Indigo app, showcase the versatility of Indigo’s new design system and experience design.

Diogo Akio

Matthew House Toronto wanted to expand an already successful refugee preparation course nationally. Together, we co-created Re—Course to create a scaleable platform for refugee claimants to receive greater access and coordinate donors and volunteers to support them.

Originally known as the ‘Refugee Hearing Program,’ we rebranded it to ‘Re—Course’ to dispel medical confusion, better describe the offering, and acknowledge the unique scenario of those seeking refuge in Canada.

We pair statistics with the faces of claimants to emphasize that each number is a person with an important story to tell and deserves our attention, care, and safety.

Matthew House and Supporting a Path to Resettlement

Jacky Tuinstra Harrison

Matthew House is a collective of refugee claimant residences in downtown Toronto, Canada. As an organization, they seek to inspire hope, uphold the dignity, and champion independence through building resilient communities for refugees in a familial home environment.

The wordmark’s stroke weight was extended to an icon set representing key milestones of the refugee journey.

Tone and voice guidelines were developed based on the organization's roles instead of a channel-specific approach.

Matthew House and Championing Independence 

We co-create products and brands for social benefit with inspiring leaders like 

In January 2019 DVXD, in partnership with the Google News Initiative, kicked off an initiative to reimagine Rappler, one of the most read news publications in Southeast Asia. Founded by former CNN Bureau chief, Maria Ressa, Rappler has received global praise for their journalism in the face of ongoing pressure from the administration of Philippine’s President Rodrigo Duterte. Their innovative model combines a digital newsroom, data science, investigative journalism, and civic engagement. 

Maria Ressa

In January 2019 DVXD, in partnership with the Google News Initiative, kicked off an initiative to reimagine Rappler, one of the most read news publications in Southeast Asia. Founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. Rappler has received global praise for their journalism in the face of ongoing pressure from President Rodrigo Duterte.\
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Our work centered around one core objective: Rappler’s mission to build communities of action.

Co-creating concepts with Rappler’s newsroom and readers, we imagined various ways to embolden readers. By understanding readers’ anxieties and challenges with mainstream social platforms, we learned about what to focus on to drive readership to civic engagement.

Rappler and News for Communities of Action

We co-create products & brands with innovative leaders, like

Indigo is a North American retailer that is described as the world’s first cultural department store. Over the course of a year, we worked with Indigo to create a new gift shopping experience that both gift givers and recipients would love. We saw an opportunity in digital commerce to reduce the impact of wasteful gifting and build more empathic relationships between people.

Andrea Limbardi

Thoughtfull by Indigo

Our work started with seeking to understand what makes a gift special. From hearing in-store testimonies from Indigo staff to concept testing ways to give better gifts with gift-givers, we sought out ways to make gift shopping more meaningful and less wasteful.

Expressing an identity that reflects gifting as a means of connection between people was critical to ensure Thoughtfull was cohesively understood. From promotions to commerce to community to services the Thoughtfull mark and brand language were defined to evoke a sense of empathy, support and guidance.

The Thoughtfull identity expresses the elegance, joy, and interconnected nature of gifting.

Thoughtfull and Meaningful Gifting

We co-create brands and products for social benefit with inspiring leaders like

In 2019, DVXD and Studio Sophomore partnered with designer Shannon Hunter to help realize her vision for a more sustainable, locally-focused, lakeside retreat in Ontario's Prince Edward County. Nestled among farms and markets and pristine shoreline, Wander was built as a place for friends and family could disconnect from their normal everyday and reconnect with each other through novel retreat. 

Shannon Hunter

Wander is a communaly focused resort and a retreat from the pace of everyday life

Tablet device displaying the Wander website

Nestled among farms and markets and pristine shoreline, Wander was built as a place where friends and family could disconnect from their normal everyday and reconnect with each other through a retreat rooted in community and natural wonder.

Through user research, we identified what guests' best travel experiences were and what they were missing. No matter their differences, everyone's best experiences reflected the same desire to more deeply connect with the local communities they visited.

Each cabin is a showroom of artisan country wares. We created an online store to allow guests purchase their favourite items and bring Wander home with them.

We extended the guest experience beyond the resort by co-creating the Wander the County iOS app with Studio Sophomore. With it, guests have handpicked itineraries of local gems, a curated map of select county destinations, and a direct message portal with staff and services.

Sophomore

Wander and Travel to Reconnect

We co-create products and brands for shared progress with innovative startups like 

Willow is Canada’s first real estate investing platform, opening the door for all Canadians to invest in property. By examining the broad impact of fractional investing — including those already impacted by a housing affordability crisis — our goal was to ensure Willow’s values of inclusivity, community building, and wealth equity were foundational to the brand and product experience.

Willow

Logan, Mike, Ray, Arsh

In order to create a consistent experience for future Willow product, it was necessary to establish a consistent UI system; we created foundational visual and interaction language.

Design and development worked in tandem to strike the proper balance between performance, flourish and accessibility,

Willow and Wealth Equity

We are a strategic and applied design and technolgy studio. We collaborate with our partners to research, conceptualize, prototype and launch brands, products and programs to create mutual benefit for the communities they impact.

A Studio for Shared Progress

We believe in design as a tool to create collective prosperity.

What is shared progress?

"Creating with, not just for, the communities our work impacts."

What is shared progress?

"Standing together in a world of violence, fear and lies."

Our Team

A senior, hands-on team combining research, strategy, branding, technology and experience design.

Derek Vaz

Principal Designer & CEO

Brad McDonald

Managing Director

Josiah Bilagot

Design Director

Silvia Gonzalez

Design Director

Nelson Leung

Design Director

Amos Marsters

Senior Designer

Let's create together

A Studio for Shared Progress

We believe in design as a tool to create collective prosperity.

Testimonial

What is shared progress?

"Creating with, not just for, the communities our work impacts."

What is shared progress?

"Standing together in a world of violence, fear and lies."

Our Team

A senior, hands-on team combining research, strategy, branding, technology and experience design.

Derek Vaz

Principal Designer & CEO

Brad McDonald

Managing Director

Josiah Bilagot

Design Director

Silvia Gonzalez

Design Director

Nelson Leung

Design Director

Amos Marsters

Senior Designer

Let's create together