Accenture Federal Services

Modernize the National Cancer Institute’s NIH cancer research grant request web platform.

Company

Accenture Federal Services - NIH

Duration

18 Months

Date

Jan 26, 2023

Accenture Federal Services

Modernize the National Cancer Institute’s NIH cancer research grant request web platform.

Company

Accenture Federal Services - NIH

Duration

18 Months

Date

Jan 26, 2023

This was my first time working on a government project, and the process was unlike anything I had experienced before. Because of security and clearance restrictions, I didn’t collaborate directly with the product team or the end client. Instead, I worked through a single product owner who gathered functional requirements and shared them with me during our weekly syncs, and I would translate those needs into design solutions.

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Nathan Ellis

CUSTOM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING SPECIALIST

This was my first time working on a government project, and the process was unlike anything I had experienced before. Because of security and clearance restrictions, I didn’t collaborate directly with the product team or the end client. Instead, I worked through a single product owner who gathered functional requirements and shared them with me during our weekly syncs, and I would translate those needs into design solutions.

Profile portrait of a man in a white shirt against a light background

Nathan Ellis

CUSTOM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING SPECIALIST

The role came with strict regulatory and compliance requirements that shaped every design decision, making it one of the most structured and unique environments I’ve worked in. While it was a shift from my usual highly collaborative process, it was incredibly rewarding and strengthened my ability to design with precision, discipline, and adaptability within complex, highly regulated systems.

The role came with strict regulatory and compliance requirements that shaped every design decision, making it one of the most structured and unique environments I’ve worked in. While it was a shift from my usual highly collaborative process, it was incredibly rewarding and strengthened my ability to design with precision, discipline, and adaptability within complex, highly regulated systems.

Creative Challenges

The creative challenge of this project was working within a platform dominated by dense, data-heavy workflows, where visual expression was secondary to clarity, accuracy, and compliance. With very little room for traditional creative elements, the real design opportunity was in structuring complex information, guiding users through long, multi-step processes, and reducing cognitive load. The goal was to transform a lengthy, administrative experience into something intuitive, efficient, and significantly faster—allowing researchers to focus on their work instead of navigating the system.

To solve for this, I started by focusing relentlessly on clarity, hierarchy, and flow. By breaking complex, data-heavy processes into manageable steps, introducing clear visual structure, and using progressive disclosure to surface only what users needed at each moment, I reduced cognitive load and made the experience feel more approachable. Thoughtful interaction patterns, consistent layouts, and intuitive navigation helped in the effort to significantly reduce completion time while maintaining the accuracy and compliance required in a government environment.

Creative Challenges

The creative challenge of this project was working within a platform dominated by dense, data-heavy workflows, where visual expression was secondary to clarity, accuracy, and compliance. With very little room for traditional creative elements, the real design opportunity was in structuring complex information, guiding users through long, multi-step processes, and reducing cognitive load. The goal was to transform a lengthy, administrative experience into something intuitive, efficient, and significantly faster—allowing researchers to focus on their work instead of navigating the system.

To solve for this, I started by focusing relentlessly on clarity, hierarchy, and flow. By breaking complex, data-heavy processes into manageable steps, introducing clear visual structure, and using progressive disclosure to surface only what users needed at each moment, I reduced cognitive load and made the experience feel more approachable. Thoughtful interaction patterns, consistent layouts, and intuitive navigation helped in the effort to significantly reduce completion time while maintaining the accuracy and compliance required in a government environment.

Because of privacy and security requirements, project artifacts from my work with Huntington Bank are not available for public sharing.

Because of privacy and security requirements, project artifacts from my work with Huntington Bank are not available for public sharing.

If you’re building something meaningful, I’d love to be part of it.

A seasoned UI/UX designer with over a decade of experience designing intuitive, high-impact digital products, combining strategic thinking with hands-on craft to solve complex problems.

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Nathan Ellis

Senior Digital Product Designer

Extreme close-up black and white photograph of a human eye

Contact me

If you’re building something meaningful, I’d love to be part of it.

A seasoned UI/UX designer with over a decade of experience designing intuitive, high-impact digital products, combining strategic thinking with hands-on craft to solve complex problems.

Profile portrait of a man in a white shirt against a light background

Nathan Ellis

Senior Digital Product Designer

Extreme close-up black and white photograph of a human eye

Contact me

If you’re building something meaningful, I’d love to be part of it.

A seasoned UI/UX designer with over a decade of experience designing intuitive, high-impact digital products, combining strategic thinking with hands-on craft to solve complex problems.

Profile portrait of a man in a white shirt against a light background

Nathan Ellis

Senior Digital Product Designer

Extreme close-up black and white photograph of a human eye

Contact me