Design Forge · User Experience Design · California State and Local Government

Most projects don’t fail due to their requirements. They fail in the gap between them.

I’m Orysia Riesen. For over 25 years, I’ve worked in the space where what the business wants, what a system can do, and what people actually need doesn’t align. I research the gap—the difference—and design a solution that supports diverse needs, ensuring the final product bridges all three.

HFI CXA

HFI CUA

IAAP CPACC

CA Microbusiness

How I Work

Every design decision has to answer to three things at once

Projects rarely go wrong because one of these was ignored. They go wrong because nobody was responsible for reconciling all three. That’s the job I’m hired to do.

1) What the Business Needs

Program goals, policy and regulatory obligations, budget, and the deadline someone has already promised.

2) What the system allows

Existing architecture, platform constraints, technical debt, and what your developers can realistically deliver this release.

3) What people actually do

How customers and staff really behave—observed, not assumed—across the full range of ability, language, device, and confidence.

The Result

A design the business will approve, the team can build, and the customer can use—with the evidence for why it’s shaped that way.

What I Provide

Full-Spectrum User Experience (UX) Design

Research, strategic planning, visual design, usability, and accessibility aren’t separate services. They’re the competencies a UX Designer needs to carry a product from a concept to something that works. I do all of these and more, which results in a robust end product.

Understanding and Empathy

Research and Discovery

Finding out what customers and staff actually need—and what the current product is really doing to them.

  • Stakeholder and user interviews
  • Discovery, pain point, and gap analysis
  • Personas, scenarios, journey maps, task profiles
  • Surveys, card sorting, tree testing

Design

Experience and Interface Design

Turning findings into structure, screens, and systems your team can build and keep building.

  • Information architecture and task flows
  • Wireframes, prototypes, UI specifications
  • Visual and interface design
  • Design systems and pattern governance

Validation

Usability and Measurement

Proving the design works before it ships—and quantifying the improvement over what came before.

  • Moderated and remote unmoderated testing
  • Expert review and heuristic evaluation
  • Benchmarking: task success, time-on-task, SUS
  • Findings and Recommendations reporting

Integrated Throughout

Accessibility and Inclusive Design

Built in from the first wireframe rather than audited at the end, when fixing it costs the most.

  • WCAG 2.2 AA and Section 508 conformance
  • ADA Title II readiness
  • Evaluation with assistive technology users
  • Staff training and knowledge transfer

Who I Work With

Clients

State and Local Government

  • California Department of Justice
  • California Department of Transportation
  • California Housing Finance Agency
  • California Public Employees’ Retirement System
  • Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety
  • San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association

Nonprofit and Private Sector

  • Mara Publishing
  • PR Magic
  • SOS Cranes