The Future of Web Design: Trends to Watch in 2024

"Designing for impact means holding two truths at once: that every design decision matters when someone’s in crisis, and that you’ll never get everything right on the first try."

When I joined Beam in 2019, we were just three people and a prototype. Today, the platform is used by over 100 government partners to deliver $350 million in public benefits to more than 300,000 families. Being part of that journey—as Beam’s first design hire and founding designer—has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.

But scaling design in the govtech space isn’t just about growing a product. It’s about building systems that can evolve without losing the clarity, trust, and dignity that users—especially vulnerable ones—deserve. It’s about making the hard, invisible parts of public service delivery feel intuitive and human.

Here are a few reflections from building for impact and scale in the context of modernizing America’s social safety net.

1. Start with Deep Understanding, Not Assumptions

Before designing anything, I spent weeks shadowing case managers and interviewing families applying for assistance. I sat in offices where staff juggled Excel sheets, handwritten notes, and clunky portals. I heard from single parents trying to find emergency housing while working two jobs.

Those conversations taught me that designing for impact starts by understanding not just workflows, but the emotional context around them. Government services are high-stakes, high-friction, and deeply personal. Our job as designers isn’t just to streamline the process—it’s to restore trust in it.

2. Design Systems that Flex Without Breaking

Beam had to support a wide range of programs—housing, workforce, childcare, emergency cash—and every city or state had its own policy nuances. That meant designing a system flexible enough to adapt without rewriting code for each new partner.

We built modular workflows, dynamic forms, and a role-based architecture that let program staff configure experiences themselves. Scaling wasn’t just about adding features—it was about designing infrastructure that could hold complexity while remaining legible.

3. Trust Is a UX Principle

When you’re dealing with someone’s housing application or financial crisis, transparency and dignity matter just as much as usability. That meant prioritizing audit trails, writing clear, stigma-free copy, and making it obvious how decisions were made.

We designed with the belief that trust isn't earned through branding or polish—it's built through every interaction. Every loading screen, tooltip, or rejection message was an opportunity to show care.

4. Designing Alone, Then Designing Together

As the sole designer in the early days, I wore every hat—researcher, UX strategist, visual designer, sometimes even product manager. But scaling impact meant scaling collaboration.

We brought engineers into research sessions. We shared user stories in All-Hands. We created lightweight persona cards to keep our users visible in every roadmap conversation. Design went from a siloed process to being embedded into the company’s operating system.

5. Progress Over Perfection

There were features we had to cut. Microinteractions that never shipped. MVPs that felt scrappy. But I learned that in high-impact spaces, it's more important to get a functional version into the hands of users than to chase perfect pixels.

The faster we got feedback, the more we learned. And having a design process grounded in real needs and fast iteration was ultimately what helped Beam grow.

6. Final Thoughts

Designing for impact means holding two truths at once: that every pixel matters when someone’s in crisis, and that you’ll never get everything right on the first try. It means being humble, iterative, and relentlessly user-centered.

Beam taught me that scale isn’t just about size—it’s about responsibility. And designing for scale isn’t about getting bigger—it’s about making sure what you build keeps working for the people who need it most.