Turnitin.com Platform Redesign & UX Rescue

Client: Turnitin.com
Role: Sr. Design Manager
Agency : Appnovation
Focus: UX/UI leadership, design system overhaul, project rescue, deadline delivery

Turnitin, a global leader in plagiarism detection and academic integrity tools, was in the midst of a major platform redesign when inherited work from a previous vendor resulted in design inconsistencies, missed accessibility targets, and stakeholder frustration. With a critical deadline approaching and development blocked, the project was at risk of major delay and reputational damage.

As Design Manager at Appnovation, I was brought in to stabilize and lead the design effort, build trust with the client, and get the project back on track. My responsibilities included:

• Auditing inherited UX/UI work

• Overseeing rapid design system development

• Managing a team of designers and liaising directly with developers and product owners

• Ensuring accessibility, responsiveness, and scalability across the Turnitin platform

• UX/UI Audit & Strategic Reset:
  Led a comprehensive review of inherited files, identifying gaps in hierarchy, interaction patterns, and brand compliance.

• Design System Leadership:
  Directed the creation of a Figma-based design system that standardized components across student and instructor flows—buttons, forms, dashboards, navigation, and modals.

• Team Management & Workflow Optimization:
  Managed internal design team delivery and alignment, while embedding myself in the client’s sprint cycles to ensure smooth handoffs and fast iterations.

• Stakeholder Engagement:
  Rebuilt client trust by delivering high-clarity prototypes and progress demos, ensuring transparency and visible momentum.

• Accessibility & Compliance:
  Worked closely with QA and developers to ensure full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, with semantic layout, proper contrast, and keyboard navigation.

• Saved the project timeline, delivering high-fidelity design handoff ahead of the revised milestone

• Established a scalable design system adopted by 3+ product streams

• Enhanced consistency and usability across complex user workflows for both students and instructors

• Achieved baseline accessibility standards, enabling a wider range of users to engage with the platform

• Received direct praise from Turnitin stakeholders for design clarity, velocity, and leadership

• Figma
• Adobe CC
• WCAG 2.1 |A11Y Project
• Screaming Frog | SEO Optimizer
• Google Lighthouse
• Accessibility Audits | WCAG 2.1 | A11Y Project Checklist
• Journey & Process Mapping