Regional GP care is already hard to access. A confusing or inaccessible website makes it harder.

Challenge

RFDS needed a digital experience that could serve as a full medical practice platform, handle online bookings through HotDoc, and work for a genuinely diverse patient base including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, multicultural users, and people with varying levels of digital confidence.

Insight

There was no existing system to work from, no established patterns to follow, and the solution had to scale across future clinic locations without a rebuild every time. It had to feel local and trusted while sitting within the broader RFDS brand.

Getting into the room with the people who would actually run the clinics was invaluable.

Discovery

I ran an on-site workshop with RFDS stakeholders to understand operational needs, patient demographics, and the long-term rollout plan. The diversity of the patient base was broader than the brief had suggested, with real variation in digital literacy, language, and cultural background.

What I found

Trust was a bigger factor than I initially weighted. RFDS is WA's most trusted charity, and patients come to the website carrying that expectation. Any friction or confusion would erode it fast.

Community, accessibility, and cultural inclusivity needed to be thoughtful considerations, designed in from the start, shaping every IA and accessibility decision I made.

The workshop also surfaced the real scope of the scalability challenge. The system needed to support multiple clinic locations, different doctor rosters, evolving services, and integration with HotDoc, without a structural rebuild each time a new clinic came online.

Who I was designing for

The primary users were regional and remote patients seeking GP services, many of whom were coming to RFDS as a first point of contact with no prior experience of the clinic or its digital systems. That meant the experience had to work for people with varying levels of digital confidence, accessibility needs, and familiarity with how to navigate healthcare online.

User Journey

The core user need was simple: understand what's available and book an appointment with as little friction as possible. I designed the journey around three questions in sequence:

What services are available?
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Is this clinic right for me?
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How do I book?

Accessibility and cultural inclusivity work best when they shape decisions before you open a design tool.

Design Approach

The system needed to work for multiple clinic locations, diverse users, and internal teams managing content on an ongoing basis. Every design decision was made with that in mind.

• Scalable visual and interaction framework aligned with the RFDS brand
• Inclusive imagery to support connection across diverse users
• Information architecture for both first-time and returning patients

Booking Integration

An external redirect breaks trust, especially for users already uncertain about navigating digital healthcare. Keeping HotDoc embedded meant patients never felt handed off to something unfamiliar.

Accessibility

For a user base that includes people navigating healthcare in a second language, with limited digital confidence, or using assistive technology, accessibility couldn't be a checklist. It had to be the foundation.

• Plain language and symbols alongside text to support comprehension
• Sufficient colour contrast and accessible typography across devices
• Low cognitive load through clear content structure and navigation
• Keyboard accessibility with clear focus states and logical navigation
• Semantic structure and meaningful labelling for screen reader support

Community

Representation matters, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and multicultural users who don't always see themselves reflected in healthcare digital spaces. The visual direction was intentional, using inclusive imagery that reflects the diversity of the people actually using the service. The Acknowledgement of Country in the footer was part of that cultural and community inclusivity.

As a placeholder, I used vector graphics to represent the kind of visual language I had in mind. The longer term vision is to commission a local Goldfields artist to create original artwork that bridges the digital platform and the physical clinic space, connecting the mural on the wall to the website the patient visited before walking through the door. That kind of continuity between digital and physical touch points is something I'd love to see realised as the rollout grows.