Alva Labs

• Developed a comprehensive CSS framework to achieve WCAG accessibility compliance
• Created a user-friendly marketplace onboarding experience, increasing conversion from 5% to 25% in 4 months
• Designed AI-powered prototypes to revolutionize how recruiters define job requirements

Overview

Alva Labs is a Swedish candidate assessment platform that combines science and technology to create fairer hiring processes. Their platform helps companies discover overlooked talent through personality tests, logic assessments, and technical evaluations - all while delivering an excellent candidate experience.

I joined as a Senior Product Designer consultant in August 2024 to support their design team, focusing on three key initiatives: enhancing accessibility, improving the marketplace experience, and exploring AI-powered recruitment tools.

The Accessibility Challenge

The journey began with an accessibility audit conducted by Access Lab Stockholm, experts in digital accessibility. The results revealed several critical areas for improvement:

• Insufficient color contrast on interactive elements
• Lack of dark mode support for users with light sensitivity
• Missing focus indicators for keyboard navigation
• Inadequate text alternatives for icons and symbols
• Issues with font sizing and readability
• Small click areas for interactive elements like checkboxes
• Reliance on color alone to identify links
• Lack of proper announcements for screen readers when content changes

With my experience creating and maintaining scalable design systems, I recognized that addressing these issues required more than just individual fixes. It called for a systematic approach that would ensure accessibility was built into the foundation of Alva's digital experience.

Building the Alva CSS Framework

Drawing from my experience with design systems at Changr and G-Loot, I proposed and led the development of a comprehensive CSS framework that would address these accessibility challenges while providing a solid foundation for future development.

The Alva CSS Framework was built on several key principles:

• Component-first architecture: I separated styling from content, enabling smart, reusable components that maintained consistency throughout the platform.
• Single source of truth: The framework became the definitive reference point for design decisions, bridging the gap between design and development teams.
• Framework agnostic: I ensured compatibility with any front-end technology, making the framework versatile and future-proof.
• Dark mode by default: Every component was designed with both light and dark modes in mind, using CSS variables and smart defaults to ensure a consistent experience across different themes.
• Performance focused: The framework utilized modern CSS practices and optimized builds, ensuring lightweight components and efficient style delivery.
• Accessibility first: Most importantly, accessibility was built into every component from the ground up, from proper ARIA attributes to keyboard navigation and screen reader support.

I conducted extensive work on the color system, creating a palette that ensured optimal contrast in both light and dark modes. Each interactive element was designed with consistent focus and active states, making the platform navigable for keyboard users. Text sizing followed a clear hierarchy that maintained readability across devices, and click areas were expanded to improve usability for users with motor limitations.

Enhancing the Alva Marketplace

Beyond accessibility, I also contributed to enhancing the Alva Marketplace experience. The marketplace allows candidates to save their assessment results (logic, personality) and connect with suitable job opportunities. Unlike traditional platforms, Alva has a unique advantage: it knows candidates' personality and logic profiles and can match them with more compatible positions.

The challenge was to maximize conversion to the marketplace without negatively impacting the excellent candidate experience (91%+ completion rate). Working with the Candidate Experience team, we created a contextual onboarding system that intelligently prompts candidates to provide additional information at optimal moments:

• After completing assessments, when the value proposition is clearest
• When viewing relevant job listings that match their profile
• When returning to the platform after their initial assessment

This strategic approach, implemented through what we called a 'wizard' interface, increased marketplace signup rates from 5% to 25% in just four months (October 2024 to February 2025).

Exploring AI-Powered Recruitment

The third project involved creating prototypes to explore how AI could transform the recruitment process. Using our new CSS framework, I designed interfaces that demonstrated how AI agents could help talent acquisition managers:

• Define job requirements through natural conversation
• Refine position details in an intuitive builder interface
• Collaborate with team members on role definitions
• Leverage predictive data to improve candidate matching

These prototypes not only showcased the potential of AI in recruitment but also demonstrated the flexibility and adaptability of our new CSS framework.

Reflections

My six months at Alva Labs were a powerful reminder of how thoughtful design can make digital experiences more accessible, efficient, and inclusive. The CSS framework we developed did more than just address immediate accessibility issues – it established a foundation for sustainable, accessible design that will benefit both the company and its users for years to come.

The success of the marketplace enhancements demonstrated that improved user experience and business goals can go hand in hand when approached with strategic thinking. And our AI prototypes pointed the way toward exciting future innovations that could further revolutionize the recruitment process.

Most importantly, this project reinforced my belief in the transformative power of systematic design approaches. By building accessibility, consistency, and flexibility into the core of our design system, we created a ripple effect that improved experiences across the entire platform.