About
Linh-Dan Tran, Design System Manager and digital accessibility expert
From public health to design, I have been after the same thing: understanding what blocks people and making services simpler and more accessible.
Today I combine Design Systems, digital accessibility and AI to help teams build consistent, accessible products that are easy to change.
Every detour brought me closer to design
I have worked in France and Canada, in start-ups, in large companies like GRDF and Saint-Gobain, and for the public sector.
Master's in public health, then functional support
My master's teaches me to run interviews with methods from anthropology. At Maincare Solutions, on software for hospital pharmacies, I then become assistant product owner.
Designer and product owner at Lucine
A start-up fighting chronic pain, starting with endometriosis. I frame the user research and design in virtual reality with Unity. With no Mac for Sketch, I switch to Figma.
Designer at Atecna, in Canada
A digital services company where I do a bit of everything: interfaces, research, lead, Design System. User tests for the City of Montréal, nursing care software for a health center in Sherbrooke.
First product designer at MentorShow
A platform of masterclasses given by well-known people. The job ends with a layoff for economic reasons, the push I needed to go freelance.
Founder of the UX Matcha studio
I go independent, mostly for the public sector and accessibility. In 2025, I earn Access42's certification to audit with the RGAA, France's accessibility standard, to give years of self-training a recognized frame.
Design System Manager at GRDF
I join as a designer, and I am given the lead of the Design System 6 months later. I start by grouping the team's difficulties into 5 problems, which I describe in my Carnets de terrain, in French.
Digital accessibility, and why I care
Today, many public services are delivered online. But when a service is not accessible, it is not just a matter of comfort: some people may struggle to complete a procedure or to exercise their rights on their own.
During a project for the City of Montréal, I ran user tests on online public services. Participants could choose between a computer and a phone.
Two findings stayed with me:
- All the older adults I met chose their phone. I did not expect it, but it was the device they felt most at ease with.
- Some participants with cognitive disabilities stumbled over words that seemed perfectly clear to the design team.
These sessions reminded me how much our own habits and knowledge shape what we see as simple or obvious.
Only by meeting users and watching how they work can we spot some of the barriers.
What I also enjoy about accessibility is its technical side. It leads me to understand how components are built, to learn more about code and to look at interfaces from other angles: how information is structured, keyboard navigation and the use of assistive technologies.
It is this mix of understanding people, design and technology that I love. Accessibility keeps me learning, questioning my choices and taking my design practice further.
My commitments beyond digital
Volunteering
Disability awareness
Inclusion, listening and questioning myself
With APF France handicap, a French disability organization, I visit schools as part of the « À nos différences » program to raise children's awareness of disability.
I believe inclusion starts at a young age. What strikes me most is how spontaneous children are: they ask direct, sometimes unexpected questions, with a curiosity that leads to fascinating conversations.
These visits also feed my design practice. They remind me to question my own assumptions, to listen to the people concerned and to involve them in the decisions that affect them.
Civic engagement
Town council member
Public services, digital and the common good
As a town council member and a representative to the e-Collectivités public consortium, I follow how local authorities go digital and how people access public services.
This role helps me understand how local authorities work, their constraints and the challenges they face in offering services that fit residents' lives.
It echoes my work as a designer and a conviction I hold dear: moving public services online should make things easier for citizens, without leaving behind the people who struggle with digital tools.
AI, new ground for structuring design
I build skills and workflows that turn design rules into checks and reusable tools. AI lets me automate some checks, speed up production and spread good practice beyond the design team.
I stay in charge of user research and accessibility testing. My role is to set the rules, check the results and help teams use these tools with judgment.
What my clients say
I was blown away by how quickly she got up to speed on the customer mobile app in the Leroy Merlin context, and by how much work she can take on. She is a force to be reckoned with!
Gwennaelle Vermandel, Strategic Designer, Leroy MerlinLinh brings a sharp and relevant critical eye. She has a rare ability to get to grips with complex environments.
Benjamin Vanderlynden, product manager, SiriusShe has a brilliant gift for synthesis, a wonderful ability to listen and an everyday enthusiasm that is both inspiring and motivating!
Ousmane Diarra, project manager, Desjardins
Testimonials translated from French.
Curious by nature
What I love outside work
Japanese culture
Exploring cultural differences
My trips to Japan are among my best memories. I love discovering habits that have nothing to do with the ones I know in France, watching everyday life and understanding local traditions. And Japan has that side that is both very traditional and completely eccentric, which I love! Even after several stays, I still want to go back just as much.
The tea ceremony and matcha
Appreciating every gesture
Matcha is one of my small everyday pleasures! But beyond the drink, I'm most curious about everything around the Japanese tea ceremony. The history of the tradition, the precision of the gestures, what they mean… I like understanding why each step happens the way it does, rather than just copying the movements.
Reading
Exploring imaginary worlds
I can easily spend hours lost in a fantasy novel or a manga. I love stories that take me into other worlds, but above all the characters I end up getting attached to. Trying to understand their choices, their emotions, their contradictions, even when I don't share them, is part of what I love about reading. And in the end, this curiosity about others follows me into my work as a UX Researcher.
Bound by Stories
Connecting people through stories
I love talking about what I read, sometimes almost as much as reading the books themselves! That's where Bound by Stories came from: a card game I designed to extend conversations about books and share the emotions, memories and experiences we attach to them. It's my first physical product, and I'm really enjoying discovering everything its design involves.
Video games
Understanding systems
I have a soft spot for strategy and co-op games, especially when you have to think, experiment and find solutions together. My designer's eye is never far away either: I often notice the little tricks that let a game teach complex mechanics without drowning you in explanations. But sometimes I just want to play and get back to a world I love!
My game right now: WoW Forever, for a good dose of nostalgia!
Watercolor
Accepting the unexpected
In my work, I tend to want to organize, anticipate and structure everything. Watercolor is another story! Water and pigments sometimes have a mind of their own, and I have to accept that the result won't always look like what I had imagined. That's exactly what I love: experimenting, letting myself be surprised and seeing what happens.
The mountains
Stepping away from screens
In the mountains, what I look for above all is calm. Listening to the wind, feeling the fresh air, taking in the huge landscapes… I like taking time to walk, to stop and look at what's around me, and to enjoy all the little details I don't always notice day to day. You don't need much for a great day!
Linh-Dan in short
Fact sheet
- My job
- Design System Manager · Digital accessibility expert · UX/UI designer · Design System x AI
- My background
- From health to design, with more than 8 years of experience and just as many questions to ask.
- My playground
- Design Systems, digital accessibility and AI for design: structuring components, rules and workflows that teams actually use.
- My superpower
- Spotting inconsistencies, asking the awkward questions and turning a mess into something people can understand.
- My method
- Understand before designing, structure without overcomplicating, test instead of assuming.
- What drives me
- Putting my skills to work for the common good and helping, at my scale, build a more inclusive and sustainable society.
- What I enjoy
- Sharing what I know, learning from others and talking with people who make me see things differently.
- What makes me roll my eyes
- Meetings to prepare other meetings. And ultra-sophisticated systems nobody ever looks at.
- Off screen (almost)
- Passions that multiply faster than my free time.
Write to me directly
To talk about your Design System or to swap ideas between designers, my address is just below. You can also find me on LinkedIn.