CDD Guide: Cybersecurity for Digital Designers
This bachelor project addresses the growing need to integrate cybersecurity into the digital design process in a way that supports – rather than compromises – user experience.
The goal was to develop a practical, visually accessible guide for designers who want to approach security as a natural and intuitive part of their workflow.
Through a combination of theoretical research and qualitative interviews with designers and researchers, I identified key gaps in how cybersecurity is currently addressed in design practice – especially from a human-centred perspective.
The project merges two well-established frameworks: Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics and Ann Cavoukian’s Privacy by Design, to form the foundation of a practical design guide.
The outcome is the CDD Guide – a set of nine actionable principles aimed at helping designers approach cybersecurity as a creative, user-driven task.
Each principle is supported by examples, tools, and methods that make it easier to apply in real-world workflows. The guide encourages early implementation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, intuitive interfaces, and clear communication about security choices.
Visually, the guide was developed to feel familiar and accessible, using clean UI-inspired layouts, iconography, and infographics to support understanding and reduce complexity.
The aim was to make cybersecurity feel less abstract and more like an integrated part of everyday design work.
This project has expanded my perspective on the role of designers in shaping secure digital environments and strengthened my skills in research, communication, and design thinking.
