DHS Digital Wallet · Verifiable credentials, holder-first

At a Glance

The situationVerifiable credentials people couldn’t yet hold or share with confidence.

My roleDesign and UI/UX, bringing design-system discipline inside government rules.

The workA holder-first wallet system: selective disclosure, open standards, open source.

What changedGrand Prize, DHS S&T Trusted UI for Digital Wallets Challenge.

The Brief

Make verifiable credentials something people can hold and share.

I put the holder first. Credentials are grouped by domain, each one showing its status at a glance. Selective disclosure means you share only the attributes a transaction actually asks for, and I added a “package” idea so people can bundle several credentials into one submission they consent to together.

The Work

DHS Digital Wallet — design system shown across multiple screens — **Design system**Credentials grouped by domain, with a package that lets people submit several at once and consent as they go.

DHS Digital Wallet — credential UI on mobile — **Credential UI**Holder-first screens that share only the attributes a transaction needs, nothing more.

Built to open standards

I built it on the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) and Section 508 accessibility, took my cues from the W3C Credentials Community Group, and shipped the whole thing as open-source artifacts, Sketch and Sass, in a public repository.

U.S. Web Design System Section 508 W3C Credentials Community Group Open-source (Sketch & Sass)

View the project · dignari.github.io/digital-wallet-site

Recognition

This work was named Grand Prize Winner, DHS S&T Trusted UI for Digital Wallets Challenge (2021), a national contest run by DHS Science & Technology.

Holder-first

Credentials organized by domain, with selective disclosure of only what a transaction needs.

Open standards

Aligned with USWDS and Section 508; informed by the W3C Credentials Community Group.

Open source

Delivered as Sketch and Sass artifacts in a public repository.

I open-sourced the winning system so other teams could reuse the patterns and build on the work.

What changed

Credential interactions became legible: grouped by domain, status at a glance, sharing only what a transaction asks for.

The system became reusable — open-source Sketch and Sass artifacts in a public repository, on USWDS and Section 508 foundations.

The work was recognized with the Grand Prize in a national DHS S&T challenge.

Trust in high-stakes interactions isn’t a visual style — it’s a system: what gets shared, what stays held, and how clearly the interface says so.