Biktarvy.

From a Generic Checklist to a Personal Conversation for Patients. Built Once for Two Brands.

TLC brought us on to redesign Gilead's Canadian patient experience for Biktarvy. The existing site was clinical, desktop-only, and impersonal. We designed a mobile-first, bilingual question builder that puts patients in control of their own preparation, then adapted the system for Descovy without rebuilding it.

Scope

UX Strategy & UI

Client

Gilead

Duration

2 months

Year

2025

Live preview

Understanding the Patient and the Rules

(01)

Neither site was built for the people using it.

Gilead was preparing brand refreshes for both Biktarvy and Descovy in the Canadian market. The existing sites for each offered a static list of generic questions patients could print for their doctor. No personalization, no guidance, and no consideration for mobile. Most users were pinching through rigid desktop layouts on their phones.

Canadian pharmaceutical law made it more challenging. Consumer-facing content for prescription drugs is restricted to the brand name, price, and quantity. No therapeutic claims. No mention of what either medication treats. Everything had to hold in both English and French.

TLC brought us on to solve the design, starting with Biktarvy. The ask was a visual refresh. The opportunity was rethinking what both experiences could do for patients within those constraints.

Building the Interactive Experience

(02)

Patients choose their own questions and the tool builds their guide.

We designed a mobile-first question builder that replaces the static list. Users select the topics that matter to them, and the tool assembles a personalized discussion guide they can download, email, or save as an appointment reminder.

The tone for Biktarvy is grounded and sensitive, reflecting the weight of managing treatment. Colors were softened and brand imagery placed to keep the experience calm. When Gilead confirmed Descovy was next, we proposed building the system to transfer across both brands without duplicating the build.

Every screen and state was delivered in English and French through Zeplin, with copy mapped to each flow for each language. One interaction model. One design system. Two distinct brand expressions.

Bilingual Delivery, Compliance, and Launch

(03)

Shipped compliant in both languages for both campaigns.

We shipped the Biktarvy design first and worked with Gilead's legal team through TLC to get the copy compliant in both English and French. The full Zeplin handoff covered every screen and state across mobile and desktop, so their developers, copywriters, and legal reviewers could move through it in parallel without bottlenecking.

When Descovy moved into production, the system did what it was designed to do. We swapped the brand layer, adjusted the tone and imagery to reflect a more confident, forward-looking voice, and delivered a second complete Zeplin guide. The structure held. The second rollout took a fraction of the time.

Biktarvy launched with the refreshed "Be." campaign. Descovy followed with "It's Wild Out There." Both are live, both are bilingual, and Gilead's team maintains them independently.