Just a few years ago, infographics seemed to be the hottest type of content online. Lately, the shine has worn off as bad infographics inundated the internet. High-quality infographics still can rise up from the flood of drivel. Infographics are not inherently bad. When infographics are designed well they simplify complex information and can make boring topics interesting. Eye-catching visualsRead… Read more »
Over the past half decade the shift in popular business thinking have been more user and customer focused than ever before. Designing immersive, engaging and useful experiences for a user acts as the ‘rising tide lifts all ships’ in solving problems when developing products for public use. After using the myMyki website this past weekendRead… Read more »
We’ve got a new twist this week, folks. Since I’ve been blogging mostly about accessibility, I wanted to talk with someone who approaches accessibility from a different perspective than a subject matter expert. I met with a designer who works for a federal government agency and has a refreshing outlook on design and accessibility. SheRead… Read more »
Use this checklist of email design best practices to deliver messages that are not only tailored to your audience, but also look professional, function properly, and capture the attention of increasingly-busy and multi-device-connected constituents to invite opens, attract clicks, and inspire action.
“We have to understand that the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye…The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.” (Bronowski, 1973) Designing government Like most governments right now, we’re very excited about the potential of design to transform service delivery and policyRead… Read more »
By Cathy Thomas Stop with the task-based approach Have you ever been approached by a client who wants a mobile app but does not have specific requirements, just general goals? That can be a daunting challenge. With mobile apps, ideally there should be opportunities for user interaction and touch gesture feedback beyond simply navigating aroundRead… Read more »
Society is based on sitting. We sit in school; we sit to eat; we sit to read; we sit in traffic; we sit to work. It is estimated that more than half of the average American’s waking life is spent sitting. For most federal employees, I believe that number is even higher. I have 27Read… Read more »
From garbage trucks to vacant lots, cities and states are often tasked with the thankless job of cleaning up a community’s mess. These are tasks that are often overlooked, but are critical to keeping a community vibrant. But even in these sometimes thankless jobs, there are real innovations happening. Take a few city websites thatRead… Read more »
Packaging. Why do government communicators, marketers and brand strategists do it? To find out, take a look at a gift wrap site. Honest. The parallels between wrapping a gift and packaging a person are striking. A friend at work gave me a wry smile and said maybe he’d let me package him sometime. I reckoned that heRead… Read more »
By Koi Hernandez, Design Fellow at GovDelivery Jeff Bezos, technology entrepreneur and CEO of Amazon gives a powerful statement of what a brand is, he states “your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” A brand is simply the first or last impression you leave your stakeholders. It isRead… Read more »