By Koi Hernandez, Design Fellow at GovDelivery Design as a whole is a very broad subject—from street signs to buildings to T.V. ads—design touches nearly every element of our lives. But that doesn’t mean it’s always done well. As a government communicator, design can make or break the comprehension of your message—the components that makeRead… Read more »
As a 27-year-old woman kicking off my career, I’ve often wondered how to merge what I love to do with a career that allows me to eat more than just packaged Ramen noodles. Matching my passions and skills in a position that actually pays is definitely not an easy task, but one worth pursuing—even ifRead… Read more »
The web is an integral part of our daily lives. We seek out topics of interest on our favorite web sites because it is presented in a user-friendly, readable format. However, when we are charged with developing engaging web content, sometimes we get “writer’s block” which will prevent great ideas from gaining traction. Another majorRead… Read more »
Let’s put this as neutrally as possible. People interact with public services. Now, here’s a simple question: what should we call those people – and why? Perhaps it’s not such a simple question after all. They – we – are many things. We are patients, customers, passengers, swimmers, clients, taxpayers, claimants and more (as wellRead… Read more »
With any government program, project, or initiative, you can’t just rely on an “if you build it, they will come” strategy. If nobody knows about your initiatives or projects, they can’t make a difference. To be truly successful at your job to drive engagement with these programs, you have to capture people while they areRead… Read more »
When was the last time you managed the redesign of your web content? It is an endeavor that may strike fear in the heart of even the most ardent web content manager. Yet is a necessary evil. The need to update web content occurs for two reasons: some of the web content has become obsoleteRead… Read more »
Gov.uk set an example and others followed In 2012, the Government Digital Service team launched a new home for the Cabinet of the United Kingdom replacing two sites: directgov and business link, and it was truly simple. No unnecessary imagery, homepage flashiness or marketing ploys. On gov.uk, you find information related to government services, andRead… Read more »
On April 23, we launched our new home page design (http://www.epa.gov). Among other changes, we reworked our banners at the top. It used to look like this screen shot: To change banners, you clicked the numbers. Heat maps showed that people did use the numbers to move among the banners, and other analytics confirmed peopleRead… Read more »
A few days ago, we highlighted the redesign of nyc.gov as a great case study in the use of good design to better accomplish agency goals. Of course, reading a case study and adopting a new approach are two different things. That’s why we decided to dig deeper into the topic. Kate Watts is ManagingRead… Read more »
The new, device flexible, user-centric nyc.gov. Image courtesy of Huge. Our governments – local, state and federal – are very good at doing a lot of things. National defense. Waste and sewage. Collecting taxes. So why can’t they consistently create decent websites? Today, websites and mobile applications are often the first and only direct linkRead… Read more »