Ben Terrett on designing GOV.UK
This continues a story I started on my own blog where I wrote about my previous job as Design Director at Wieden & Kennedy London. This is the one where I write about joining GDS as Head of Design. Later on I’ll blog about the design in more detail and answer questions and stuff.
When I first met Tom Loosemore and Mike Bracken, they stressed the real change happening within Government. They talked about the huge opportunity GDS presented to change the way Government approaches ‘digital’. That this was a real moment in time.
Picture borrowed from Paul Clarke
At the launch of GDS just before Christmas Francis Maude (our Minister) and Martha Lane Fox both spoke in the same way Tom and Mike had a few months earlier. This was really important for me. Important because if we are to achieve anything we all have to believe in the same mission. We all have to be heading on the same direction.
Britain has a great history of delivering big, public sector design projects. We have a rich heritage of design. Festival of Britain, Ministry of Information, Kenneth Grange, Design Research Unit. (More on that later.)
The design challenge here seems to be – don’t avoid the obvious. Government websites are needs driven and what people want to do is get in, get what they want and then get out. Quickly.
What we’ll be doing for the beta of GOV.UK won’t be finished. The design will be in beta as much as the rest of the site. We won’t get it right first time round. We’ll be putting stakes in the ground. Sketching out ideas we think might work, testing different solutions and setting a course for where we want this thing to head. It’s a huge, complicated task.
Simplicity will be valued
In many ways the problem is similar to problem Kinnear and Calvert faced when designing the road signs in the 60′s. Before they came along Britain was littered with different signage systems all using different symbols, colours and typefaces which was at best confusing and at worst dangerous. With an exponential increase in vehicle traffic the government knew something had to be done. Kinnear and Calvert proposed one consistent system. One designed with the clarity of information as it’s goal. From then on Britain had a solution that became the definitive standard and was copied around the world
Sound familiar? Swap signage systems for websites. Swap vehicle traffic for online traffic. That’s a challenge no designer could resist.
Picture borrowed from Russell Davies
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- Introducing the beta of GOV.UK | Government Digital Service
- No Idle Words: a style guide for the age of austerity « matt.me63.com – Matt Edgar
- Moving on from W+K – Roo Reynolds
- Blurring boundaries | Government Digital Service
- Introducing the design principles alpha for GDS | Government Digital Service
- Present future history « Dubdog
- A few notes on typography | Government Digital Service
- Designing for different devices | Government Digital Service
If you succeed in the same way as Kinnear and Calvert did then you’ll have done very well indeed.
Best of luck
DW x
It’s something that has been in need of doing for a long long time. Sounds like a great challenge for you. Good luck!
Yes, excellent call.
This is broadly similar to what microsoft did with the ‘metro’ interface on windows phone 7.
Digital borrowing from ‘good’ analogue and creating something uniquely digital and without unnecessary skeuomorphic UI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(design_language)
Who would of thought microsoft would create a decent interface metaphor!
Good work, and good luck all.
Hey Ben. Welcome!
From your colleagues at the Driving Standards Agency
Please fix the HMRC website. I hate it!
can you do my tex return?
All the best with it – as you say it’s a fantastic opportunity. And talking of public sector design heritage, let’s not forget Frank Pick’s inspiring work with London Underground ;-)
Sounds like a fascinating job, Ben. Congratulations again. Good to know something’s going in the right direction somewhere ;0)
Good luck!
Remember not to ignore the obvious, Ben.
“The design challenge here seems to be – don’t avoid the obvious.”
Like what year it currently is!
“2011 Crown Copyright”
Ben – sounds like a fantastic challenge and really look forward to seeing how it evolves.
Very best of luck. CM
Sounds a great challenge.
Please address the user interaction issue on the government job website, it is tediously inaccurate for anyone just wanting to examine the options available which most other job sites offer. But on the subject of the above post… fantastic news! in this day and age of knowledge through online sources as to any information let alone something as trivial as say, the government will be greatly received. Best o’ luck