Maya Benari: “Turning the Ship: Living design systems in the federal government” — Clarity 2016

The federal government, bound by centuries of history and numerous regulations, has historically built online experiences that reflect bureaucracy rather than human needs. Government websites that don’t meet user needs produce poor outcomes and worse opinions about the government. We’re doing something about this. During the summer of 2015, a team came together to create the Draft US Web Design Standards: open source UI components and a visual style guide to create consistent, cohesive, and easy-to-use user experiences across federal government websites.

We’ll explore:

• How to create a style guide in a highly complex, old system with multiple stakeholders and different end users
• How to make easy-to-use tools that solve real user needs
• How we’re creating a nexus for industry best practices and collaboration across government agencies and with the public

Presented by Maya Benari at Clarity 2016, on April 1st, 2016. Ends with an interview with Chris Coyier