Design
Resources on Design
Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card —What we learned from examples of web content that received both high and low scores.
Multilingual Huddle: Designing for Translation —In this webinar, Laura Godfrey and Fedora Braverman share tips for translating content in the digital context.
Deceptive Design: How to Identify and Combat Consequence Design —Consequence design is part of everyday life. Deceptive techniques like “dark patterns” and “hostile design” trick people into taking …
Privacy-Preserving Collaboration Using Cryptography —In conjunction with her May 2020 presentation, Dr. Emily Shen outlines her work on Secure multi-party computation (MPC), a type of …
Addressing Barriers to User-Centered Design —An overview of the most common barriers and how federal agencies might address them.
The basics of human-centered design in government —How the Lab at OPM drives innovation through design education
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
18F Accessibility Guide —A resource for developing accessible products.
Accessibility for Teams —A guide to making products more accessible for everyone.
USWDS Maturity Model —How to adopt the design system incrementally and design and build better digital experiences.
Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web —Tips for making online information accessible for those with auditory and visual needs.
18F Guide to Product Management —Best practices on doing product management well
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.
Tools and Services
18F —We help government agencies fix technical problems, build products, and improve how government serves the public through technology.
Presidential Innovation Fellows —We help government agencies fix technical problems, build products, and improve how government serves the public through technology.
U.S. Digital Service —We deploy small, responsive groups of designers, engineers, product managers, and bureaucracy specialists to work with and empower civil …
10x —Provides funding for new technology projects or products across government, from the TTS office of investments.
DotGov Registry —We make it easy to register and manage a .gov domain for US-based government organizations.
the Lab at OPM —A team of designers with diverse backgrounds that help agencies address complex challenges and build human-centered design capacity across …
U.S. Web Design System —A toolkit of principles, guidance, and code that helps agency digital teams build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the …
Directory of services, tools, and teams —Shared services and tools offered by the GSA and other agencies.
Join a Community of Practice
U.S. Web Design System —Making it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the public.
News and Events on Design
149 posts

Sunsetting Go.USA.gov: Frequently Asked Questions—For more than a dozen years, government employees have used the Go.USA.gov URL shortening service to turn long government and military URLs into more manageable short URLs. On September 18, 2022, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will sunset Go.USA.gov. If you’re a Go.USA.gov user, these answers to common questions can help you know what to do to prepare for the end of the service. — via USA.gov
Equity, a Core Principle of Customer Experience
Two Years of Federal Student Aid’s Virtual Assistant Lead to Lessons Learned and a Clear Vision of the Work Ahead

Creating a New Way for People To Discover Government Benefits—To make it even easier for everyone to find services and benefits without needing to understand government structure, we’re developing a new digital tool in partnership with 10x, GSA’s incremental technology fund. BEARS, the Benefits Eligibility Awareness Resource Service, is an important step forward in providing an integrated, simple solution for federal benefits to improve the customer experience and will eventually cover all federal benefits from all agencies. — via USA.gov
Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card
From Fellowship To Full-time: How a CFPB Software Engineer Helped Protect Consumers and Built a Career in Civic Tech
The Customer Experience (CX) Symposium Series: A Thought Incubator for Federal CX Practitioners
Go-Live Checklist for Federal Websites
A User-Centered Approach: Simplicity and Complexity in a Homepage Graphic
GSA Launches New Innovation Adoption Community of Practice

Making It Easier for People to Find Federal Agencies—Finding contact information for a federal department or agency is a top task at USA.gov and USAGov en Español. Our A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies directory is a popular feature and the result of many years of user testing and website user metrics. — via USA.gov
How To Navigate Challenges to Successfully A/B Test Your Emails

Building a User-Centered Data Strategy—Developing a data strategy is challenging, but 18F can help agencies with the process of creating an effective one. Our principles of user-centered design, agile, and iterative delivery can increase an agency’s chance for success in using data more effectively. — via 18F

What’s Next for the U.S. Web Design System—In 2020, we brought together researchers, designers, engineers, and policymakers to conduct research across dozens of federal agencies to help support emergency response efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we released a new and exciting report and strategy that outlines what’s next for the design system and our community. — via U.S. Web Design System
Security is Everyone’s Responsibility: Delivering Secure, Usable Login for Government

The New FedRAMP.gov—FedRAMP is excited to announce the launch of our revamped website. Thanks to feedback from our partners and stakeholders, the website has an improved user experience that makes FedRAMP information and resources more accessible. The website provides more in-depth information about FedRAMP’s authorization process, enabling agencies, Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), and Third-Party Assessment Organizations (3PAOs) to easily access pertinent information related to their role in the FedRAMP Authorization process. — via FedRAMP