A team in the Government Digital Service (GDS) has developed a GOV.UK Publishing Design Guide for users within GDS creating content on the platform.
The guide is an extension of the GOV.UK Design System, with a focus on helping users find information and services on GOV.UK.
It contains information on the components, patterns and front end templates that can be used.
Senior service designer Christine Wuerth and senior interaction designer Nikin Nagewadia said in a blogpost that they set out to do two things. One is to create a single repository for design related documentation for the GOV.UK programme, with advice on features such as the type of building blocks to use and designing formats and content for individual documents.
The other is to ensure the repository is used, maintained collaboratively and will grow over time, with further features such as a contribution model for designers and people in other disciplines to get involved in documentation.
Community input
Wuerth and Nagewadia have designed the guide with input from input from the design community in other government departments.
They added that they intend to develop it further.
“In fact, we are thinking of this more as the starting point,” they said. “While we are planning additional features, such as including design files and live examples directly on each page of the guide, our focus has shifted more towards fine tuning processes that enable the community to contribute to this work and remove any barriers to participation, which we are currently testing and implementing.
