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Designing the first service patterns for local government

Posted by: Lizzie Bruce and Sūryanāga Poyzer – former senior service designer, GDS & Homes England, Posted on: 16 October 2017 - Categories: Service Design
A picture of the webpage for local service patterns. The page outlines best practice for local government

In this post the Verify team discuss their collaborative work with local councils to design the first service patterns for local government.

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When design should get in the way

Posted by: Stephen McCarthy, Posted on: 26 July 2016 - Categories: Tried & tested
Stop sign used on roads

At GDS we design based on user needs and always try to keep things as simple as possible for the user. We often say that design shouldn’t interfere with the user journey – except for when the user needs it …

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Common challenges with government services

Posted by: Louise Downe, Posted on: 22 April 2016 - Categories: Design, Service Design

It’s easy to spot when a service isn’t working, it’s not always easy to spot why it isn’t working. That said, we’re gradually finding common issues which lead to problems in services across government. Many of them hinge on two …

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Identifying a good service

Posted by: Louise Downe, Posted on: 22 April 2016 - Categories: Design, Service Design
Register to vote

  We’ve already outlined a definition of what service design is, and why matters. In this post, I’ll sketch out some of the ways in which we identify whether or not a service is a good one. This is by no …

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The different types of design in government

Posted by: Louise Downe, Posted on: 22 April 2016 - Categories: Design, Service Design

There’s a big demand for designers in government. In this post, I’ll explain a few of the ways we work and the different types of design we do in government. Over the years we’ve developed some ways of working that we …

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How to make a user journey map

Posted by: Kate Ivey-Williams – Head of Design, GDS, Posted on: 21 April 2016 - Categories: Journey Maps, Service Design, User Research

We explained in a previous post how useful it can be to make a user journey map of a service. In this post I’ll give some tips on how to create them. What to include in user journeys maps: The …

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