Design ethos
The information on this page is currently under review.
Our ethos drives everything we do in order to deliver the best and most appropriate digital services to our customers, and support the strategic aims of the Council. We call this Digital First.
"Digital services so good that people prefer to use them"
The site ethos
Our site ethos drives how we build and deliver digital services and adheres to the 10 Digital First Design Principles. Our design ethos feeds into the overall site ethos.
What is design?
The design of the site is not just how it looks, but also how it works when customers interact with it. It should support their needs and behaviour through visual, interaction and structural elements.
What do we believe about our design?
We believe the design and structure of our site should be focused on the needs and behaviour of the customer, rather than the organisation. It should make the site intuitive and logical to the customer.
"I'm not thinking about this pen when writing with it. Design dissolves in behaviour." - Naoto Fukasawa
Our design is for everyone
We work to make our design suitable for everyone, whatever their need. This means being clear and making our design and structure accessible as well as usable.
Our design lets the customer choose when and where to use our site
Our site needs to be accessible regardless of how the customer is choosing to access it and we understand their experience will vary depending on the device, browser, screen size and connection they use.
Our design helps make the complex simple
Our services may be complex, but accessing them digitally should not be. We will remove unnecessary features, guide customers through tasks and organise our site in a way that makes sense to customers. We will do the hard work on making the complex simple so our customers don’t have to.
Our design should support, not hinder the customer
We believe that functional design can be beautiful without needing to be flashy. The site is not a place to show off but to design in a way that supports the customer and makes their experience at least painless, at best pleasurable.
Our design complements the Council brand
We have a logo and brand for the Council and digitally this will be extended to best fit the channel.
