Why are food delivery apps so intuitive, while tax forms can feel like a maze? It’s not a mystery—great design follows clear principles that make communications easy to understand and navigate. From plain language to accessibility, these best practices can transform websites, applications, and correspondence to better serve the public.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll cover the fundamentals of good design and how to apply them to the communication materials you create. Together, we’ll:

Introduce design principles and share examples of both effective and ineffective designs.
Analyze real-world communication artifacts to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Give you a chance to “workshop” an artifact you bring (like a webpage, form, or flyer), receiving constructive feedback from peers to improve its usability and impact.

Who is this workshop for?

This session is for government professionals who want to make their communications clearer, more accessible, and more user-friendly.

What you’ll take away:

Tools to assess print and digital communications using proven design principles, including visual design, accessibility, readability, and color and font choices
Feedback on a specific artifact from your agency, with actionable ideas for how to improve it
Connections with a network of like-minded peers exploring human-centered design

What to know:

One week before the session, you’ll receive a short, 15 minute Prep Assignment to complete prior to the workshop.
Space is limited to foster active participation and meaningful conversations.

There will be breakout sessions. Plan to spend some time in active conversation with other attendees, preferably with your camera on.

Design Principles: Human-Centered Visual Design for Public Institutions