New Zealand is revamping its recently launched e-government web site, nz.govt, after users suggested that it did not look visually appealing or like an official government portal.
The website was launched last July, and the redesign has been led by Massey University’s Open Lab. The team have blogged about the redesign, writing that the current site received feedback that “it didn’t look like a government site, so people were not convinced that it was legitimate; it was visually unappealing; it lacked a distinctly ‘New Zealand’ feel”.
The design team have revamped the appearance of the site, replacing the slim blue banner with a heavy black bar, and an official government crest “was added to ramp up the authority the site provokes”.
The redesign also displays a large image of people in New Zealand. “Although the banner image takes up real estate on the page, user feedback was resoundingly positive,” the designers wrote.
The designers also sought to reduce visual complexity, copying Britain’s Gov.UK website by choosing one font.
A structural revamp is also under way to make it easier for people to find things. The mantra for the site’s directory was “less like a phone book, more like a guide dog”, they wrote, meaning that the new design prioritises simple explanations to guide users through the site - especially those with low literacy rates.
“Low literacy users have a narrow field of focus when reading, and often miss peripheral information. On top of this, they are disinclined to scroll, as this breaks their concentration,” the designer wrote.
“We revisited the design, and made some changes. We combined almost everything into one column, and moved all the important information and links to the top of the page so that users didn’t have to scroll.”
The full blog post is available futureGov, 09.02.2015
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