Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
For our first gathering of the Civic Design Community, we hear a few different perspectives on civic design and how the practice changes and stays the same in different contexts. We explore how designers inside and outside government build alliances with policymakers, program managers, electeds and more in order to change how services are delivered, improve outcomes, and create longer term capacity for design-informed ways of working across different roles and levels of government.
Key Insights
-
•
Civic design unites diverse practitioners from all government levels and design disciplines under an inclusive 'vanilla' term.
-
•
Designers in government increasingly work at the intersection of design, policy, and strategy rather than just craft.
-
•
Following policy as rigorously as following money helps identify real constraints and change opportunities in civic design.
-
•
Embedding subject matter experts, like prison officers in justice system design, creates critical insights for service innovation.
-
•
Building trust with stakeholders, especially naysayers, requires patience, candor, and demonstrating tangible design value.
-
•
Designers play a vital translator role, balancing technical accessibility (508 compliance, SEO) with engaging aesthetics to reach audiences.
-
•
Small, visible wins such as posters or quick prototypes help overcome fatigue and build momentum in complex government systems.
-
•
Procurement and RFP structures often hinder outcome-focused design work, emphasizing deliverables rather than systemic change.
-
•
Activists should be engaged as collaborators or embedded team members to effect meaningful civic change from within.
-
•
Content designers are integral to Civic Tech teams, pushing accessible and audience-focused messaging forward.
Notable Quotes
"We need to follow the policy because that was the thing that created so many roadblocks."
"I often think of myself as a stakeholder strategist because sometimes the design title doesn’t quite capture it."
"Good design with great SEO and accessibility can change your audience by a magnitude."
"We love the naysayers; those grumpy people become some of the most valuable partners once you get their buy-in."
"Design is translation—both technically with H1 tags and in words people understand."
"Sometimes a poster galvanizes support far better than another workshop or meeting ever could."
"We move at the speed of trust—that's how partnerships and design wins happen."
"Hiring local talent embeds lived experience directly in government decision making."
"Too often RFPs ask us to deliver things instead of solve problems."
"Activists inside the system are often the ones untangling the rubber band ball."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Timely interactions that log users out without saving progress cause abandonment, especially for people with disabilities."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
June 7, 2023
"The system encourages growth not just in craft but also in client engagement and team collaboration."
Ignacio MartinezFair and Effective Designer Evaluation
September 25, 2024
"Transformation is new ways of thinking and eventually doing; we won’t have all the answers at the start and that’s okay."
Sarah Kinkade Mariana Ortiz-ReyesDesign Management Models in the Face of Transformation
June 8, 2022
"You could lift their famous ladder back chair with just your pinky finger—it’s exquisitely designed with minimal material."
Daniel GloydWarming the User Experience: Lessons from America's first and most radical human-centered designers
May 9, 2024
"Finding meaningful insights is not just casting a wide net—it requires discipline, structure, and knowing where to fish."
Patrick BoehlerFishing for Real Needs: Reimagining Journalism Needs with AI
June 10, 2025
"UX research teams spend significant time manually analyzing interviews, limiting capacity to focus on higher-value tasks."
Andy Barraclough Betsy NelsonFrom Costly Complexity to Efficient Insights: Why UX Teams Are Switching To Voxpopme
September 23, 2024
"Standard design research looks for pain points, not harms, and harms often cannot be identified in typical user research."
Alexandra SchmidtWhy Ethics Can't Save Tech
November 18, 2022
"Our job as design teams is to teach others what we do, not to feel insecure about sharing."
Louis RosenfeldDiscussion: What Operations can teach DesignOps
November 6, 2017
"Carbon is just the starting point for what can be imagined. We're hired for our expertise to adapt, not just follow directions."
Mitchell BernsteinOrganizing Chaos: How IBM is Defining Design Systems with Sketch for an Ever-Changing AI Landscape
September 29, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
In an AI and code-driven future, how does service design remain relevant for human-centered experiences?
What lessons does Cheryl Platz share from Duolingo’s successes and failures in gamified product design?
Why are traditional linear journey maps insufficient for representing complex human ecosystems?