Welcome to Lighthouse!
A New Vision for Delaware’s Common Look and Feel Guidelines
Delaware’s Government Information Center (GIC) is excited to share a new vision for the State of Delaware’s digital experiences!
It’s called Lighthouse, and it represents a comprehensive approach to the redesign of state agency websites.
A quick reminder, the GIC was chartered in part to define unified design standards across all of Delaware’s online sites. These Common Look and Feel (CLF) guidelines have evolved over the 25 years of their existence. Each update of the CLF must adapt to the changing landscape of accessibility, design, and user expectations. This update represents the next level of compliant, easier-to-use, service driven design.
Lighthouse will improve the experience of your online visitors, and make it easier for your team to keep your content fresh!
What is Lighthouse and How is it Different from CLF?
Lighthouse is a comprehensive design system that will serve as the newest version of the CLF guidelines for Delaware state government websites. In this case, a design system refers to a set of reusable web components to manage design elements across varying platforms and websites. That translates into building blocks and templates that have already been researched as accessibility-compliant and tested as user-friendly.
While the CLF has traditionally offered a cohesive header and footer across state agencies, the guidelines and assistance did not extend beyond those parameters. This has led to inconsistent layouts and user experiences. Lighthouse will improve cohesion by introducing comprehensive Delaware branded layouts. These will include curated color palettes and strategic components which will help keep agencies accessibility-compliant while increasing their website’s efficiency.
Get Ready to Experience the Development of Lighthouse!
We will be working in the open, and we invite you to join us on the development of this design system.
Here’s how to follow us:
Our designs will be posted in Figma. Our HTML will be shared through Storybook. Our progress will be discussed in our blog posts. Your questions and feedback are welcome throughout the development process.Key Elements and Components of Lighthouse:
Reusable HTML code for website components that will fit seamlessly into ready-made WordPress templates.
All Lighthouse elements and components meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.
Accordions, buttons, bulleted lists, form field inputs, and more!
Curated color palettes.
Research-driven design and content guidance.
User Research: Understanding Your Audience for Better Engagement
User research is at the heart of what we do at the GIC. A deep dive into the needs, preferences, and behaviors of your audience reveals valuable insights that can inform your most important website design decisions. We will help you employ a variety of research methods including analytics, surveys, interviews, and usability testing. Identifying user motivations and challenges allows each agency to tailor its own digital presence so visitors can more efficiently reach those agency-specific goals.
How Lighthouse Benefits You
Simplified Navigation
The ability to easily find important services online is one of the biggest challenges facing state agencies. Lighthouse provides accessibility-compliant components, curated color palettes, and research-driven designs. The end result will be a more efficient user experience.
Content Driven
We know content is king for any website. We’ll help you identify the services and pages that your visitors are most interested in, and we’ll help you prioritize that content. The plug and play Lighthouse components help your team focus on the message itself.
A Part of the Trusted Delaware Brand
Lighthouse establishes a uniform and unified digital identity. We are creating a consistent visual brand experience that will reinforce trustworthiness and familiarity across all state agencies.
Easy to Adopt
Lighthouse exists in the familiar WordPress landscape with editorial enhancements including new design and page layout templates. Code files will be available for third party integration as well, with further documentation to follow. Most importantly, we’ll be here to help.
Illuminate Your Digital Journey with Lighthouse
Ready to take your digital presence to new heights? Illuminate your path to success with Lighthouse. Contact us today to learn more about our suite of digital services and how we can help you shine online.
And don’t forget to follow our progress on our blog!
Related Topics: Common Look and Feel, Delaware websites, design system, GIC, lighthouse
