Using Lighthouse …to Navigate!

By GIC on November 15th, 2024

We chose the name Lighthouse for our new state website design system for several reasons. It’s a nod to the many Delaware lighthouses that dot our beautiful coastlines, like the Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse in Lewes, seen above. Symbolically, a lighthouse is a comforting landmark to help sailors orient themselves, avoid trouble and find their […]

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State vs. Agency Notifications:
Let’s Divide and Conquer!

By GIC on October 04th, 2024

Notification banners are a valuable way to alert website users to important information. However, these features are often used inconsistently across Delaware agency sites. Banners intended for emergency notifications are often used for non-emergency information, like event notification or links to existing pages on their sites. Here’s an example of useful and important information that […]

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Choosing New Fonts for Lighthouse

By GIC on September 19th, 2024

One of the GIC’s main goals is to put accessibility at the forefront of our process. We always want to keep in mind those with visual, hearing and other disabilities as we make each website design decision. This approach calls for reconsideration of colors, backgrounds, and the text itself that we use. Many different fonts […]

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End of Summer Dev Updates

By GIC on September 06th, 2024

Hello again! The GIC team is engaged in an important internal debate, agonizing over a hotly-contested issue: Is it actually summer until September 22 as the calendar says, or do Labor Day and the start of school mark the real beginning of fall? Our team is split into devoted camps of those who are still […]

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Designing a New Header & Footer

By GIC on August 05th, 2024

Previous iterations of the Delaware State Common Look and Feel (CLF) provided a consistent header and footer for state agency websites to use, such as the ones on this webpage. Our new version of the CLF is called Lighthouse. Lighthouse represents a comprehensive design system that will unify even more elements of state websites. This […]

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Data Informed Design

By kristintolentino on July 02nd, 2024

We’ve all experienced the frustration of navigating through a government website, desperately trying to locate the right link or form amidst a sea of information. Whether it’s fulfilling our civic duties, filing documents, or simply seeking new resources, the process can often feel like an uphill battle—overwhelming, inefficient, and downright frustrating. If only there was […]

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What is User Research and Why Should it be a Part of Your Process?

By Burgundy James on July 02nd, 2024

In my role as a researcher, I often see projects begin by immediately developing a solution before truly understanding the problem, and whom we need to solve it for. User research can help define your target audience, and provide them with an outcome that meets their needs, with less focus on “checking off” a list […]

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