Service Design Principles

These are design principles that represent values when making design decisions. They form the foundation of a people-centered approach to public service delivery. 

Start with real people’s needs

Effective government services prioritize understanding people’s experiences through research (observations, interviews) to address challenges.

• Base decisions on evidence.
• Don’t just take their word for it, try to understand why with qualitative research (like interviews).
• Understand what and how with quantitative research (like analytics). 

Design for everyone

Government services should be inclusive, legible, and usable for people of all abilities, backgrounds, languages, and levels of technological literacy. 

• Consider accessibility from the very start.
• Ensure fairness and equity in services. 

Earn trust

Trust in government must be earned. This is achieved through reliability, consistency, transparency, and honesty. 

• Clearly identify official government entities.
• Be responsible with public data and time.
• Build redundancies to minimize errors and their impact.

Build for continuity

People experience government services as a whole, not as siloed agencies. 

• Design with the end-to-end service in mind for a continuous experience across devices, platforms, and agencies.
• Use design standards (like the Maryland Web Design System).