Insight
Learn from government design systems around the world. These resources provide valuable insights into accessibility, usability, and best practices for digital government services.
Government Design Systems
The following design systems have been developed by governments to ensure consistent, accessible, and user-friendly digital services.
| Country | Design System | Description |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | GOV.UK Design System | Comprehensive design system for UK government services with extensive component library and patterns. |
| Ireland | GOV.IE Design System | Irish government design system based on GOV.UK, adapted for Irish government services. |
| Scotland | Scottish Government Design System | Design system for Scottish government digital services. |
| United States | U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) | Design system for the US federal government, focusing on accessibility and usability. |
| Canada | Canada.ca Design System | Design system for Government of Canada websites, bilingual (English/French). |
| Australia | GOLD Design System | Australian Government Design System with comprehensive accessibility guidelines. |
| New Zealand | NZ Government Design System | New Zealand government design system for consistent digital experiences. |
| Netherlands | NL Design System | Dutch government design system for accessible and inclusive digital services. |
| Italy | Designers Italia | Italian government design resources and component library. |
| Singapore | Singapore Government Design System | Design system for Singapore government digital services. |
Accessibility Resources
These resources provide guidance on building accessible digital services.
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - International standards for web accessibility
- WCAG 2.1 Quick Reference - How to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- MDN Web Accessibility - Developer documentation for accessibility
- The A11Y Project - Community-driven accessibility resources
- WebAIM - Web accessibility evaluation tools and training
Design Resources
General design system and UI/UX resources.
- Nielsen Norman Group - UX research and consulting
- Material Design - Google's design system and guidelines
- Carbon Design System - IBM's open-source design system
- Primer - GitHub's design system
- Atlassian Design System - Design guidelines from Atlassian
Typography Resources
Tools and guides for typography in digital design.
- Google Noto Fonts - The Noto font family used in this design system
- Practical Typography - Typography guidelines for the web
- Type Scale - Tool for creating type scales
Colour and Contrast
Tools for checking and creating accessible colour combinations.
- WebAIM Contrast Checker - Check colour contrast ratios
- Colorable - Colour combination accessibility checker
- Who Can Use - See how colours appear for different vision types
- Coolors - Colour palette generator