Keeping pace with the way 21st-century Americans learn
In 2015, ED.gov received a significant update, but over time, its usability, navigation, and design fell behind the needs of modern users. Recognizing the need for change, the U.S. Department of Education issued a public competition to fully overhaul the site. Our challenge was to deliver a digital solution that was user-friendly, accessible, and aligned with the evolving needs of learners and educators nationwide as part of the public competition issued by the agency. Our submission aimed to modernize the site’s feel, branding, and content accessibility.
Outcomes
Reduced Information Overload
We restructured content to reduce clutter and help users find relevant information faster. By grouping similar content and adding context to links, we made it easier for visitors to navigate a content-heavy site.
Simplified User Navigation
We completely restructured the site’s navigation to ensure users could quickly and easily find the resources they needed. The streamlined, intuitive design reduces frustration and improves user engagement.
Modernized Look and Feel
By infusing a fresh visual style within the framework of government standards, we delivered a modern, approachable design that still met regulatory requirements. This update ensured the site felt current while maintaining its professional integrity.
Understanding User Needs
To make ED.gov more user-friendly, we started by focusing on users’ needs — restructuring the navigation and improving the visual hierarchy. This approach modernized the site’s look while ensuring a design that prioritized usability. By simplifying how resources were accessed, we made it easier for users to quickly find what they need without sifting through layers of content.
Serving Education Since 1867
The U.S. Department of Education, responsible for supporting education policies and ensuring equal access to learning, plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of students, teachers, and learners. ED.gov, with nearly 15 million visitors in 2019, is the Department’s primary public-facing site, central to connecting millions of users with critical resources. Our submission aimed to refine this touchpoint to better serve its vast audience.
Streamlined Access to Key Information
Before the redesign, ED.gov’s navigation was deep, chaotic, and difficult for users to maneuver. We completely restructured the site’s main navigation with a drop-down design that gave users quick access to a broader range of information. We ensured users could easily find their way by incorporating subheadings and a pop-out sub-navigation, even when exploring deeper pages.
Designing for Government: Fresh Look, Strong Guidelines
Creating a fresh, modern visual look for ED.gov while adhering to the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) guidelines posed a unique challenge. Our solution incorporated bold hero images, color-blocking, and subtle micro-interactions to add visual interest to content-heavy pages. By balancing creativity with compliance, we ensured the design stood out and aligned with federal standards.
Engaging Through Interaction
A key challenge for ED.gov was its overwhelming reliance on text, making content feel dense and hard to navigate. To inject more visual interest, we used typography creatively and incorporated hover states and dynamic navigation. These elements helped break up heavy blocks of copy, making content easier to engage with and more visually appealing.
Reducing Overload and Improving Access
ED.gov is packed with valuable resources, but links were often presented without enough context, leading to user confusion. Our redesign placed links in context, helping users find relevant information faster. We also used information restructuring and tab designs to reduce information overload and streamline navigation, ensuring a smoother, more efficient user experience.
Innovating Communication
Innovation in government websites doesn’t always mean flashy features — it can be as simple as improving communication channels. For ED.gov, we enhanced usability by integrating web forms and chatbots, creating more accessible funnels for user interactions. These changes improved how the Department communicated with its audience and brought a touch of modern innovation to the site.
A Seamless Experience Across Devices
ED.gov is a content-rich hub that needs to work seamlessly across all devices. Our redesign prioritized mobile responsiveness, ensuring that the site was as easy to use on smartphones and tablets as on desktops. Using a flexible grid and a design system, we created a responsive layout that provided a smooth, user-friendly experience on every device.
Transforming Content-Heavy Sites Into User-Friendly Resources
When your website is packed with critical resources, presenting them in an accessible and digestible way can be challenging. Our redesign for ED.gov reduced information overload by strategically organizing content and enhancing accessibility. We create sites that don’t just look good—they make navigating complex information easier for every user.
