The U.S. Web Design Standards team continues to sit down with various agencies who are using the Standards. In this sixth post in our series, we talked to Olivier Kamanda, project manager for code.gov to learn how that team adopted the Standards. Code.gov is a new platform designed to be the home for federal source code–a platform for improving the quality of government software. It launched in November 2016.
USWDS: How did you hear about the U.S. Web Design Standards?
Olivier Kamanda: I inherited the design work from another Presidential Innovation Fellow (PIF) who designed vote.gov and apps.gov, which all use the Standards to some degree.
USWDS: Why did the team decide to use the Standards?
Olivier Kamanda: When I joined the project, the Standards were already adopted. The original designer liked that the Standards gave the sites a modern, clean look that didn’t look like other government sites.
USWDS: How did you integrate the Standards into your work?
Olivier Kamanda: The site is built is Node.js and Angular 2, which allowed us to use many of the components. We’ve used the tables, headings and menus. For our page layout, we use Bootstrap in conjunction with the Standards.
USWDS: What were the benefits you gained by using the Standards?
Olivier Kamanda: Using the Standards we didn’t have to worry about ADA compliance, since those best practices are built into the package. The Standards also save time because we don’t have to pull all the components and features together ourselves.
USWDS: Advice for other agencies?
Olivier Kamanda: Using the Standards makes the design process much easier, as it saves time, and offers a clean aesthetic that incorporates best practices.
We’re looking to learn more from agencies that have used the Standards; if you’re interested in talking to us about your experience or have any feedback, feel free to send us an email at uswebdesignstandards@gsa.gov. You can also chat with the team in the new public Slack channel for the Standards!
