Design for the People: The US Web Design System and the Public Sans Typeface

The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface that belongs to the people. This thoughtful public design system aims to make government websites not only look good, but to make them accessible and functional for all.

Before the internet, Americans may have interacted with the federal government by stepping into grand buildings adorned with impressive stone columns and gleaming marble floors. Today, the neoclassical architecture of those physical spaces has been replaced by the digital architecture of website design – HTML code, tables, forms, and buttons. 

While people visiting a government website to apply for student loans, research veterans’ benefits, or enroll in Medicare may not notice these digital elements, they play a crucial role. If a website is buggy or doesn’t work on your phone, taxpayers cannot access the services they have paid for. This can feel like walking up to a boarded-up government building with broken windows, creating a negative impression of the government itself.  

 In the US, there are about 26,000 federal websites. Early on, each site had its own designs, fonts, and login systems, creating frustration for the public, and wasting government resources.

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