I was one of the original permanent designers at the DfE. A community of designers was missing and I wanted to do something about it. What does community mean to me? Time for reflection, what do I want in a community?
Starting small
How does a community start? Humble and awkward beginnings.
Beginning to grow
Expanding the scope and gong national. How to get people interested? How to keep people engaged? How to build trust and a create space for people to feel safe.
Community events
Running regular workshops to engage the community.
Workshop: What do you want to get out of the community?
An ongoing conversation to ensure the needs of the community are being met…
Workshop: Identifying common user interface elements
Do we need a design system? A pattern library? There are often frequently asked questions in big organisations. Sometimes there may also be pressures from senior leadership to create org-specific assets. As part of our needs analysis, I facilitated a workshop to look at user interface needs across the DfE services.
Designers from across the country collected and sorted screenshots of user interface elements (components and patterns) that weren’t in the GOV.UK Design System. We were looking for evidence of bespoke patterns, evidence of a need for our own design system. What did we find? The typical contained chaos of government service design but nothing that really suggested a DfE design system was needed.
Our conversation has now turned to look at patterns.
Show the thing
Teams present what they are up to, tell the stories of their service. Hearing colleagues talk about challenges, opportunities and outcomes is beneficial to all. Breaks down the silos, share knowledge, designers get to receive feedback, designers get comfortable with sharing work.
Get feedback sessions
Why is getting feedback important? How can it benefit projects? What do you need to be mindful when giving feedback? How do you create safe, meaningful spaces for feedback sessions. Who needs to be involved? What does our model looks like.
Connecting others
Community growth can happen at various layers within the design space.
Large public ceremonies like meet ups are good for…
People connecting in smaller groups in an intimate settings is good for and allows…
Identifying good matches and connecting them. Pairing senior and junior designers, finding people mentors, creating mentoring opportunities for others.
Why do I do it?
I like the feeling of being part of something.
I want that opportunity to be available for others if they feel the same way.
Community transcends organisational silos.
Outcome
Content here.