The All of Government mobile app is a foundational piece of New Zealand’s digital public service strategy. It’s not a single service or department, but a platform designed to support how people discover, access and engage with government, securely, accessibly and on their own terms.
This wasn’t about shipping another app. It was about building trust at a national level, setting standards for accessibility and usability, and laying the groundwork for future services that would rely on a shared design and interaction model.
When government gets digital wrong, the cost isn’t just frustration ... it’s exclusion.
The challenge
- A national audience with vastly different needs, capabilities and access constraints
- Extremely high expectations around accessibility, trust and clarity
- Multiple departments, stakeholders and delivery partners
- Long-term platform thinking required, not feature-led delivery
- The need to balance innovation with caution, policy and public accountability
This was not a space for experimentation without consequence. Every decision needed to be defensible, inclusive and scalable.
My role
As UX Director at Dave Clark, I led the experience design and system thinking for the app, working closely with DIA, product leadership, technical teams and research partners.
Design leadership at platform scale...
- Setting the experience strategy and design principles
- Leading the design system and pattern thinking underpinning the platform
- Shaping core journeys and interaction models
- Ensuring accessibility and usability standards were embedded from the start
- Acting as a bridge between policy, technology and human need
This was as much about leadership and alignment as it was about design.
Strategy & approach
Designing for trust, not just usability.
We anchored the work around a small set of guiding principles...
- Clarity over cleverness
- Accessibility as a baseline, not a feature
- Consistency builds confidence
- Design for the long term, not the launch
Rather than focusing on individual features, we approached the app as a platform—thinking in terms of patterns, behaviours and repeatable interactions that could support future services without fragmentation.
User research and testing informed decisions throughout, but always within the context of public-sector responsibility and scale.
Design System & Patterns
A core part of the work was establishing a design system and interaction model that could...
- Scale across future services
- Be reused by multiple teams
- Maintain consistency without stifling evolution
- Meet and exceed accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2, NZ Government standards)
The system focused on...
- Clear navigation and content hierarchy
- Predictable interaction patterns
- Strong defaults for accessibility and readability
- Governance that enabled reuse without slowing delivery
This wasn’t just about UI consistency - it was about creating confidence for both users and delivery teams.
Collaboration & Stakeholders
The project required close collaboration across...
- Government stakeholders and policy teams
- Technical and delivery partners
- Accessibility specialists
- Researchers and testing partners
A key part of my role was helping teams align around shared goals, making complexity visible and ensuring design decisions were grounded in both user insight and organisational reality.
Design became a tool for alignment, not just execution.
Outcomes & Impact
The app launched as a clear, accessible, and trusted entry point into government services, underpinned by a design system built for growth.
More importantly, it...
- Established a shared experience baseline for future services
- Raised the bar for accessibility and usability in government digital products
- Created a platform teams could build on with confidence
The real impact wasn’t just what shipped — it's what is now possible going forwards.
What I Learned
This project reinforced how powerful design can be when applied at the right level. By focusing on systems, principles and patterns, a single product can influence how organisations think, collaborate and deliver long after launch.
At this scale, good design isn’t just about solving problems — it’s about creating the conditions for better decisions.
When you design for trust, clarity and scale, the interface becomes almost invisible ... which is exactly the point.
