The portfolio of sites we managed had been developed incrementally. Although most of our sites shared some common features, each had a distinct look and feel. These were time consuming to produce and maintain also potentially confusing for our users. We felt that a common design would be of benefit to our users: Browsing any site would help provide familiarity with any other site developed using the same framework.
The key things we wanted to achieve with the design were:
- Promote Clarity – we wanted to cut back on the image and details and deliver a simple, clean design as we felt this would make it easier for users to find information.
- Modern Design – The Cayman Islands Government was often considered conservative and old-fashioned. We felt a modern design would help highlight the forward-thinking, progressive side of Government.
Flexible and Scalable
The Cayman Islands Government included agencies of varying sizes from small two person units to large ministries employing hundreds of people. We needed a framework that would work well for the smaller units with less information to publish as well as the larger entities who published new information daily.
We developed a modular design that worked in a stripped down version, yet could be easily expanded by agencies with more complex requirements.
Allow for some individuality
Although we felt there were clear benefits in having a consistent design for all we also know different site owners would still want their sites to have some individuality. We achieved this in the following ways.
- No set page layout – although we had a standard layout as jumping off point, it was possible to customise this by adding in additional components, or different versions of components.
- Logos and other graphics – If agencies had their own logo we were able to incorporate it into the header area of the site. There was also some scope for incorporating custom graphics in certain areas of the site.
