People point at the screen of a laptop

Our Human-Centered Approach

We build digital experiences with the goals and needs of the people engaging with City services. We believe this human-centered approach will ultimately serve the business goals and needs of City departments.

Design Thinking Methodology

  • We focus on user-centric research.
  • New features undergo usability testing and iteration.

Building Digital Experiences

We use human-centered design principles and activities to empathize with the needs and goals of people who interact with City services.

These design principles are requirements for all public-facing digital properties:

  • People first
  • Purpose
  • Simplicity
  • Usability and Accessibility

City of Seattle Digital Style Guide

Digital Equity Commitment

We ensure all residents and businesses have access to essential services. The following are fundamental to our approach:

  • consideration for internet bandwidth,
  • design for mobile devices,
  • consideration for reading level, and
  • inclusion of Google Translate for multilingual translation.

Learn about our progress towards internet connectivity for all of Seattle.

Digital Equity Progress Report