Design is a critical part of government — it touches services and experiences that are crucial to all of us as citizens. But it’s hardly without challenges. Rules and regulations, antiquated technologies, and bureaucratic roadblocks are just some of the issues that designers transforming public institutions overcome every day.
Why attend?
You’ll learn how to take your design skills upstream to influence policy and organizations
You’ll meet designers and decisionmakers working for the public good from all corners of the civic technology world
We’ll celebrate the triumphs of good work, from nonprofits to city government to federal agencies
Design isn’t just pushing pixels — it’s creating systems, processes, and products. So whatever your title or specialty, if you’re working to make things better in government, you’re one of us!
Agenda
8–9am ET
Registration
Final call for event registration
9-9:15am ET
Intro
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Susan Taylor, DotGov Design Chair
9:15-9:45am ET
Opening Keynote
Prioritizing Empathy to Achieve Lasting Change
Presentation by Amy Wilson
10-11:30am ET
Track 1
Creating Accessible Content for Digital Government
Talk by Marian Avery and Kevin McLaughlin
Track 2
Lightning Talks
- Transforming Technology the 10x Way
Will Cahoe - Creating a People-centred Approach in Government Digital Services: Outside In or Inside Out?
Premika PoSaw - Keeping Older Adults Housed Through Inclusive Design
Adam Motiwala - Applying Lessons Learned from Estonia’s e-State Journey
Joel Burke - Human Centered City Permitting
Alex Johnston
Track 3
Journey Mapping Access to Justice
Workshop with Crystal Sprague
Track 4
Context-Aware Systems: Preparing for a Culture Shift in Data Design and Trust
Talk with Anjali Mehta and Cat Nikolovski
11:45am–12:45pm EST
Creative Lunch
Track 1
Digital Accessibility: A Crucial Ingredient of Ethical Civic Tech Design
Talk with Lainey Feingold
Track 2
Designing Inclusive + Effective Tech Sprints
Panel with Drew Zachary and Lorena Molina-Irizarry
Track 3
From 'For' to 'With' to 'By' People
Interactive panel with Michael Baskin, Larissa Johnson, and Susanne Brunhart-Wiggins
Track 4
Why Type Design Matters for Government
Talk with Eleni Beveratou
1–2:30pm ET
Track 1
The Content Strategy of Civil Discourse: Turning Conflict into Collaboration
Talk by David Dylan Thomas
Track 2
Transforming Government Services with Empathy
Lessons from the launch of civilrights.justice.gov with Aviva Oskow and Uchenna Moka-Solana
Track 3
The Readability of Government Information
A conversation with Gareth Ford Williams, Bruno Maag, David Bailey, and John F. Croston, III
Track 4
Eye Spy Design: CIA’s New Look
Talk by CIA's Office of Public Affairs
2:45–4:15pm ET
Track 1
Designing a Tech Talent Movement for the People, by the People
A panel featuring Jennifer Anastasoff, Michelle Shevin, and Clarice Chan
Track 2
Building Solutions and Empathy: Using Co-Creation with Government Personnel to Inspire Design and Improve Services
Panel hosted by Philip Freidhoff
Track 3
Shifting Power in Design
Talk by Sarah Fathallah
Track 4
Equity in Government Forms: Improving Federal Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data Collection
Talk by Danielle Thierry and Amy Paris
4:30–6pm ET
Track 1
Trauma-Informed Design for Public Service
A talk by Rachael Dietkus
Track 2
Lightning Talks
- Increasing the Maturity of Your Org One Project at a Time
Victor Udoewa - Making Accessibility More Approachable
Scott Spector - Building Design Empathy Remotely
Elyse Voegeli - An Overview of COVID-19 Dashboard
Hunter Owens - Promoting Health Equity in COVID-19
Elham Ali, Johanna Yi
Track 3
Together, Changing the Lyme Disease Status Quo
A panel featuring Dr. Kristen Honey, Ashleigh Axios, Alex Wilson, Bennett Nemser
Track 4
22 New Ideas for How the Government Can Wield Technology to Serve the Public
A panel featuring Nico Papafil, Will Cahoe, Amin Mehr, Sarah Crane, Natasha Bansgopaul
6:15–6:45pm ET
Closing Keynote
Designing Government Transformation (Why the mantra “the strategy is delivery” is not enough)
Presentation by Joy Bonaguro
6:45–7pm ET
Outro
Closing remarks
7-8pm ET
Social Hour
Meet the speakers & audience members
Sponsored by
The DotGov Design Conference is produced by AIGA DC, a 100% volunteer-run, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Major thanks to the following partners and sponsors for their support of the DC design community.
DotGov Design Sponsor
Impactful by design
We craft creative solutions and build technology products that improve the communities you serve.
Contributing Sponsor
Event Sponsor
Code of Conduct
AIGA DC is dedicated to providing harassment-free experiences for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability status, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, age, religion, or political affiliation.
We expect individuals who attend our events to also adhere to the National AIGA Code of Conduct.
Accessibility
All DotGov Design Conference sessions will have live closed captioning. If you need any additional accommodations to fully access the event, please fill out this accommodation request form or send an email to [email protected].
DEI Pledge
AIGA DC is committed to making Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion a core part of the chapter’s mission and all of our programming. *Learn more about the chapter's commitments around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility AIGA DC Accessibility Statement
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