The White House’s recent executive order -- Improving Our Nation Through Better Design -- is more than a policy update. It’s a recognition that design is not superficial; it’s foundational to how citizens experience, trust, and benefit from government services. By prioritizing design clarity, usability, and consistency across agencies, the administration has elevated citizen experience (CX) to a national priority.
In many cases, government websites and digital services have been defined by fragmentation: inconsistent design, outdated functionality, and inaccessible interfaces that frustrate citizens and hinder missions. While there have been efforts in the past focused on improving citizen experience, the latest executive order signals a decisive step toward correcting those challenges, offering a framework for better design and delivery across government agencies.
Just as importantly, it could reignite momentum behind the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA), legislation that set ambitious goals for digital modernization but has seen uneven adoption since its passage in 2018. By linking IDEA’s mandate for accessibility, usability, and mobile-first design to this new emphasis on design standardization, agencies now have both political momentum and public urgency to accelerate adoption.
Why This Shift Matters -- and What It Unlocks
Clarity Through Consistency
Citizens rarely interact with just one agency. They move between services -- renewing a passport, applying for healthcare benefits, or checking environmental data -- and each touchpoint shapes their perception of government as a whole.
Today, these experiences can often feel disconnected. By aligning design standards across agencies, citizens can engage with digital services more intuitively, building trust and reducing friction in high-stakes tasks. This latest order also pairs well with the administration’s emphasis on using commercial off the shelf software versus custom-built solutions that often lead to fragmented, disjointed experiences.
A Path Forward for IDEA Act Objectives
The 21st Century IDEA Act was groundbreaking in its vision: mandate secure, accessible, mobile-first digital services that prioritize user experience. Yet, without strong oversight and consistent resources, many agencies struggled to meet these standards. This new executive order places design at the center of digital modernization, giving IDEA the structural support it needs to move from aspiration to adoption.
Design as Government Strategy
Government design is not about making sites “look better.” It’s about making them work better for the people who rely on them. Design becomes strategy when it reduces barriers, increases transparency, and improves access to critical resources. Whether it’s disaster assistance, healthcare, or education, clear and consistent design has real-world consequences.
AgencyQ’s Take: How to Make This Stick
AgencyQ has long believed that government services succeed when they are built on human-centered, data-driven design. This announcement validates what we’ve seen across decades of federal and nonprofit work: design, when combined with strategy, governance, and measurement, drives tangible outcomes.
Here’s how we help agencies translate design mandates into sustainable improvements:
- Human-Centered Audit & Persona Strategy
We start with people, not platforms. By analyzing citizen journeys, interviewing users, and building personas, we identify the critical points where design clarity impacts trust and outcomes. - Governance-Driven Design Execution
Successful design requires discipline. We establish governance frameworks -- defining roles, workflows, and accessibility standards -- to ensure design systems don’t just launch well, but evolve consistently over time. - Design Systems & Modular Delivery
We leverage component-based frameworks like the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) to deliver scalable, accessible, and reusable modules. This approach accelerates development while ensuring compliance and consistency across agencies. - Continuous Measurement & Optimization
Launch is just the beginning. We embed analytics frameworks to measure performance in real time, capturing usability metrics and citizen feedback. This allows agencies to refine designs proactively, creating services that improve continuously rather than stagnate.
The Bigger Picture: From Compliance to Confidence
For years, modernization efforts have often been measured by compliance -- simply meeting legislative requirements. But design-first thinking reframes the goal: it’s about building confidence. Citizens gain confidence when sites are usable and accessible. Agencies gain confidence when systems are stable, secure, and measurable. And leaders gain confidence when data clearly shows improved outcomes and satisfaction.
This executive order is a chance for agencies to shift from compliance-driven redesigns to confidence-driven citizen experiences. By embedding design into strategy, agencies can finally move beyond fragmented websites to deliver seamless, intuitive, and equitable digital services.
A Call to Action
Government design matters -- not just because it looks better, but because it strengthens trust, ensures equity, and helps citizens access the services they need most. The White House’s directive is a turning point. The next step is execution, where previous efforts have struggled in the past, but also where agencies must partner with the private sector for the strategy, design expertise, and technical depth to deliver.
AgencyQ specializes in uniting data, design, technology, and AI to deliver measurable impact across government, healthcare, mission-driven brands, and Fortune 500 companies. We’re ready to help agencies turn this mandate into citizen-first digital experiences that genuinely work.
Ready to reimagine your agency’s digital services? Let’s talk.