Case Digital and Population Data Services Agency
The way to develop the world’s best society is together
Suomidigi.fi is a web service provided by the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The purpose of the service is to offer proactive, organised and up-to-date content to support the development of digital services in the public sector. On top of the web service, Suomidigi is also strongly linked with different events, inclusive workshops and training sessions. Together these events and services help workers in different maturity levels of public administration to advance digitalisation.
Starting point
In the Autumn of 2019, Redland’s UX Designer began building the new Suomidigi.fi together with the client, Frantic, Hellon and Druid. The goal was to design a user-driven, scalable and accessible web service, and to publish it in February 2020.
The actual project had been kicked off already a year and a half earlier, but the new co-operating designers jumped onboard at a point where multiple public administration websites were asked to be moved under the broader Suomidigi service. The aim of the collaborative design process was to improve the web service’s user experience along with the information architecture, as well as to clarify the concept by deepening customer insight. Because Suomidigi is a service provided by public administration, it also had to fulfill lawful requirements on accessibility.
The client also wished to update the Suomidigi brand and visual look along with the brand renewal of the whole agency. They wanted to make Suomidigi a natural part of the entirety, acting as a sibling brand for Suomi.fi. Redland was chosen as Suomidigi’s brand reformer, resulting in a concept designer and an art director joining the team.
Designing the web service
Hellon and Frantic conducted a study in the Autumn of 2019, revealing that Suomidigi was mainly seen as a databank for the development of public sector’s digitalisation. Because of that, the web service renewal began with designing a new information architecture and user interface structure, both contentwise and visually.
Because the brand and contents of the website were all still a work in progress, we designed the interface to include flexible elements and page layouts that could be utilised for building the contents according to the new information architecture structure.
Because the Suomidigi brand was supposed to be made into a sibling brand for Suomi.fi, we wanted to utilise the Suomi.fi Design System’s style in the new user interface. Due to the technology used, we could not exploit Suomi.fi’s React-based user interface component library, but we still aspired and managed to design certain elements to follow the logic laid out by the website of the sibling brand.
The web service was developed agilely in short sprints of two weeks. That way we could make quick adjustments and add new functionalities to the previously developed version.
The brand renewal
The improvement of the brand was started by Redland’s team with the use of strategic planning, gathering insight about business and customers. The key messages were formed and shaped with a user-driven approach, using the methods of service design and working together with the client’s team.
Suomidigi’s mission was molded into being a strong support to specialists by offering knowledge and tools for developing the world’s best society – together.
The strategy is to keep people in the core of all operations – in both the services developed and in the actual role of a developer. That is why all Suomidigi’s knowledge, support, tools and collaboration models highlight a human viewpoint and practicality, together with inspiration.
We all need help from others every now and then, and that is why all Suomidigi’s operations culminate in this one key message: “The development of the world’s best society happens together”.
Results
The new Suomidigi.fi was published on February 7th 2020. The digital services legislation was brought to the service using the fixed user interface and the same format will be used when the data management legislation is added. The new service has been well received – inside the bureau, and by other users.
“With teamwork, we were able to build Suomidigi into a clear entirety. We reached the objectives set out for the team, and we received good feedback from the target audience, our agency’s management, as well as other stakeholders. Redland had a very important role in helping us reach our goals.”
