I was asked recently what I thought about the new Inside Government section of the almost new gov.uk website. I wrote this:
Ah! Well...
I love the way it looks. I love that the content is written in plain English that I can read quickly and understand readily. I love that the pages look smart and that huge care has been taken about the layout and small things like the choice of typefaces. I think it is great that the content displays as well on mobile devices as it does on screen. I think it's brilliant that the look and feel will be consistent whichever department provides the content. I love the style. It beams confidence. It makes me think about Government differently.
I love the way that the Government Digital Service (GDS) have gone about the job. Their design principles are marvellous. It's great that they have started with a small amount of content, that they will be adding more soon, and that they are geared up to improve what they have done based on the feedback they get. It's inspiringly bold to put an indicator of how they are doing at the top of the pages (even though it only shows 2 out of 24 at the moment). It's wonderful that they have used open source software and any additional code they have written themselves has been shared for anyone to use. I love that they have already written twelve public blog posts about what they are doing and that these were authored by eight different members of the team; it's heartening that these people so obviously take a real pride in what they are doing.
And I love the reaction. It's wonderful that people like Tim O'Reilly (whom I respect hugely and who has no reason on earth to say things he doesn't mean) have been so positive about this and the other things that GDS are doing.
GDS have (genuinely) thought big, started small and moved fast. It's a completely classy job. They are showing the way.
We should follow.
'nuff said.