Putting Families First.

‍As part of my master's program, I teamed up with five other designers to tackle a project that truly mattered: helping the New Zealand Ministry of Justice better serve families in need. Fragmented navigation and buried resources created friction in moments where clarity and speed were critical.

Our challenge was to translate a partial agency redesign into a structured, scalable design system that could guide the rest of the Ministry’s website, establishing a consistent framework that improved accessibility today while enabling the Ministry’s future digital growth.

Deciphering the Challenge.

‍The Ministry’s website was a patchwork of updated and legacy pages, making it unclear where users would encounter friction. At the time, we focused on analyzing both sets of pages to see what worked and what didn’t, and to identify patterns we could standardize. Looking back, I would have validated these assumptions with users and stakeholders earlier, to clarify which inconsistencies mattered most and ensure the system balanced usability, accessibility, and maintainability, while also giving the Ministry a tool they could use independently.

The Discovery Process.

‍Once we understood the scope of the project, we dove into both updated and legacy pages, dissecting each to identify which patterns worked, which caused friction, and where gaps existed. We ran workshops with stakeholders and subject matter experts to uncover assumptions about how content should be structured and which priorities mattered most. At the time, our focus was on documenting these patterns and consolidating them into a consistent framework. Looking back, I would have involved the website's users more directly at this stage to validate which patterns truly supported their goals, rather than relying primarily on internal assumptions. Balancing these insights with stakeholder priorities would have ensured the design system supported both user needs and the Ministry’s long-term objectives from the start.

Designing the Solution.

‍Using the patterns we identified, we built a scalable design system that could guide the continual redesign of the Ministry’s website. We made deliberate choices about which visual and interaction patterns to adopt, adapt, or retire, weighing clarity, accessibility, and long-term maintainability against the Ministry’s practical constraints. The design system was structured to allow Ministry teams to continue redesigning the website independently, ensuring updates could be implemented internally rather than relying on external agencies.

We piloted the design system on one of the Ministry’s most visited sections to validate how well the standardised patterns supported usability and content clarity.

Beyond the Design.

‍While our focus was on improving the experience for families navigating difficult situations, the design system also created a foundation the Ministry could continue to build on internally.

Looking back, I would have prioritised earlier validation with real users alongside stakeholder collaboration, ensuring the patterns we established were grounded in both lived experience and organisational needs. The project highlighted that effective design systems are not just about visual consistency, but about creating structures that enable teams to sustainably evolve their digital services over time.