// UX Design, Web Design
Middlesex County Website Redesign
Government website redesign for Middlesex County, NJ — improving resident access to services, modernizing the visual system, and achieving WCAG accessibility compliance.
// OVERVIEW
Middlesex County, NJ serves over 850,000 residents through a complex web of government departments and services. The county website had become a disorganized accumulation of department-specific pages with no unified design system, inconsistent navigation, and significant accessibility gaps. This redesign brought the digital presence into alignment with modern government UX standards and state accessibility requirements.
// THE CHALLENGE
Government websites serve uniquely diverse populations — from tech-savvy young residents to elderly users accessing services for the first time. The existing site’s department-siloed structure meant residents searching for a specific service often couldn’t find it because they didn’t know which department was responsible. Accessibility violations also created legal and ethical exposure.
// PROCESS
RESIDENT RESEARCH
Conducted card sorting and tree testing with county residents to understand how they thought about government services — by life event (moving, getting married, starting a business) rather than by department structure.
ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT
Performed a comprehensive WCAG 2.0 AA audit identifying color contrast failures, missing alt text, keyboard navigation gaps, and form labeling issues across high-traffic pages.
DESIGN SYSTEM
Developed a unified visual system with a government-appropriate color palette, accessible typography scale, and reusable component library that all departments could adopt.
VALIDATION
Tested redesigned flows with representative residents including elderly users and those using assistive technology. Iterated based on observed friction points.
// OUTCOME
Delivered a modernized, accessible county website that organized services around resident needs rather than internal org structure. The new design system provided a scalable foundation for all county departments to maintain visual consistency independently.
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