Gov.uk wins Design of the Year 2013

Screenshot of a page from the gov.uk website , landing on the welcome to gov.uk page — Gov.uk - a website that combines all of the UK government's online domains into a central hub - has won the Design Museum's Design of the Year 2013, as well as scooping the top prize in the 'digital' category of the awards

(Image credit: TBC)

Happy faces might be rare at London's Number Ten these days, but there will be smiles all round at the news that Gov.uk has won the Design Museum's Designs of the Year Award 2013. In fact, no matter what your politics, this groundbreaking website designed by the Government Digital Service is truly worth celebrating. Already being held up as a benchmark alongside such other British graphic icons as Margaret Calvert’s road signs, and Harry Beck’s tube map, the new Gov.uk has achieved the seemingly impossible: making interacting with government straightforward.

An exercise in sophisticated simplification, Gov.uk combines all of the UK government’s websites into a single domain. Where most websites look to keep visitors reading as long as possible, design director Ben Terrett explains that here, the opposite is true. 'We want the experience to be fast and easy, so if people are spending ages on one page, it’s not working,' he says.

Among a host of initiatives to make politics more transparent, the website adheres to a strict style guide. Visitors will no longer be baffled by words such as ‘tackling’ (unless the context is about rugby), ‘deliver’ (unless it’s about pizza or post, not policies), and ‘disincentivise’. The winning design was chosen from 98 entries to claim the overall prize, and the award was collected by Terret and Mike Bracken, executive director of Government Digital Service.

The Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader said: 'For the first time, people can find out what's happening inside government, all in one place, and in a clear and consistent format. It is just another example of Britain's world class design talent standing out on the global stage.'

Six other projects were also awarded as category winners, including the Tour Bois-Le-Prêtre in Paris, designed by Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal for the architecture category; and Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s 'Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel', for fashion. Konstantin Grcic picked up the award in the furniture category for his Medici Chair for Mattiazzi, the Venice Architecture Biennale identity by John Morgan Studio won best graphics, and Kit Yamoyo by ColaLife and PI Global won best product. Finally in the transport category, Vitamins won with the Morph Folding Wheel. They have reinvented the wheel, and in doing so – like the Government Digital Service – they’ve proved that going back to basics is the key to great design.

Screenshot of a page from the gov.uk website , with the topic 'UK bank holidays' — **Overall and digital winner:** Gov.UK Website, by Government Digital Service

Screenshot of a page from the gov.uk website , landing on the ministry of defence page — **Overall and digital winner:** Gov.UK Website, by Government Digital Service

Screenshot of a page from the gov.uk website with the topic 'Starting up a business' — **Overall and digital winner:** Gov.UK Website, by Government Digital Service

Multi-storey building with trees around, captured during the day from a distance — **Architecture winner:** La Tour-Bois-Le-Prêtre, Paris, by Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

A storey building with glass balconies, photographed during the day behind trees — **Architecture winner:** La Tour-Bois-Le-Prêtre, Paris, by Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

A movie poster with the image of a woman and the name DIANA VREELAND written across — **Fashion winner: '**Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel', by Lisa Immordino Vreeland

A woman having a conversation with a man at a party with her hands dressed in white gloves on his chest — **Fashion winner: '**Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel', by Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Black and white image with a man smoking in a room with a wall filled with pinned pictures on the wall behind — **Fashion winner: '**Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel', by Lisa Immordino Vreeland

A woman in a red outfit , sitting on a red printed sofa with matching decor in the room. — **Fashion winner: '**Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel', by Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Two yellow and Two Grey chairs photographed against white background — **Furniture winner:** Medici Chair, by Konstantin Grcic, for Mattiazzi

Two men outside a building with brown brick walls, putting up a sign with white background and black text. Photographed during the day — **Graphics winner:** Venice Architecture Biennale Identity, by John Morgan Studio

Black text on white background photographed upclose — **Graphics winner:** Venice Architecture Biennale Identity, by John Morgan Studio

White screen with the texts 'Common Ground' written in black text — **Graphics winner:** Venice Architecture Biennale Identity, by John Morgan Studio

Miniature white sculptures against a white wall with black texts — **Graphics winner:** Venice Architecture Biennale Identity, by John Morgan Studio

Black wheels photographed against a grey background — **Transport winner:** Morph Folding Wheel , by Vitamins, for Maddak Inc. Our eagle eyes first spotted a prototype of this design back in 2010 - then titled the 'Crossbred Folding Wheel' by designer and Vitamin co-founder Duncan Fitzsimons. It featured in our Next Generation Issue (W*130)

A hand holding the handle of a black luggage bag, photographed against a grey background — **Transport winner:** Morph Folding Wheel , by Vitamins, for Maddak Inc

Black wheelchair photographed against a white background — **Transport winner:** Morph Folding Wheel , by Vitamins, for Maddak Inc

Filled red crate of coca cola photographed from above against a white background — **Product winner:** Kit Yamoyo, by Colalife and PI Global

A bicycle packed outside with two filled red coca cola crates attached (behind the seat). photographed outside a building during the day — **Product winner:** Kit Yamoyo, by Colalife and PI Global

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Henrietta Thompson is a London-based writer, curator, and consultant specialising in design, art and interiors. A longstanding contributor and editor at Wallpaper*, she has spent over 20 years exploring the transformative power of creativity and design on the way we live. She is the author of several books including The Art of Timeless Spaces, and has worked with some of the world’s leading luxury brands, as well as curating major cultural initiatives and design showcases around the world.