Crowning glory of GOV.UK websites updated, sparking frontend upgrades GOV.UK websites this week started implementing a major change: a new crown icon. Head of design Laura Yarrow and senior interaction designer Chris Ballantine-Thomas offered a history lesson to explain the motivation for the change. "In September 2022, the College of Arms announced His Majesty King Charles III's Royal Cypher, …
The whole beta thing is bizarre - people actually working on and relying on these services see them as anything but.
These are big and awesome systems that actually impressed me when I first used them. Applying for a passport is EASY now. The "live flood warmings" system is really good, and scales as well as you expect/need.
When I look at what companies* do I think this kind of delicate rebranding after 75 years is fine. Yes, it does nothing to improve the morass of whalesong bullshit that runs with the logo but it still needed to be done.
* The BBC's infantilist and self-parodying rebranding a few years ago springs to mind. I bet Perfect Curve are gutted that they didn't get the account.
Back when I was involved in GOV stuff, the last step in the development of a service was “obtain ministerial sign-off”. That was the point a beta transitioned to live.
Anecdotally, ministerial sign-off was both the hardest thing to obtain and the least useful, so a lot of teams either didn’t bother or perpetually kept it in the backlog. So a lot of services got all the way to very functional betas and stayed there.
I think the rules have been updated now, but I can’t be bothered looking to see if that particular thing has changed.
《why would a minister give a sign-off for a website to remove the word "beta"?》
With the current dismal crop of ministerial talent I shouldn't be surprised if they were to think that beta meant better.
I don't suppose anyone would notice or really cares whether the web site sports a Tudor or St Edward crown icon. I am not certain the average Brit would notice if the diagonal red parts of the Union flag were removed (but they might in Ulster. :)
They should start by dragging their services into the modern age. I recently had to use DVLA (UK vehicle and driver database) to update my address and here's the message from their front page:
Use this service to change the address in your log book to a new UK address.
This service is available from 7am to 8pm.
What the heck? Does this mean any overly fast driving at night won't result in a ticket because their database is having a little nap? ;)
Sounds to me more like they have instances turned off overnight to save money.
Appropriate for the nonprod systems, but production?
The systems I know of are actually pretty damned good - the check for flooding one is used nationally (and deals with traffic spikes nicely) when we get crappy weather, and the password application service is simply awesome.
I would imagine there's a few reasons. Reduced attack vector, so no-one can compromise the site and government systems whilst the site is effectively shut. Dodgy updates that would flag but can't be dealt with whilst the offices aren't open, and to allow office staff to be on hand for support if required.
Yep - can't even get things like PIP details online, you have to phone them up and wait for hours.
Still, noone disabled could possibly have anything else to do, like a job...
They can't even email documents at all - they can only request that they get printed and posted - I really don't need more paper...
PIP is already awarded on an "ongoing" basis (meaning it doesn't need a review for an extended time period, because my condition isn't going to change).
It's just that blue badge application needs a "recent" letter... which is just daft, just have the system query DWP and get a "yes, meets criteria" or "no, doesn't" directly from my NI - it's not exactly rocket surgery. Or look at my previous application and see that it said "ongoing", and just reissue the badge.
You think that's crap, you should try the Policia Nacional site for foreigners in Spain... You can only book an appointment when the police station is open!! 9-14h and it's shut in the summer for 3 months and you can't go to one outside of where you live.
I recently renewed my drivers license on the DVLA site but initially couldn't access that part of the site as my browser blocks third-party cookies so I had to enable them for that site for it to work. However, I've never had any issues renewing my Road Tax (or whatever it's called these days), or when renewing my passport last year.
It's inconsistencies like that which cause problems and annoy people.
That's nothing. The only reasons I still have a fax is because I some times deal with American organisations and only a few years ago I had to fax a form and I could only fax it during (their) office hours while on the phone to the recipient because they had to walk to the fax machine to pick it up and confirm receipt. Someone needs to tell the US about this invention called the Internet.
I assume you're waiting for the day that Charles' crown will be replaced with a stylised representation of a Roundhead's helmet, then?
I mean, it could happen- given what happened to the first one, weren't they already tempting fate by putting the new King Charles' disembodied head on a 50p coin?
"Roundhead's helmet"
Probably not the most politic to bring up the Lord Protector when the crown rests on head bearing the name of a rather less fortunate Stuart monarch.
Cromwell is much maligned by the later writers of the victors' history and the Protectorate, by comparison with the current schmozzle, has much to recommend it (Ireland excepted.)
> Probably not the most politic to bring up the Lord Protector when the crown rests on head bearing the name of a rather less fortunate Stuart monarch.
Assuming you're referring to King Charles I (i.e. "the first one"), that *was* the entire point of the joke in the first place.
Yeah...let's spend more tax payer's money on an unnecessary job. Not as though we need to be spending it on roads, railways, hospitals, schools, care homes, housing, military...well just about everything in this country really, as things are falling apart. Still, at least it's keeping some IT staff in a job.
Good to know that with spending cuts resulting in crimes not being investigated and reduced military capabilities, they've at least got the time and money to do important things like changing millions of logos to a slightly different looking crown......
Of course, just keeping on using the same crown logo would be far too sensible to contemplate - just imagine how hard it must be to live in countries that don't have to replace every single postbox, government form, uniform and banknote every time the head of state changes!
Quote - just imagine how hard it must be to live in countries that don't have to replace every single postbox, government form, uniform and banknote every time the head of state changes!
If you are in the UK, you do. My nearest postbox sill has GR on it (George for those who don't know postbox put up between 1910-1936)
The 'old' banknotes and coins will only be withdrawn when they become too worn to use.
In Scotland, you’re far more likely to find a GR or even VR postbox than an EIIR one.. We dont have the Elizabeth II cypher on post boxes as a general rule, nor do Royal Main vehicles have it on the side (occasionally a van will migrate from England with it, but vehicles delivered to Scottish DOs new don’t).
They just show the crown of St Andrew (the symbol of the monarchy in Scotland, as seen on the late Queens coffin as she lay in rest in Edinburgh). It all stems from a brief angry nationalist/republican campaign a few decades back when it was noted that Betty 2 was not actually the second monarch of that name north of the border, and that the first had actually had our Queen, Mary, executed.
Anyway, to boil it all down, the symbol of the monarchy in Scotland doesn’t change with the monarch. The St Andrews crown remains and in rare instances where it is used on its own, or as part of the Scottish coat of arms (few people notice that Scotland has its own coat of arms, distinct to that of England and Wales) will remain.
I think you'll find they'll do it gradually Howard, they don't just chuck stuff out. You'll note there are still post boxes knocking around with a pre Elizabeth deceased monarch on them. There are still other things going on in the world that don't just stop just because there's one problem somewhere else we think should be solved.
"just imagine how hard it must be to live in countries that don't have to replace every single postbox, government form, uniform and banknote every time the head of state changes!"
Such as the UK. My local postbox is a VR one, banknotes are changed very few years to keep up with note fraud, government forms are changed whenever the content in them changes, uniforms change whenever some HR spod wants to give a millinary contract to a mate.
For websites, wouldn't it simply mean uploading a new png to the path of the old png ?
.
Anyway this is small change compared to the ludicrous Gordon Brown's brief phase of changing the names of agencies etc. to the Soviet-inspired prefix of 'The People's'; as in The People's Post Office.
Now that was embarrassing...
If there was ever a demonstration that good UX designers are worth it, any GOV.UK hosted site demostrates why you should hire them.
Without exception, the current lot is unwieldy, amateur, buggy....
The logo ius a VERY long way down the implementation list - or it should be.
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