April 15, 2025  4:45 PM – 5:15 PM GMT+0
Main Track

Transforming government services with empathy: a case study on the launch of civilrights.justice.gov

Before 18F was dismantled by DOGE, they were responsible for some of the U.S. federal government’s most human-centered products. In this talk, principal product designer Aviva Oskow (she/they) will give attendees a behind the scenes look at the development and launch of civilrights.justice.gov, a product that transformed the way the Department of Justice collects, routes, tracks, and responds to civil rights complaints. As a core member of the product team, Aviva was responsible for the front-facing visual and interaction design of the portal, and helped spearhead empathy-centered practices that defined the project. Taking into account sensitive subject matter and often traumatizing experiences of users, the team focused on designing a service that could communicate in both humane and legally accurate ways, and learned lessons that can be applied far beyond this case study alone.

Principal Product Designer, 18F, Technology Transformation Services
General Services Administration