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Designing well

Guidelines

How we make Orbit usable, accessible, and clear for every person on every product — the cross-cutting standards that apply beyond any single component. They hold whether the work is done by a person or drafted by an AI tool.

UX Guidelines → Accessibility
[01]

The standards

Three areas of guidance, each applying across the whole suite.

A11Y

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 AA as a baseline — contrast, keyboard, focus, ARIA — and guidance on going further.
UX

UX Guidelines

The layer above component selection — composition and flow, state completeness, page-level accessibility, and content that fits the audience.
CW

Content & writing

Voice, tone, UI text, and formatting standards for clear, accessible government communication.