I was the Product & Service Design Lead on the HMRC Mobile App. When I joined the HMRC App team in April 2018 the overall experience was very fragmented varying from screen to screen. One of the initial challenges I faced adding new services to the app was that there were no governing patterns to follow, so I set out to create some to build harmony across the app.

Through 2018-2020 we redesigned the HMRC app so that it fell into line with GOV.UK Design standards and created a fully accessible, cohesive user experience on both Android and iOS. But as the GOV.UK Design System is web-based and not for native apps we needed another solution. So we designed and built one and as is standard GOV.UK practice, open-sourced it.

I’ve written about the work we did and the challenges we faced creating it.

At the start of 2024 we found out Invision was off to the design tools graveyard so we rebuilt it in Figma. The new version brought with it a greater ability to quickly build for a variety of different screen sizes and accessibility features at the flick of a toggle.

The Mobile App Design System is often used as mobile best practice in Government and has been used in other areas of Government including apps for Brexit that needed to be developed rapidly. The articles are often referenced by others on what to consider when building your own design system, including ensuring things are accessible for everyone and that you constantly evaluate whether what is in it is still fit for purpose.

I have given talks and presentations to the NHS and GDS on building design systems and mobile app accessibility. 50% of all people accessing their personal tax account do so via mobile.