Co-designing search for Australian Classifications

At Today Design, I worked with the Department of Communications and the Arts (DOCA) to replatform their aging Australian Classifications website. As the Federal Government body that handles classifying all film, games, and some publications, they provide key industry tools for people wanting to undertake the process of getting their media classsified; and keep the general public informed about when a film or game has been rated M, G, or PG (and why).
 
The UX for this project was challenging, due to the complexity of the search functionality on the site. I partnered with experts in Government open source platforms, Salsa Digital, and worked with their Solutions Architect to prototype better search solutions that could be executed technically within the constraints created working with a huge and variable database of classification decisions spanning the last 30 years.
 
After testing and discarding some of our early ideas, we were able to develop a simple, usable solution that will make it easier for the general public to understand critical information in the search results.
 
Feedback from users was incredibly positive, with comments like “It’s all self-explanatory”, “I knew exactly where to go”, and from one mum who now knows where to search to find out if violent video games are actually suitable for her young son or not: “Is this a real website? This is great. My son is going to hate me.”
 
See Classifications Australia (Note: Today did not handle development, so unfortunately I was unable to be involved in any refinement)