Talk given to Visual Communications students at UTS on 19 May 2015

1. Designing for a
better world
piece by little piece
Matthew Landauer
Founder / Director OpenAustralia Foundation

2. What is the
OpenAustralia Foundation?
oaf.org.au

3. Politics
Who gives a f***k?

4. It's a design problem!

5. What I'm going to talk
about

6. Story of
They Vote For You

10. 2003

17. It’s quicker and better
(mostly) to not reinvent
the wheel

18. Iterate

19. We naturally underestimate
the complexity of things
that already exist

20. It’s easy to overestimate
how clever and original
we are

23. Addition / Subtraction

24. Getting to the essence
of something

25. Culture is iterative

26. Design Principles
Ideas that guide decision making on this project.
1. Focus on enabling actions that citizens want to take and access to the
knowledge that they are looking for. Reduce the cost of them taking action.
The action is the important bit. Citizens don't need to understand the
bureaucracy in order to use and access government.
2. Assume people are smart & busy—present the important information up front
and put detail within reach.
3. Strive for universal accessibility.
4. Design and implement with Progressive Enhancement.
5. Create change by doing. Implement ideas quickly and assess—don't be frozen
by documentation and proposal.
6. Maintainability is crucial, this project should last and evolve long into the future.

35. And when you’re
done…

36. Iterate some more

37. How to get involved
• Monthly Pub Meet - Woolpack Hotel next
Tuesday 6.30pm - meetup.com
• @openaustralia, oaf.org.au
• Sign up for our monthly civic tech
newsletter on oaf.org.au
• contact@oaf.org.au

38. Questions