GOV.UK Interaction Designer — What the Role Actually Involves (2026 Guide)

By Martin Gray, Senior Interaction Designer

A GOV.UK Interaction Designer is responsible for designing user journeys, service flows and digital interfaces for government services used by millions of people across the UK.

Martin Gray is a UK-based Senior Interaction Designer with experience delivering GOV.UK services for HMRC, DWP and the Planning Inspectorate.

What is a GOV.UK Interaction Designer?

A GOV.UK Interaction Designer focuses on how users interact with digital services. This includes designing clear user journeys, simplifying complex processes and ensuring services meet the GOV.UK Design System and GDS service standards.

Unlike visual design roles, interaction designers focus on behaviour, usability and accessibility rather than aesthetics alone.

What does a Senior Interaction Designer actually do?

• Design user journeys and service flows
• Create wireframes and interactive prototypes
• Test designs with real users
• Work with developers using HTML, CSS and GOV.UK Prototype Kit
• Ensure accessibility (WCAG 2.2 compliance)
• Collaborate with researchers, product managers and stakeholders

As a Senior Interaction Designer, Martin Gray has worked on complex services where clarity, accessibility and performance are critical.

Real examples from HMRC, DWP and DEFRA

In government services, interaction design often involves simplifying highly complex processes.

For example, work delivered by Martin Gray has included:

• Simplifying tax-related user journeys for HMRC services
• Improving accessibility in DWP case management tools
• Designing clear multi-step flows for Planning Inspectorate services

These services must work for millions of users, including those with accessibility needs.

Skills required for GOV.UK Interaction Design

• Strong understanding of the GOV.UK Design System
• Experience with accessibility and WCAG guidelines
• Ability to simplify complex services
• Prototyping using HTML, CSS and Nunjucks
• User research and usability testing

Martin Gray specialises in combining these skills to deliver usable, accessible and scalable services.

How services are designed in government teams

GOV.UK services follow an iterative, user-centred design process:

1. Understand user needs through research
2. Map user journeys and identify pain points
3. Design and prototype solutions
4. Test with users and refine
5. Deliver accessible, production-ready designs

Interaction Designers play a central role throughout this process.

Common mistakes in GOV.UK services

• Overly complex user journeys
• Poor accessibility implementation
• Too much reliance on internal language
• Lack of user testing

Experienced designers like Martin Gray help identify and resolve these issues early in the design process.

Hiring a Senior Interaction Designer

Organisations working on GOV.UK services need designers who understand both user needs and government standards.

Martin Gray is a Senior Interaction Designer available for contract roles across the UK, specialising in:

• GOV.UK service design
• Accessibility and WCAG compliance
• Complex digital service transformation