01 · Find
Search before structure
A direct answer path for residents who know the task but not the department.
← All work
One city. Hundreds of services.
Case study — Bakersfield City working prototype
One city. Hundreds of services.
A clearer way in.
We reimagined Bakersfield's municipal website around the questions residents actually bring to it — where to pay, how to apply, what to report, and what is happening next.
Explore the working prototype ↗
The prototype, live
Built to work at City Hall scale.
Explore the working prototype in desktop and mobile frames. Search, navigation, alerts, news, event filters, and responsive service paths are all interactive.
Desktop · scroll to explore
Mobile · scroll to explore
The challenge
City websites organize information like government. Residents do not.
A municipal website has to serve everyone: a homeowner paying a utility bill, a contractor checking a permit, a parent looking for a splash park, and a resident trying to understand the next council meeting. Department-first navigation makes those common tasks feel harder than they should.
The organizing idea
Start with the task. Then reveal the department.
The homepage leads with plain-language search and six high-frequency service groups. Residents can begin with what they need to accomplish, while the full government structure remains available through a deep, accessible navigation system.
✓Universal search with suggested services and clear result categories✓Resident-first paths for bills, permits, reports, parks, and public meetings✓Persistent alerts for urgent citywide information✓Responsive navigation built for desktop, tablet, and mobile use
02 · Scan
Services in plain language
Large, legible cards surface everyday actions without forcing residents through a sitemap.
03 · Stay current
News and civic calendar
Public updates, meetings, workshops, and community events share one readable system.
The content system
A civic homepage has to be useful today.
News, public works updates, planning initiatives, council meetings, and community events are treated as working parts of the service experience—not a feed bolted on at the bottom. Clear labels and consistent cards make dense public information easier to scan.
What we built
A complete, responsive civic front door.
The prototype includes an alert system, full multi-level navigation, language selection, search interactions, task-based service cards, news pagination, event filters, popular resources, and a comprehensive government footer. The system keeps the City of Bakersfield's established navy and gold while giving the digital experience more clarity, scale, and warmth.
6
High-frequency service groups surfaced immediately on the homepage
1
Universal search path across services, permits, bills, parks, and meetings
AA
Accessibility-conscious structure targeting WCAG 2.1 AA patterns
People shouldn't need to understand City Hall to get something done.
Project lead
Brendan Collins
Brendan leads UI/UX, branding, and front-end execution—turning complicated systems into clear, polished digital experiences.
For the Bakersfield City prototype, the focus was resident empathy: preserving the depth a municipal site requires while making the first click feel obvious.
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Tell us what's harder than it should be.
Send us a note. We'll show you what a clearer system could look like—no obligation, no jargon.