One unified center to serve the Dubai government
Consulting and designing the experience to convert dozens of individual applications into one unified center to serve the Dubai government.
Task
We worked alongside the leadership team at SDG to establish the strategic positioning of the new platform, to motivate and inspire government entities to contribute the resources to achieve the vision of a unified digital service experience for all government services.
When Smart Dubai Government received a mandate from His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed to provide all government services on a single platform, the challenge was not only to deliver the digital platform but also to unite government entities to make their services available through a unified hub.
Squad X worked alongside the leadership team at SDG to establish the strategic positioning of the new platform, to motivate and inspire government entities to contribute the resources to achieve the vision of a unified digital service experience for all government services.
The positioning strategy drew on both the benefits to the government entities, and the large-scale efficiency savings to be gained from shifted to a unified approach, as well as the benefits to customers, who, rather than navigating multiple apps or visiting customer service centers, would be able to avail dozens of government services “now.”
The unified government service platform required a brand identity that was as broad as its vision, to unite all Dubai government services in a single digital experience.
To amplify the citywide scope of the vision, we took the bold move of adopting the recently-announced logo for the city of Dubai as the primary element of the logomark. In so doing, we were aligning the application now with one government entity, but with the entire city. This move not only made the app more appealing to customers by anchoring the product with a recognizable and trusted logomark, but it also served to further demonstrate to government entities that the app reflected a citywide effort that encompassed all government services.
Next, to underscore the core value proposition of the app — the ability to transact government services in a matter of moments — we changed the name from the product from “mDubai for Individuals” to “DubaiNow,” instantly conveying both the scope of impact of the service.
Working alongside SDG, we advised in the design of a journey-based experience where like services were clustered into categories, such as driving or school or travel. A user dashboard was also included so that registered users could review with one-tap access their latest payments and due dates for a range of services from salik (road tolls) and parking payments to visa renewals and utility bills.
We also delivered the UI components, designed to allow for easy adaptation to a diversity of services while maintaining a consistent and refreshing look and feel.