Digital product branding

Summary

This standard sets out the branding approach that digital products and digital services developed within, or for, the Department for Education (DfE) must follow. It ensures that products are consistently presented to users, reflecting established design principles, brand guidelines, and user needs.

Categories

The categories applicable to this standard are:

Product and Delivery

• Product Management

QA and Development

• Frontend Development

User-Centred Design and Accessibility

• Accessibility
• Content Design
• Interaction Design
• Service Design

Purpose

Definition used in this standard

Digital product, product, digital service, service, and website is anything provided through a web browser.

Consistent branding helps users recognise trusted, authoritative sources of information and services. Applying a clear, unified visual identity across DfE’s digital portfolio builds user confidence, improves accessibility and usability, and ensures that each product fits seamlessly into the wider ecosystem of government services.

This standard supports teams in choosing the correct branding style for their products, promoting a consistent, user-friendly experience.

This standard does not extend to wider patterns and components other than the ones specifically listed in this standard. For example, this standard does not restrict the use of patterns or components from other design systems such as the MoJ or Home Office design systems in addition to GOV.UK and DfE Design systems.

How to meet this standard

All DfE staff, and providers working for, or, on behalf of DfE, must meet this standard.

Products on the service.gov.uk domain

If your product is provided on the service.gov.uk domain, you must:

• use the GOV.UK header
• use GDS Transport typeface
• meet the requirements of the GOV.UK Proposition

Products on the education.gov.uk domain

For products hosted on education.gov.uk, and internal staff facing products built by DfE teams, you must:

• use the DfE header
• use the Inter typeface

There are tolerated instances where this is not appropriate. For example, PowerApps and PowerBI reports. These are detailed in the products section of this standard.

Existing products that do not meet this standard, and are not an exception, must include alignment to the standard as part of their product roadmap. If you believe you should get an exception from meeting this standard, you must contact the standard owner in the first instance.

When you need to meet this standard

New products and those in development must meet this standard at their launch from public beta.

Products in private beta phase

It is recognised that it is necessary to run private beta testing on an education.gov.uk domain, with the intention that in public beta the product will be provided on a service.gov.uk domain. In this instance, it is permitted to use the GOV.UK header and GDS Transport typeface on the education.gov.uk domain. DfE branding must be in place when the product moves to public beta on a service.gov.uk domain.

This prevents confusing users with a change in branding between domain changes when the product moves to public beta.

Guidance to help meet this standard

• Making your service look like GOV.UK
• GOV.UK Design system
• DfE Design manual
• DfE Frontend guidance

Things to consider when applying this standard

• Engage early with content and interaction designers to ensure branding choices are integrated into your service’s overall user experience.
• Understand and review the design system and proposition guidelines during development to ensure compliance before launch.
• If you are uncertain as to the applicability of this standard to your product, contact the standard owner, or the DesignOps team.

Approved products

Tolerated products

Owner and contacts

Standard owner

Andy Jones
Head of Profession - Design