Pulpo is our attempt at building a pattern library & design system framework for city websites. We found in redesigning our own municipal website, there is not a great starting place for communities undertaking this task in-house. Pulpo is meant to provide you with a starter kit of tools aimed at helping you track & utilize best practices en route to launching your own site -- wherever you are in the process of development.
- Foundation
- Pattern Library
- Vision and Goals
- Information Architecture
- User Stories Template
- Style Guide
- Platform Selection
- Assembly
- Color Palette
- City-government specific page templates
- Platform Installation / Configuration
- Implementation
- Rewrite and Migrate Content
- Design CSS / HTML
Many of these steps can happen in parallel. Additionally, many of the steps are iterative; don't be surprised if you find your way back at the beginning! It's good to revisit and revise these steps.
A notable omission is "integration". Enabling your city's website talk to other systems is a good idea, eventually. However, this is a rabbit hole and can easily distract from the main goal.
Pulpo is the Spanish word for Octopus, a creature with eight tentacles. We felt this was a fitting metaphor for government websites, which serve a diverse array of stakeholders and require a deft set of hands manage them properly.
