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Revize · City website · Approved September 2026

Utica, New York

Utica was leaving an old CMS that had boxed its site in. The principle from kickoff was simple: put the common actions up front, with no drill-down, because burying them was the old site's main failing.

Visual DesignIAService TilesADA
Home1440 × 4090
Home design

The brief

Common actions, up front

Utica has served the Mohawk Valley since 1832. The city uses its seal rather than a logo, wanted real panoramic photography of the city, and was building a GovWell services portal in parallel that the new site would front.

I transcribed the kickoff recording locally and turned it into structured design notes, so every decision below traces back to something the city said.

The approach

Tiles as the centerpiece

The client asked for square and rectangular geometry only, with no circles anywhere. I built the homepage around a grid of square service tiles directly under a calm, split hero, so the most-used tasks are one click from the front page.

BrandingThe black-and-white city seal, cropped round, sits beside “Utica, New York” and the line “Incorporated 1832.” District brands for the brewery and arts districts stay off this site.
GeometrySquare and rectangular forms only, per the client. Cards, buttons, and image frames all follow the rule.
Service tilesEight editable tiles: tax assessment roll, budget, tax bills, the GovWell services portal, permits, bids and RFPs, meetings, and employment, which the city wanted at the top level.
HeroStatic and taller than before, with no zoom or pan. Real city photography sits beside a deep green panel carrying small welcome text.
Type and colorThe type pairing came from the client's shortlist of four Google sans families. I steered the color away from the previous campaign blue to a deep civic green on cream.

The rest of the approved set · desktop, 1440px

Interior page1440 × 2767
Interior page design
Department template1440 × 2656
Department template design
Interactions and menus1440 × 4066
Interactions and menus design

Outcome

One round to approval

The concept went through a single revision round before the city approved it. The tile grid and the seal treatment carried through unchanged.

1
revision round between the first concept and approval.

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Village of Limestone, Illinois↗