Overview
The Connecticut Mobile ID project set out to replace the physical driver's licence as the primary form of ID for state residents — designed for security, accessibility, and trust from the ground up.
The product needed to work for a TSA checkpoint, a bar door, and a pharmacy counter — three completely different contexts with different audiences, lighting, and urgency.
The Challenge
Government products carry the weight of public trust. Every design decision needed to feel both familiar and unmistakably official.
The biggest risk was a credential that looked easy to spoof. The design had to communicate authenticity at a glance — while still feeling like a modern, usable product.
"Design for the sceptic first. Earn trust, don't assume it."
Research & Users
We mapped four primary user groups: daily commuters, older residents unfamiliar with mobile credentials, TSA agents verifying IDs under pressure, and retail staff with no training.
Each group had a different mental model for what "ID" meant and what made it feel valid. The design had to thread all four without compromising any.
Design System
The visual system was anchored in the state's official palette with a component library built for accessibility first — high contrast, large tap targets, and screen-reader-ready throughout.
Credential display. Designed for both portrait and landscape verification contexts. Onboarding. Step-by-step identity verification that felt guided, not interrogative. Error states. Clear, calm, and actionable — never alarming.
Rollout Strategy
The phased rollout prioritised high-traffic acceptance points first — airports and DMV offices — to build familiarity before broader public deployment.
Companion materials (posters, staff guides, in-app prompts) were designed alongside the product to support every point in the rollout arc.
Outcome
A mobile credential experience that balanced security rigour with everyday usability — and a design system flexible enough to support the product as it scales to new acceptance contexts.
The product launched to a pilot cohort with strong task-completion and trust ratings across all four user groups.
Next Steps
Expanding the credential to cover additional document types, and designing for cross-state acceptance as more DMVs adopt the mDL standard.
More work below ↓