Credits

The Chicago Design System (CDS) is the design system for the people and government of the City of Chicago. It has been produced by policy-makers, technologists, designers, visionaries, and more–all people like you.

Work began early in 2018 as a unique collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Innovation & Technology, and the Department of Fleet and Facility Management. Team leads Grace Cheung, Danielle DuMerer, Alberto Ferrari, and Jason Kunesh worked in pro bono partnership with Ogilvy’s Chicago office and local type designer Patric King of House of Pretty. Throughout the process we have relied upon partners inside and outside government to make this work.

Thank you!

A special thank you to Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot for seeing value in and sponsoring this project despite its humble origins.

• Drs. Sheena Erete & Denise Nacu of DePaul University’s College of Computing and Digital Media
• Tanner Woodford at the Design Museum of Chicago
• Stephanie, Morgan & Tim at Figma
• Lauren & Ritchie at Frontify
• Google Fonts team
• Patric King at House of Pretty
• Gabe, Hannah, Hillary, Phil, Steve & co at Ogilvy
• Luke & Jake at Threadless for helping out.
• I N T E R N S!!! Huge thanks to the original intern, Tait Chamberlain, his trusty second Lukas Hoffman, and third intern Derek Hunter Ramos of 2018 fame. In 2019, Gregory Kim and Abigail Lammers helped us rock out the rest of v1 of our design system work.
• @kilinkis for suggestions for the flag page.
• Nick Leggin & Joe Germuska for feedback on the home page messaging.

THANK YOU ALL!

This work would not have been possible without Cara Bader, Derrick Brownlee, Grace Cheung, Maurice Classen, Michael Crowley, Danielle DuMerer, Douglas Hurdelbrink, Emily Krisciunas, Jamey Lundblad, Daniel Lurie, Stacey Mansker-Young, Carleton Nolan, Han Nguyen, Tim Samuelson, and many, many more at the City of Chicago. Thanks to Mayor Rahm Emanuel for originating this project and requesting someone like me be hired to work on 311 and this effort.

In any project spanning two years and administrations to get to version 0.9, a village doesn’t cut it. It takes a city.

Thank you, Chicago, for all you are and all you can be.

Dedication

I’d like to dedicate this work to Dan & Gail Kunesh, my parents, and Lora Kovac, Sophia & Vivian Kunesh, my wife & kids. My parents taught me through their actions that faith, hope, and love move the world. I’ve done my best to keep that wisdom alive for the next generation.