Designing a digital service for Scotland
Accountant in Bankruptcy
- Website
- UX / UI
- Digital Scotland Service Standard
- Scottish Government Design System
Background
Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) is the Scottish Government’s executive agency responsible for delivering debt relief and debt management options in Scotland.
As a critical public service, AiB’s website plays an essential role in supporting people at often difficult points in their lives. It needed to be fully accessible, easy to use, and formally assessed against the Digital Scotland Service Standard (DSSS), while also meeting the needs of professional audiences operating within a highly regulated environment.
Bright Signals were appointed to lead a full digital transformation — from discovery through to design, development and launch — creating a platform that could support a diverse user base and stand up to rigorous public-sector assurance.
The Challenge
Over time, the existing AiB website had grown complex and difficult to navigate. Content was dense, user journeys were unclear, and accessibility gaps meant some users struggled to engage with the service at all.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved with a visual refresh. AiB needed a modern, inclusive platform that could clearly guide users to the right support, while meeting Scottish Government service standards and strict accessibility requirements.
The challenge was to simplify complex, high-stakes information without losing accuracy or confidence — and to design a service that worked equally well for vulnerable users, creditors and insolvency practitioners.
The Solution
We began with discovery. Through workshops, interviews and surveys, we worked closely with AiB and end users to identify key audiences, pain points and moments of uncertainty. This research informed detailed user personas and journey maps, which were tested and iterated throughout the design process.
The evidence was clear. To make the service work better, we needed to:
- Simplify the site structure and navigation
- Rewrite content in plain English
- Design journeys around real user needs rather than organisational silos
Accessibility was embedded from day one. We carried out internal accessibility audits, followed by independent testing with disabled users through a specialist partner. This allowed us to refine critical details such as link purpose, form behaviour and content structure, ensuring full WCAG 2.2 AA compliance — accessibility accredited by a third party partner.
Design was based on the Scottish Government Design System, which we carefully augmented where needed — maintaining consistency while meeting AiB’s specific service requirements. Accessibility wasn’t treated as a checklist, but as a foundation.
The platform was built using Umbraco CMS. Alongside this, we developed a bespoke content governance tool to support the creation, review and approval of heavily regulated content — giving AiB greater confidence in how information is managed, updated and controlled over time.
Scottish Government Design System
Our work contributed accessibility improvements back into the Scottish Government Design System, supporting better experiences across public services.
The Result
The result is a clean, accessible, low-carbon and future-proof platform that meets the Digital Scotland Service Standard and uses the Scottish Government Design System.
The website is independently assessed to WCAG 2.2 AA and now provides clearer, more supportive journeys for people seeking debt advice and information.
The new platform better supports Scotland’s debt advice infrastructure and represents a confident step forward for digital inclusion in public services.
The live service can be viewed at aib.gov.uk
“We have been working successfully Bright Signals to design, build, host and support our new corporate website. It was built using the Scottish Government Design System framework and was assessed to meet the Digital Scotland Service Standard, enabling us to create and maintain a fully accessible website which is now a leading example in the Scottish Government.
Bright Signals have shown great knowledge and expertise in being able to deliver our website project on time and within budget. Our working relationship continues to strengthen as we continue to look for ways to make our website even better for our users. This has also led to Bright Signals suggesting and creating additional, accessible features on the SG Design System, something which has been welcomed by us at AiB and our colleagues in the Digital team.”
Carol McLaughlan, Communications Manager, Accountant in Bankruptcy