Tips and Tricks for Better Forms: A FormFest 2025 Profile

If there are celebrities in the world of government paperwork, Karissa Minnich is an A-lister. A civic design manager with The Lab @ DC, Minnich’s body of work includes fine-tuning the data-driven redesign process of forms, using it to streamline dozens of other forms, and outlining the steps in a handbook to help other governments tackle their own projects. 

Karissa Minnich—Tips and Tricks for Better Forms

Minnich literally wrote the book on forms. However, forms were not her initial career objective, and when The Lab @ DC launched in 2017, it was with the goal of injecting empirical evidence into policymaking decisions. At first, that largely meant running randomized control trials, for example to help police figure out where to deploy body-worn cameras. 

The foray into forms came later, with Form-a-Palooza, a one-day workshop where residents and government employees worked together to redesign a handful of the city’s most notorious forms. The process—and the results—from the one-off event sparked buzz among D.C. workers, who began requesting help to improve paperwork in their own agencies.

“Our intention was not to drum up form business,” said Minnich. “But we did.”

Since then, business has mushroomed.  The Lab has redesigned more than 60 forms since 2017, overseeing improvements on everything from public school enrollment packets to pandemic-era unemployment forms and driver’s license applications. The changes range from small adjustments—such as moving the location of a question or shifting programs from opt-in to opt-out—to more substantial changes like eliminating redundant applications or notarization requirements for mobility-impaired residents seeking parking passes.  In all cases, the goal has remained the same: A noticeably better experience for residents. 

“I think, to be honest, we kind of stumbled into our human-centered design work because of forms,” said Minnich. “We did not plan for this to be a huge thing, but it’s something we have kind of become known for across district government and beyond. I’ve had jurisdictions all over the world reach out, hoping to learn how we do it.”

The surge in interest resulted in the creation of the “A Field Guide for Fixing Government Forms,” a how-to handbook that distills the process to its essentials. This includes process-mapping, form audits from the perspective of a filer, and design tips. The project speaks directly to what Minnich does best: Tackling a problem, and then helping other people understand the solution.

“I like systems. I like order. I was the kid who turned her bookshelf into a library with a sign-out, check-in system. I feel like I have a knack for taking information and moving it around into an order that makes sense for people,” she said. “When I look back, I think I was made to do this type of work.”