I'm the front end technical lead for a major department in a top 10 U.S. State (that's all I can say). As much as I love the way that certain public sector enti

I'm the front end technical lead for a major department in a top 10 U.S. State (that's all I can say). As much as I love the way that certain public sector entities are embracing modern design principles for their sites, there is a balance to be struck. Form always follows function when it comes to design, and when it comes to government, function requires that the site is as accessible as possible. Color selection, JavaScript use, and extended backwards compatibility with older browsers are among the the many considerations one has to take into account for the elderly, the impaired, and those who simply don't have access to modern browsers. That being said, it's definitely possible to have stunning design with these things taken into account, we just can't implement every bell and whistle we're used to.