Know your vote
Transforming how voters access, understand, and engage with electoral information.
Project Details
Overview
Through this project, we address the challenges of voter engagement and accessibility in New York City, focusing on making the voting process more inclusive, informative, and user-friendly. By addressing systemic barriers to voting knowledge and participation, this project creates a user-centered approach to civic engagement that empowers individuals through intuitive design, comprehensive information, and inclusive communication strategies.
Scope of Work
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User Research
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Ecosystem Mapping
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Service Blueprint
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Concept and Service Development
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UI/UX Design
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Prototyping
Individual Role
Secondary research, Service Blueprint
Concept Development
Website UX/UI
Prototype Development
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Tools
Miro
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Team Project: 4-member group
Duration: 4 weeks
Design Process
Background
A lack of knowledge about the voting process—from registration to marking a ballot—is often the main barrier between citizens and voting.
The voting ecosystem remains severely fragmented, with barriers preventing meaningful civic engagement. These challenges are particularly acute for first-time voters, immigrants, individuals with disabilities, and communities traditionally marginalized from electoral processes.
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Intricate electoral processes, systemic information gaps, and design inefficiencies create obstacles for voters across different demographics, ages, and even linguistic backgrounds.
This barrier to voting arises from a number of factors:
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Confusing and unappealing ballot designs
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Challenges in accessing information on the intricate electoral processes,
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Lack of accessible, neutral information on candidates
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Low voter engagement, especially among first-time voters.
Current Landsape
To better understand the current landscape and look deeper into the issue, we had a few participants look through websites, artifacts or any channel use to understand the voting process, get more information on the elections and candidates or promoting civic engagement. We mapped it through a service blueprint.
What users said?
Ecosystem Map to understand the various channels, stakeholder and their relationship
Service Blueprint to analyze the service and customer journey
Most election resources ask a lot of questions and do not give me the information I need
The expectation vs reality of what I got [had] a huge gap. I couldn't find what I wanted; [there was] not much about what the candidates advocate for
Some of the websites stress me out because there are so many tabs and so much information.
Received a complex flyer during election season but it was too much information put together in a very complex manner.
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Our Intervention
Know Your Vote is a design intervention that directly addresses the identified challenges. By prioritizing accessibility, clarity, and engagement, we developed a scalable approach to voter education that could potentially be adapted in other urban contexts.
Accessible Website
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Designed for inclusivity, including language and visual impairment accessibility.
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Simplifies voting information and processes.
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Provides easy-to-understand candidate information and resources.
Interactive Booth
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Creating a safe space for knowledge transfer and discussion.
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Provides comprehensive voting and candidate information, features engaging visuals and activities
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Offering informative flyers to visitors.
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To be strategically placed in public areas during and off election seasons.​
Project Goal
Our project aimed to create a comprehensive approach to improve civic engagement and voting accessibility in New York City. We developed both physical and digital interventions to address the diverse needs of the city's population, ensuring inclusivity for all citizens.
Inclusivity and Accessibility
Designed for implementation in public spaces like parks and subway stations, ensuring the booth is accessible to those with limited technology access or physical impairments.
Fostering Community Dialogue
Off-season: Transforms into a "third space" where citizens can express their feelings, needs, and concerns, fostering ongoing community dialogue and civic participation.
Empowering Civic Participation
During elections: Provides essential voting process information and detailed candidate details to empower informed decision-making.
Digital Inclusion
Prioritizes digital inclusion through a comprehensive approach that combines robust accessibility features, multilingual support, and user-friendly design.
Prototype Feedback
"A space like this would be great to just encourage more conversations and make people feel heard."
“This is a great way to combat information asymmetry.”
"I loved how intuitive the platform was. It was incredibly easy to use, and I was able to navigate it without any assistance."