Yovo
About
Taking part in the election process is a vital part of exercising our freedom. It’s a right not afforded to citizens of every country, and has been denied to Americans in the past. It’s important to exercise this right whenever the opportunity presents itself. No matter one’s background or ideology, everyone deserves the chance to have an impact and shape our future.
Opportunity
In recent years, lack of relevant information on voting — as well as misinformation — can be a blocker for registered and eligible voters that can result in low voter turnout. In an effort to quell confusion and boost turnout, less-informed and potential voters need to have easy access to the information they need to have an impact on our future.
Solution
Through providing voters with a single tool offering them location-specific information about the upcoming election and what their options are, we will empower them to take action and have their voices heard.
Project Goals
To discover our target audience and understand their needs and goals
To create a functioning digital solution giving users access to unbiased information on voting locations and methods available to them
Role
UX Researcher, Product Designer
Tools Used
Adobe XD, Google Suite, Slack, Github, Google APIs, pen & paper
Deliverables
Responsive website (MVP), Presentation deck
Research & Discover
User Research
Before defining the problem at hand and ideating on potential solutions, it was necessary to understand who our audience would be and what would motivate them to use our product. Through researching the most recent data available regarding voter turnout, we decided voters ages 18-29 would be the most important audience to focus on.
Source: United States Elections Project
Competitive Analysis
To understand what information was currently available to our users and how it was being presented, we ran an analysis of several popular election and voter information products. This gave us insight into what our audience might be expecting and how we could set our solution apart. We would return to this analysis again later in the process to validate what features we would need to include to meet the needs of our user.
Data Research & APIs
In researching what data and framework would support our solution on the back-end, we found that Google APIs provided certain electoral information based on a given location, such as early and day-of polling locations. Due to time and budget constraints of the project, access to these APIs was ideal but would limit our solution to a minimum viable product.
Proto Persona
Based on what we knew from research into our audience demographic, we developed a proto-persona based on prior knowledge and assumptions about our users. This would help us to keep our focus on a single point to validate the decisions we would make in our user-centered process moving forward.
Ideate & Design
Design System
Brainstorming as a team, we decided on our product name and logo, and began to develop a design system to establish consistency and framework for our solution. We made this information as concise and digestible as possible to elicit a smooth handoff for the development team to implement down the line.
Wireframes
Informed by our persona David’s habits, needs and pain points, we prioritized what features to include and began to design pages for the product based on our design system.
Test & Iterate
Iterations
After meeting with the development team, we decided that the best course of action would be to consolidate the splash, input, and results pages into two screens, allowing for a streamlined user flow, quick and easy interaction, and simplified design and implementation considering the project timeline.
Developer Handoff
Using Adobe XD, we were able to easily create an annotated prototype and share it with the development team.
Mobile Screens
Desktop Screens
Website MVP
With time constraints for implementation as well as APIs available to the team within range of the budget, the minimum viable product would be relegated to voter information for the state of California, and would only return results based on California addresses, in-line with the needs of our persona. These constraints were established to narrow the focus of the website to allow for the most robust solution possible within the timeframe of the project, rather than having a scope so broad it would detract from the depth information available to users.
Reflection
Next Steps
Several ideas and features for the project were scrapped in an effort to meet a tight deadline while achieving the core goals. With an expanded budget and timeline, many of these features could be implemented:
Increased budget would allow for paid APIs, expanding the scope of our results to all fifty states.
Further time in development would allow for an interactive, location-based map to further increase user success.
Additional efforts in design and development would allow for the creation of a content calendar, allowing users to keep track of deadlines and stay informed.
Building out the site further would incorporate allowing users to register to vote or check their status through the platform directly.
The addition of a newsfeed function based on user interest would create a unique experience for each user and further increase their access to information.
What I Learned
This was an invaluable opportunity for me both personally and professionally. Not only did I have the chance to collaborate with a development team and see a project through to launch, but it was a great chance to learn to the needs and methodologies of the other side of the coin, to exercise effective communication and understanding, and to do it all successfully on an extremely tight deadline.