REGISTER TO VOTE

PROJECT:

ROLE:

Research, Interactions, Design

DURATION:

Nov 2021 – Jan 2022

Project Vision

Register to vote is a service so that people can register in the electoral roll to be able to vote in elections and referendums, they will be able to edit their personal data to keep them updated and they will be able to learn more about the voting processes and results thereof.

Challenges

Develop a responsive website that is easy to navigate and use
Design an easy registration guide so that the user can participate in national elections
Reduce the time and investment that people must make to be able to register within the national voting system

The Problem

Reduced influx of people during national elections because they do not have time and/or money to physically register.

The Goal

Facilitate the inclusion of people within the electoral processes to reduce expenses and also provide people with an easy and fast means to register, update their data and know the processes and results of each election.

Starting Point - Users

I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I am designing for and their needs. The participants of the interviews reported not having available time to go to an office in person to register to vote, as well as not knowing where they should appear for this purpose. Feedback received through the research made it very clear that users would be open and willing to register to vote if they had access to an easy-to-use tool to guide them.

Pain Points

Time

Due to their work, people do not have time to physically appear at an office to register for any national election

Accesibility

There is no similar app or website that includes assistive technologies

AI

The guides provided for people to carry out their physical registration are disorganized and with a lot of ambiguous information

Other Difficulties

Lack of guidance, relevant information and ease of registration, as well as the investment of having to travel to a physical office, limits the number of people who register for an election

Persona 1

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Josh is a middle-aged man who does not have the time or money to go to register, so he has never been able to participate in an electoral process.

“My job does not leave me space to go to register to vote so I have never participated in an election”

Josh Scrubs

Persona 2

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Milena works a double shift to be able to take care of her son and provide him with everything he needs, so voting is not one of her priorities, and she has not been able to update her data in the national registry.

“I don't even have time to cut my hair much less I have time to go to register to vote”

Milena Costa

Ideation

I did a quick ideation exercise to brainstorm how to address the identified gaps. My focus was specifically on maintaining an easy registration with a small form that guides you step by step through the process.

Starting the design - Sitemap

The sitemap aims to provide clear and agile navigation so that the user can easily register and can also find relevant and concise information on the electoral processes. In addition, the user can also find a help section for any inconvenience that may arise, and a section where you can edit your data once you have registered.

Digital Wireframes

Low-fidelity Prototype Flow

After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for the Register to Vote app. This design focuses on guiding the user step by step while filling out a short question form.

View the Register to Vote low-fidelity prototype

Usability study: findings

These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:

Time

People want a quick form to fill out

Money

Many users do not have the purchasing power to be able to travel to a physical place to register to vote

Guides

People need an easy guide to fill in the form

Refining the design - Mockups

Based on the insights from usability studies, I applied design changes such as providing a clear section from the intro screen to provide an overview step by step of the registration process.

BEFORE USABILITY STUDY

AFTER USABILITY STUDY

Additionally, I added a general section on everything that a vote entails and the results that are generated.

BEFORE USABILITY STUDY

AFTER USABILITY STUDY

Mockups

High-fidelity Prototype Flow

The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including design changes made after the usability study.

View the Pinkorose’s high-fidelity prototype

Accesibility Considerations

Screen Readers

Clear labels for interactive elements that can be read by screen readers.

Focus

The initial focus of the home screen helps define the main task or action for the user.

Going Forward: Takeaways

IMPACT

Users shared that the app made the registration process seem like something that could really help them cut time and money to be able to participate in an election. A quote from peer comments was:"

“The Register to vote app helps us to be able to register and exercise our right to vote in an easy and attractive way.”

WHAT I LEARNED

I learned that even though the problem I was trying to solve was a big one, diligently going through each step of the design process and aligning with specific user needs helped me come up with solutions that were both feasible and useful.

Let's Connect!

Thank you for your time reviewing my work on the Register to Vote website! If you’d like to see more or get in touch, my contact information is provided below.

Email: marisolmedrano@gmail.com