Equiballot
A platform to make voting equitable, accessible, and easy for candidates and voters.
Role
UI/UX Design Intern
Design user flow
Design all interfaces
Prototype and iterate
Conduct usability testing
Team
Duration
June - August 2024
Skills
User Research
UI Design
Communication
Usability Testing Prototyping
What I did
As the team’s sole designer, I produced 80+ screens and made sure to fully understand the U.S. political system as an international student to design with accuracy and context.
This case focuses on the details of my end to end design of the Equiballot web app, from onboarding and the home screen to features for finding polling locations and delivering voter education.
Overview
Equiballot is a startup founded by Tufts Alumni Gaby Ackermann Logan and Katie Furey. Equiballot aims to address the inequity within the voting and campaigning process through designing an accessible app.
Goals
01
Provide candidates a platform to directly communicate their campaigns
02
Simplify candidate research for voters and ensure voting decisions are based on well-informed information
User research revealed difficulties in identifying candidates across all positions and educating users about ballot details.
Research
Before beginning my ideation, I did research to figure out users’ knowledge gaps and organized the key findings.
Goals & Methods
Candidate Visibility
Are people aware of all the candidates in various positions?
Method: Survey
Voters’ Ballot Knowledge
How well do people understand the voting process?
Method: Interview / Desk Research
Key Findings
Survey results showed that many people were aware of nationwide election candidates, but fewer were familiar with state election candidates, especially young adults aged 18–24.
100% voted
for Presidential Eections
85% voted
for House of Representatives Elections and Senate Elections
40% voted
State elections positions
“I voted for for state and nationwide elections!”
2/5 - Understands Voting Process
“Just voting for whoever my parents are voting for.”
3/5 - Do Not Understand Voting
Problem Statement
How might we develop a personalized platform that identifies candidates across all positions and educates users about ballot details?
Ideation
I mapped a user flow for the interface, anchored by distinct onboarding tracks for candidates and voters. Their onboarding choices then route them to a personalized dashboard with the most relevant tools, content, and actions.
Sketches
This wireframe sharpens concepts and adds onboarding questions to personalize the app. However, there were differing opinions regarding whether users should be required to provide their real names, as politics and elections are sensitive topics, and many may prefer to remain anonymous.
Usability Testing
Our goal was to make Equiballot accessible to a wide range of users. To evaluate usability, we tested how easily users could complete key tasks and gathered feedback on overall satisfaction.
User Group
7 Users
3 Undergrad Students (Age 18, 22, 24)
2 Grad Students (Age 28, 35)
2 Professors (Age 45, 60)
User Tasks
Navigate through onboarding screen
Find the nearest polling location
Find the Kamala Harris profile and save
Evan is a computer science major at Tufts University with no knowledge in politics. He is interested and would like to participate in voting, but don’t know where to start.
Emily is running for Town Council Member in Medford, with over 20 years of experience in public administration and community service. She is focused on infrastructure, community programs, and local economic growth.
George, a retired elementary school teacher, has always been an active voter, participating in elections at the town, state, and national levels. He would like to keep track of all candidates to make well-informed decisions.
User Feedback
This early concept uses a purple as a primary color for its symbolism of neutrality in politics. This allows the app to foster a welcoming and unbiased environment, appealing to users across the political spectrum.
Key Discussion/Feedback from Engineers
Before
No back button
After
Before
Too wordy
After
+Highlighted important words
+Added more icons
+Rule of three
Before
Cut off on screen, hard to click
Small; difficult to click
After
+Icon to save candidates
+ Back button
Final Design
Here’s a video of the final prototype I designed during my internship.
Learnings
During my internship, I served as the sole designer, which significantly strengthened my design skills and gave me the opportunity to lead the team from a design perspective. I often had to rely on my own judgment and expertise, while also developing an understanding of coding to effectively hand off deliverables to the engineer.
As a non-American, I had to quickly learn and adapt to a completely new election system, which challenged me to work independently. Ultimately, I learned to trust myself, and that confidence greatly contributed to my personal and professional growth.
Contact
Tel: +1 (857)488-8411
Email: yejune.cho@tufts.edu
Thank you for taking the time to view my designs!