Candidacy information
My role:
Research & analysis
Usability testing
Prototype design
Documentation
Duration:
3 weeks
Team members:
Maisie O'Donnell & Priti Kadam
Project focus:
Research
UX writing
UI design
Project level:
University
It is imperative that voters feel well informed about the candidates of local body elections before they decide who to vote for. Similarly, voter preferences are crucial for candidates aspiring to get elected and to ensure a fair election process. From the candidate’s policy positions and values to their personal background, this study delves into the nuanced expectation of voters.
The existing sources that are being extensively used by voters are official candidate profile pamphlets and the policy.nz website. Billboards are a marketing tool but achieve little in the way of informing voters about the candidates.
What are the design opportunities for effectively communicating essential information about candidates to potential voters in local body elections?
Desk research (Understanding the local body elections and reading up on the documented issues) and primary research (Understanding voter preferences) techniques were employed for gathering data and recognizing the problem areas in the system.
All team members were involved in research, as we can cover more ground and minimize the possibility of missing potentially crucial information.
To explore all aspects of data relating to candidate information deemed important by voters
To broadly investigate primary and secondary sources of information and assess voter perceptions based on reliability and effectiveness
Being able to understand the perspective of various voters was a crucial element in this project. The only way to gauge the nuances in the preferences of the voters was through interviewing them.
Employing the guerilla interview approach, I conducted interviews by approaching random people and interviewing anyone who is eligible vote and some time to spare.
Apart from these interviews, we were able to have a chat with a candidate running for Wellington region local body elections. Despite the interaction being somewhat casual, we were able to learn a lot about the existing system through which the candidates provide information for the pamphlets thus helping us identify flaws by comparing the information with voter preferences.
The main purpose of the interviews was to get an idea about what the voters would like to know about the candidates running for elections. This could in turn help in providing succinct information and simplify the process of choosing who to vote for.
After talking to a few voters, we were able to narrow down our focus to the following areas:
During wireframing, my aim was to take all voter preferences and problem areas into account whilst designing for a viable solution.
Before we take a look at the wireframes, lets try to understand the current system
By conducting usability tests on the Lo-Fi prototype, we could gather some insights on the shortcomings of the initial prototype. Keeping these in mind, I was able to make refinements to the Hi-Fi prototype.
I worked on the final Hi-Fi prototype by taking the Wellington City Council website as a frame of reference for the text and color palette. I wished to maintain consistency between the website and all the pages of the form.
While this project emphasized meeting the needs of the voters, we are interested in pursuing interviews with candidates to gain their insights on our prototype, assessing whether it facilitates their experience and aids in effectively presenting themselves to the voting public.
The outcome of the prototype for voters has shortcomings in accommodating comparisons between candidates in its physical state. We are interested in exploring ways of enhancing the comparison process for voters to further assist them in their experiences.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
prady1511@gmail.com