2025
Firstvote website and app
Project Overview
This website and app was my final UX project for the Google UX Design Certificate course where I showcased everything I had learned in the course. My interest in this project stems from a long-standing passion for the international community. I have been shown incredible hospitality abroad and strongly believe we should reflect the same attitudes here in the U.S. to the international community. Thus, the prompt to create a resource for first-time voters was a natural fit for me. My goal was to create a website and app with the following functionality:
register to vote
confirm registration
learn more about voting in the US
email personalized information to users by Zip code
identify state-specific rules and laws for voting
provide resources for overseas or out-of-state voters
connect users with language assistance
Empathizing with the User
I identified two distinct personas who would use this product: one being an immigrant who has recently settled in the US, navigating a new culture, and the other being a tech-savvy member of Gen Z. My goal became to ensure accessibility and user-friendliness for both groups.
To learn more about the users in question, I reached out to friends who are immigrants of different ages, genders, and nationalities. Then, I contacted my friend who teaches 9th grade to ask some of her students a few questions.
After auditing websites with a similar concept to mine, I sent each person an example of a government website for first-time voters and asked some questions to gauge their impression of the website and how they would improve it. Here’s a few samples of their insights I incorporated into the designs:
“English isn’t my first language, so I’d like to see more assistance for that. I also would like to see more information about the US voting system.” Isabel/30/Venezuela
“I’d just never use a site like this in the first place to get information. I would just find the registration link and be done” Kendal/17/USA
“I just want a site that makes this quick and easy and doesn’t overload me with information.” Marcus/16/USA
“I would just give up if I had to use this site to vote—wayyy too much text. It’s overcomplicated and there aren’t enough images” Astrid/29/Sweden
“I can find all of the information I might need. But I’m concerned that illegal immigrants might try to vote. What are they doing about that?” Raj/65/India
“the site could really use more symbols and images to help navigate and understand what they are describing” Hwan/34/Korea
Time to ideate!
For ideation and brainstorming, I prioritized the following user insights into the design:
design so the user doesn’t have to scroll to find where to register. This should be the obvious CTA since its the only thing many people want to do.
solve for the language barrier - have a language selection drop-down and a link to further language assistance for voters
avoid text where possible. Create buttons, links, and headers that expand into more text to avoid overwhelming the user
design for the user to navigate away from unwanted information. Use expandable and collapsible menus, back buttons, etc.
place symbols and images throughout the design to help users understand what to do without too much reading comprehension
provide clarity in appropriate areas that only US citizens can register to vote (on the registration forms)
I used Miro to create a sitemap, storyboard, multiple user flow options, and crazy eights exercise to start to visualize what the designs might look like. I decided to design for the app first to increase accessibility for people who may not have access to desktops. I kept in mind what my target users had to say about what they would like to see in a design for this concept. Ultimately, I came up with these initial wireframes which later became lo-fi prototypes>>>
Time to iterate!
App Wireframes
Web wireframes
After wireframing and brainstorming, I proceeded to create lo-fi prototypes and mockups. After completing this step I reached back out to friends for feedback on my progress to see if the user needs were being met and to correct any blind spots I had in the design. I quickly realized there were a number of things that needed to be changed or improved (or that looked dorky) so I iterated until the user feedback was satisfactory.
Final Products
Website
For the website, I implemented the following feedback among others:
corrected the alignment and checked with a grid
made the banner on some of the pages smaller because users could not see any of the content without scrolling
change the images for registration methods to match the style of the tiles below it and put the title within it because it didn’t seem cohesive with the design.
reiterate on the registration confirmation page. The alignment was off and the image could be better.
Mobile App
After user testing on the initial app mockups and prototypes, I implemented the following feedback among others:
change circle check boxes to squares to indicate multiple selections
choose different images that look more sleek and modern… less goofy
Make next buttons larger and easier to press
Refine text boxes
fill empty white space with images to be consistent with other pages
break up the sections on the home screen so they don’t run together
Refine political party buttons so they don’t look like something out of the early 2000’s (my friends are brutal!)
Where do we go from herE?
This project highlighted the necessity for a product that prioritizes first-time voters, particularly those for whom English is not their primary language. I suggest incorporating features such as a well-designed polling place locator map, as current options lack effectiveness. Additionally, connecting users with experienced voters who speak their language could provide invaluable guidance. Integrating such a platform would significantly enhance accessibility for first-time voters.
