OVERVIEW
Between misinformed political advertisements on tv, to the oversized postcards cluttering your mail during voting season, it’s hard to know which politician truly has your best interest at heart.
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​Politicians make many promises during the election year. Do those promises align with the interests of the people or businesses funding them?
SO, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
How do you know which companies and industries donate to politicians? The information is public, but sources were scattered and the information was overwhelming and hard to follow.
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Finding information about political donor contributions is difficult, so we wanted to create an app that would provide this information at your fingertips.
MY ROLE
I had the opportunity to conduct research on the project, as well as develop and prototype solutions for this new app. Responsibilities included: user research, concept ideation, designing user flows, visual design, prototyping, user testing, and incorporating user feedback into the design.
THE SOLUTION​
Organize political donor information into digestible content that’s easily understandable and accessible.
BACKGROUND
Where did the idea come from?
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The need for political information at polling time.
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Company research before accepting a job position.
There didn’t seem to be a central source for political funding information. Sources had too little, or way TOO MUCH information. Not to mention that most sources were websites and not very mobile-friendly.
USER PERSONA 1
DALE
AGE: 48-year-old male
OCCUPATION: Manufacturing
EDUCATION: Associates Degree
DEVICES: Smartphone user, no computer
Dale is a parent of two, works long hours, and is always on the go. He stays up to date on political and world news. He has strong political views and votes for candidates based on ethics.
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USER STORY
Dale knew he was going to vote, but had little time to research the candidates. He was trying to find information last minute before walking into the polling station but had trouble finding content on his phone.
PAIN POINTS
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Websites are hard to navigate,
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Too much content on websites, not mobile friendly
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Hard to find donor information
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OBJECTIVE
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A source he can easily reference on the go, with simplified content
USER PERSONA 2
ALEXANDRA
AGE: 26-year-old female
OCCUPATION: Nurse
EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree
DEVICES: Smartphone user, uses tablet daily
Alexandra works long hours and spends a lot of time with family and friends. Her political beliefs are heavily influenced by friends and family. She is involved in community clean-up events (adopt-a-highway, beach cleanup).
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USER STORY
Alexandra formed strong opinions about political candidates based on the news and family hearsay. A friend told her that one of her favorite candidates was funded by a company that was notorious for finding loopholes around environmental ethics. This made her question the loyalty of her candidates. Not only did she want to learn who was contributing to their campaigns, but also obtain information on bills passed and alt funding sources.
PAIN POINTS
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Exposed to biased political information
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Spent a lot of time scouring websites to find the source of campaign funding
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OBJECTIVE
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Find a source that shows what industries fund the candidates she was voting for
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Support candidates that aligned with her ethics
COMPETITIVE RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Strengths
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Sufficient Information on politicians and donors
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Financials available
Weaknesses
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Poor UX/UI designs
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Too much information/ cognitive overload
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Scattered sources
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Non-mobile-friendly websites
Opportunities
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Centralized content within a free app
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Donors searchable
by sector/industry and state -
Add donor/company profiles
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Show industry-wide donation amounts
Threats
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Up-to-date content pull for donors and new/existing political candidate
USER RESEARCH
A user survey was conducted asking recipients basic questions about voting.
SAMPLE OF QUESTIONS
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Are you registered to vote?
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What is important when it comes to deciding which candidate to back?
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Do you think there should be stricter rules and regulations on the use of money in political campaigns?
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Do you know who contributes to your political candidates?
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Is it difficult to find out who contributes to your political party/representative?
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Do contributors affect your political preference?
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REACH: Social media + LinkedIn, personal contacts
RESPONSES: 31 users
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81% think it’s difficult, or haven’t tried to see who contributes to their political party representative.
1 in 3 think that corporate donations and contributions are important to know when voting for a particular candidate.
82% think there should be STRICTER RULES and regulations on the use of money in political campaigns.
82% believe that corporations SHOULD NOT be allowed to interfere in political campaigns.
64% say contributors affect their political preferences.
64% use the web to research contributors, and 0% use an app.
64% do NOT KNOW who contributes to their political candidates.
USER FLOWS & SITE MAP
Sketches of user flows identified different ways to use the WHO FUNDS THEM? app.
FLOWS
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HOME > Politician > Name/Political Party > Politician Profile > Top Donors
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HOME > Politician > State/Political Party > Politician Profile > Top Donors
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Politician Profile > Top Donors > Sector/Company
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HOME > Donor > Political Party > Donor Profile
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HOME > Donor > State/Sector > Sector Profile
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HOME > Donor > State/Sector > Company Profile
WIREFRAMES
Wireframes were created based of user flows. User testing was conducted in between versions to identify areas of improvement.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
SIMPLIFICATION
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Removal of the dashboard frame to simplify the experience.
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USER FLOW LOOPS
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Removal of the bottom nav bar on Politician and Donor profile pages to avoid loops in the user flow.
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V2 replaced the bottom nav bar with the addition of the “home” button in the top nav.
BRANDING
USER TESTING
Preference
User feedback on splash screen creative options
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10 users
Task 1
Find Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin.
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10 users
100% successfully completed
Task 2
Find who was the top donor/contributor for Ron Johnson.
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10 users
100% successfully completed
Task 3
You have an interview with BioTech, Inc., and want to see what politicians they contribute to.
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10 users
100% successfully completed
SPLASH SCREEN
Splash screens were presented to users to collect first impressions and feedback.
#3 RANKING
Feedback:
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Love the look, but it looks more like a Netflix or documentary poster.
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I see an alien.
#2 RANKING
Feedback:
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A little cartoony.
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Questions credibility of the content.
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I wish the hand was centered.
#1 RANKING
Feedback:
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85% favorite of those surveyed.
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Love the connection with the faces.
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Clean and easy to read, trustworthy.
TASK 1
Find Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin.
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AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
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The map is difficult to use.
Solution: replace with a drop-down list -
What seat does this politician hold?
Solution: add title/senator to profile info. -
Once in state, separate by office title.
Future development.
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
TASK 2
Find who was the top donor/contributor for Ron Johnson.
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AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
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Didn’t know if should go to the sector or donor section.
Solution: create one button since you can toggle between two on the page. -
DONOR: How do I know how much the donor has contributed?
Solution: show the contribution amount.
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
TASK 3
You have an interview with BioTech, Inc, and want to see what politicians they contribute to.
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AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
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Would like more information on the profile.
Solution: add a small description for the company/bio -
How much does each company contribute?
Solution: add contribution amounts to the political tile.
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
Given more budget and time, I have identified some areas that would enhance the Who Funds Them? app:
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Explore map options to add visual elements/interactivity
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Identify/sort by who is running for office, and who is currently in office
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Separate state candidates by role
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Include bill information
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Create a website version that is mobile friendly
It was eye-opening to learn about the pains and frustrations of finding donor information and it important it was to the community to know who funds their political candidates. I’m excited to see how this app comes to fruition to empower the community to support candidates who truly represent their views.
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