UX Strategy Report

Voxy: Bridging the Civic Engagement
Gap for Digital Natives

1 | The Strategic Opportunity

In 2024, youth voter turnout dropped from 50% to 42% despite young Americans remaining interested in political issues. The problem wasn't apathy—it was accessibility. Only 22% of Americans trust government, and younger voters particularly struggle to understand who represents them, what those representatives do, and how to engage meaningfully. This presented a clear opportunity: create a mobile-first civic engagement tool that makes political participation as intuitive as ordering food delivery online.

My Role: UX Strategist & Designer

Methods: Competitive analysis, user research synthesis, mobile-first design strategy

Framework: Jesse James Garrett's Five Elements of User Experience

Duration: 2 weeks

Context: Solo app development project for the MS in UX program at Arizona State University

2 | The Story Behind the Strategy

Understanding the Landscape

Imagine you're 23, just moved to a new city, and want to contact your representative about student loans. You Google "who is my representative" and encounter:

BallotReady: Demands your address and email before showing anything
Congress.gov: Presents walls of legislative jargon
FiveCalls.org: Offers scripts but no representative discovery
Causes: Buries representative contact behind news feeds

Each tool assumed either prior political knowledge or willingness to overcome friction. None met young users where they were—on their phones, skeptical of data collection, expecting consumer-grade UX.

Strategic Discovery Process

1. Defining the Core Problem

Through research synthesis, I identified three key barriers to civic engagement:

Information Gap: Users don't know who represents them and can't
Trust Deficit: Only 22% trust government institutions
Friction Overload: Existing demographically-appropriate tools require too much effort

2. Target User Analysis

Primary users: 18-35 year-olds (Millennials and Gen Z)

Mobile-first behavior patterns
Value transparency and social impact
Expect frictionless digital experiences
Politically interested but procedurally confused

3. Competitive Gap Analysis

I evaluated competitors against four criteria:

Core functionality overlap
Target audience alignment
Mobile-appropriate design
Intent to reduce friction

Key Finding: No existing tool combined representative discovery, plain-language information, and frictionless mobile UX.

From Strategy to Structure:

Using Garrett's Five Elements framework, I transformed insights into a concrete product strategy.

3 | Strategic Framework: The 5 Elements Approach

1. Strategy Plane: Aligning User Needs with Civic Goals

User Needs:

Know who represents them
Understand what representatives do
Take action without complexity

Product Vision:

Remove guesswork from civic engagement
Make political participation as simple as social media
Build trust through transparency

Success Metrics:

User acquisition among 18-35 demographic
Task completion rate for representative identification
Action conversion (calls/emails to representatives)

2. Scope Plane: Defining Functional Boundaries

Core Features (MVP):

ZIP code or location-based representative lookup
Representative information cards with photos and party affiliation
One-tap communication (call, email, social)
Plain-language bill summaries
Committee information (what representative serves on)

Intentionally Excluded:

News feeds (avoid information overload)
Social features (maintain political neutrality)
Petition systems (focus on direct representation)

Content Strategy:

Plain language (WCAG accessibility standard)
Nonpartisan tone
Conversational microcopy: "Make Your Voice Heard"

3. Structure Plane: Designing the User Flow

Dual-Path Onboarding: I designed parallel paths to balance privacy and convenience:

Path A: ZIP Code Entry (manual)
Familiar, low-risk interaction
Similar to e-commerce patterns
Path B: Location Access (automatic)
Faster, more precise
Optional for privacy-conscious users

Trust-Building Microcopy:

"Used only to identify your reps — never stored or shared"

This single line of inline text addresses privacy concerns at the moment of decision, reducing friction without lengthy privacy policies.

4. Skeleton Plane: Wireframing Key Interactions

Navigation Model: Bottom tab bar with 3 options:

Home: Persistent "emergency exit"
My Reps: Quick access to representatives
More: Secondary features (settings, FAQs)

Key Design Decisions:

44×44px minimum tap targets (accessibility)
Left-aligned text (optimal mobile scanning)
Card-based layouts (visual grouping)
Progressive disclosure (avoid overwhelm)

5. Surface Plane: Visual Design Strategy

Typography Choice: Instrument Sans — friendly,

contemporary, politically neutral:

Generous x-height for mobile screens
Full weight range for typographical hierarchy
Rounded terminals soften civic formality

Color Palette: Strategic color selection to convey

trust without partisanship:

Night (#161618): Navigation anchoring
Gunmetal (#19323C): Primary text
Mint Green (#C7EDE4): Fresh, non-political accent
Amarantha Red (#CE310D): Strategic emphasis
Snow (#F8F5F6): Soft backgrounds

Rationale: Avoided conventional political associations

(and in-your-face Americanism, i.e., red, white and blue)

while maintaining WCAG contrast compliance.

4 | Design Validation: Prototypes & Principles

High-Fidelity Prototypes

I created two key screens in Figma to validate the design strategy:

1. Home Screen

Welcoming megaphone image (to visually
convey amplification of voice)
Clear value proposition
Dual-path entry options
Trust-building microcopy

2. Your Reps Screen

Scannable card layout
Clear federal/state grouping
Prominent photos for recognition
Party affiliation without partisan colors

Design Principles Applied

1. "Don't Make Me Think" (Krug)

ZIP code entry mirrors e-commerce patterns
Standard mobile navigation conventions
No learning curve required
MORE RE: THIS PRINCIPLE

2. Accessibility First

WCAG 2.1 compliant contrast ratios
Plain language throughout
Icons always paired with text labels
MORE RE: THIS PRINCIPLE

3. Trust Through Transparency

Clear data usage disclosure
No hidden functionality
Nonpartisan visual language
MORE RE: THIS PRINCIPLE

5 | Strategic Impact & Outcomes

Anticipated User Outcomes

Reduced Time to Action: From app open to contacting representative in <60 seconds
Increased Confidence: Plain language removes intimidation factor
Higher Engagement: Mobile-first design meets users where they are

Business Value Proposition

Market Gap: First truly mobile-native civic engagement tool
Scalability: Architecture supports local representatives and issue tracking
Sustainability: Potential revenue through civic organization partnerships

Societal Impact

Bridge the civic engagement gap for 42 million young voters
Increase political participation without partisan influence
Demonstrate that good UX can strengthen democracy

6 | Reflection: Strategy as Design Foundation

The Power of Frameworks

Using Garrett's Five Elements provided me an incredibly useful structure for strategic thinking. Each plane built upon the previous, ensuring every one of my design decisions traced back to actual user needs and strategic goals. As Garrett notes, "Everything the user experiences should be the result of a conscious decision." All design decisions should be grounded in this way.

Key Strategic Insights

Competition Isn't Always Direct: Voxy doesn't necessarily compete with other civic tools but with user attention and the friction of disengagement
Trust is a Design Material: Every interaction has the potential to either build or erode trust, whether it's microcopy or color choices or some other kind of design decision
Simplicity Requires Complexity: A simple interface requires complex strategic decisions about what to exclude (and what to exclude is the key–like the spaces between notes in a musical composition)
Mobile-First is User-First: For young adults, if it doesn't work on mobile, it doesn't work

What I learned