How can we improve the Dustsceawung digital index’s usability, overall content experience, and make it collaborative?
ToolsFigma, Cargo
In 2024, I was commissioned to design a digital experience as a part of their EXPO Chicago activation. I created an index of actions and resources for supporting social justice causes in their countries of focus. As we approached the 1-year anniversary, the group was interested in updating the site, improving usability, and making the site collaborative.
Solution
Simplify the index’s language, clarify its purpose, feature Chicago-based causes, organize actions by tag, and allow users to contribute.
Research
To audit the current experience, I conducted usability tests and interviews with social justice activists and workers in city government. Improving readability, indicating action type, and including local and in-person events were the themes that emerged.
Current Site
User 2
User 3
“I wonder if there should be a Chicago tab because I feel like it’s where my voice actually matters, where we can make a difference, where we can organize and be inspired. I like the things that we do here, I believe in the reverberating impacts of them.”
“I wonder about showing the spectrum of actions, how to have a stance that at the very least everyone should be able to do something on this site.”
Information Architecture
Concepts and Initial Testing
I designed low and mid-fidelity wireframes experimenting with font styles, tags, color palettes, a search events by location feature, and a contribute-an-event feature.
I developed a hierarchy of mixed font styles; added an online vs. in-person toggle; created a feature for users to filter events by zipcode; and added a button for users to contribute to the index. I tested with 2 different color palettes and 2 different type tags. I decided on a text-only feed because these issues don’t lend themselves to positive imagery.
Low Fidelity
Mid-Fidelity
Insights and Iterations
Users struggled to read and pronounce the site title; wanted more context about the items, organization and site; and expected a vetting process for contributing action items, for safety.
They reacted positively to the online vs. in person tab; missed being able to filter by country (as on the original site); misused or overlooked the zip code feature; and preferred the green color scheme. They determined the engagement levels were unnecessary—the remaining copy does the work of the tags, and levels could open unnecessary debates about hierarchy. In the following iterations I focused on improving readability, including context about the organization, adding language about vetting, and updating the forms.
Additional Testing and Final Iterations
Users preferred explicit copy on the “Act” buttons, were interested in being able to add any action (as opposed to only in-person actions), and felt the “Contribute” button needed emphasis.
I tested tag, toggle and button preferences; substantiality of the context, and contributor preferences. The left-most panel, vetting language, and “Demands” page worked well. In final iteration I added an online vs. in person tab, updated the button copy, updated the form, and made final tweaks to contrast and shadow for emphasis and legibility.
Iterations
Final Prototype and Reflections
The final prototype is a clean, streamlined, and crowdsourced information-hub that adheres to accessibility standards.
This project allowed me to exercise and grow my content design, strategy, and web development skills. I’m the developer on the project and my developing skills are limited, so I had to design within the constraints of my ability. I’m interested in exploring accessibility considerations in future iterations i.e., screen reader optimization; a contribution form that’s compatible with audio submissions, and public, live analytics about participation. Also based on the frequency of feedback, I’m considering a Chicago-centric version with a national focus.