Overview
Groundwork
The problem
Local elections are difficult to navigate due to unclear timelines, fragmented state-level information, and overwhelming candidate research.
The goal
Create a personalized election-prep app that keeps users informed about local elections, candidate activity, and supports confident decision-making at the ballot.
Research
Phase 1: Understanding the user
I conducted interviews with five Arizona residents to understand how they navigate local elections. While I initially assumed new voters would struggle most, confusion was consistent across participants. Many expressed difficulty understanding candidate positions, keeping track of election timelines, and feeling confident in their choices. These findings suggest that information overload, fragmented resources, and unclear timelines contribute to feelings of disengagement and low preparedness around local elections. Research also surfaced trust concerns—informing a privacy-forward approach with clear in-app transparency, no data sold, and a subscription model to protect integrity.
Initial assumption
New voters would be the primary audience struggling with local election navigation.
What the research showed
Confusion was consistent across participants regardless of voting experience—pointing to systemic clarity problems, not a single user type.
Voters struggled to understand where candidates stood on issues that mattered to them.
Timelines and candidate details were spread across multiple sources with no single place to track what mattered locally.
Too much unstructured content made it hard to compare candidates and prepare efficiently.
Participants felt unprepared and disengaged, especially when navigating local—not just national—races.
- Age:
- 32
- Education:
- High school diploma
- Hometown:
- Mesa, AZ
- Family:
- Family
- Occupation:
- Blue collar trade
“Misinformation”
User persona
“I have a hard time trusting information and find it hard to sift through to learn about local candidates.”
Goals:
I want to know more about local and state elections and when to participate. I want to find trustworthy and reliable information about local candidates.
Frustrations:
Researches major elections but struggles to find in-depth information on state and local candidates. Concerned about misinformation and biased sources.
Ethan enjoys podcasts that explore federal candidates in depth but struggles to find centralized information on local politics.
Define
Phase 2: Defining the problem
Synthesized research into clear problem statements and design priorities—framing what GroundWork needed to solve before moving into concepts and UI.
Problem statement
Arizona voters need a way to easily access and understand election information because existing resources are fragmented and overwhelming, increasing cognitive load and making informed decision-making difficult.
How might we...
How might we make voting information more centralized, clear, and easy to understand for Arizona voters?
Ideate
Phase 3: Exploring solutions
Explored multiple directions for how GroundWork could help voters track elections, compare candidates, and build confidence—before committing to wireframes and high-fidelity design.
Concept Exploration
Explored multiple directions before committing to wireframes and high-fidelity design.
Design
Phase 4: Starting the Design
Flow 01 – Home
HOMEPAGE
Flow 02 – Navigate to article feed
HOMEPAGE
Flow 03 – Navigate to video feed
HOMEPAGE
Flow 04 – Search
HOMEPAGE
