Ranked Choice Voting
New York City's new voting experience
Role: Project Manager & Visual Designer
Timeline: 5 weeks
Software: Figma, Photoshop, Lens Studio
Problem:
New York City began using the ranked-choice ballot in the summer of 2021 for their Primary elections. This new method uses a different type of ballot that users are unfamiliar with. We were tasked with designing this ballot on a digital touchscreen, rather than the using a piece of paper to mark your vote– meaning two big changes to the voting process.
Solution
Step one: Create an educational information campaign to guarantee that NYC voters will be knowledgable about the changes before they get to the polls.
Step two: Create a trustworthy and accessible UI to allow users to confidently cast their vote. Check out Anna and Will's solution.
Step three: Create an animated visualization of the ballot count to help voters understand the ranked-choice elimination process.
The Dream Team:
Information Campaign
On top of managing the project, I also worked with Meghana Shenoy on the information campaign as a visual designer.
Audience:
Our information campaign is aimed at all eligible voters, meaning practically anyone 18+.
To reach voters of all ages, we took to the streets (and the screens) to get the word out.
Informational Pamphlet
This is the most important tool created that will do the most to educate voters. It will be available online to be downloaded and printed, and also available at the voting booths in case you missed out.
Everyone voter deserves to be informed, and this pamphlet would ideally be available in other languages, larger text sizes, braille, or could be read aloud to you. I worked with Anna Leung to create the instructions on how to use the new ballot to ensure it matched up with the true ballot experience.
Public Billboards
While creating these public billboards, my goal was to have taglines that were catchy and memorable, something you could easily read while hurrying past. I also was very intentional when selecting my imagery, searching for images that a New Yorker would relate to. Certain feelings I hoped to provoke were NYC pride, belongingness, and hope. Each ad includes the link vote.nyc for people to get more information.
"I Voted" Stickers
Didn’t you know, voting is hot?
Using illustrations created by Meg depicting classic NYC imagery, I added short taglines to each sticker that read "Voting is hot!" and "I Voted!". This modern take on an "I Voted" sticker is aimed at the younger voters, who would likely snap a selfie with the sticker on, proudly sharing their participation in the election.
Snapchat Filters
I loved Meg's illustrations so much that I wanted to incorporate them into something interactive. I tried out Snapchat's AR filter Lens Studio for the first time to create these filters. Above are some of our team members using the filter.
Scan these with the Snapchat camera to try them on yourself, or your pets!
Lessons learned
This was my first group project in a design class, as well as my first time working on a team with developers. My role of project manager was essential to keeping everyone on the team on the same page since there were several moving parts. Setting up regular meetings to check in with each other was essential, and my communication skills grew immensely from this project.
I learned to intervene when necessary, and how to support my team members in their roles. This meant having to leave my comfort zone on occasion, but ultimately pushing me to be a stronger leader and enabling me to do better for my team.
Thanks for scrolling!
I included only my visual design portion of the project. Check out the linked portfolios to see my team members porions!
If you would like to hear more about the process and project management portion, reach out directly!
