If you think there’s a shortage of UX talent in the corporate world, you should see what it’s like in government. The world needs us -- UX people with design skills. But you can’t just walk in the door at City Hall and announce that you’re the answer to their prayers and problems. In civic design, the path to enlightenment goes through public hearings and basement hallways, meeting with and understanding public administrators and their constituents.

1. Kickstarting civic design:
An overnight success
10 years in the making
Dana Chisnell
dana@usabilityworks.net
civicdesigning.org
@danachis
@ChadButterfly

3. Janice
Atkinson
Sonoma County, California

4. Field Guides

5. 01.
Sex workers just want
to be legal.

6. Stakeholder
Starchild

7. Stakeholders want to
be involved.
They have good ideas.

8. 02.
Just tell me what to
do.

9. 300 pages

10. Top 10

11. Big reports and specs
aren’t useful in their
full size.
People just want to
know what to do.

12. 03.
Why did so many people
make the same mistake on
my form?

15. Untrained people can
accomplish amazing,
good things with a
little bit of guidance.

16. 04.
Wait. Someone already
figured out how to do this?

18. It’s all about access.
Research is no good
unless implementers
see the insights.

19. 05.
The road to hell is paved
with good intentions.

22. Every design decision
makes a difference.

23. New tools.

24. Field Guides series
Research Research SOP and Usability Research
commissioned by commissioned by and Civic Life commissioned by
EAC NIST Project NIST

25. Published by
300+ people
who think
design in elections
is important

27. Coming soon
Effective election Delivering useful Effective design Designing multi-
department voter education for vote-by-mail language ballots
web sites
Research funded Research funded In search of In search of
by Kickstarter & by Kickstarter & funding funding
MacArthur MacArthur
Foundation Foundation

28. Field Guides
To Ensuring
Voter Intent
civicdesigning.org
/fieldguides

29. Want to do good in
the world?
Lessons learned

30. Stakeholders want to be involved and
have good ideas.
People just want to know what to do.
Untrained people can accomplish
amazing, good things with a little bit
of guidance.
It’s all about access. Research is no
good unless implementers see the
insights.
Every design decision makes a
difference.

31. Want to do good in
the world?
Join us

32. Be an election
worker

33. Volunteer to
proofread

34. Use the
accessible
voting system

35. Help us
collect data

36. It’s not hard to
change the world.
It just takes time.

37. Go do it anyway.

38. Dana Chisnell
dana@usabilityworks.net
civicdesign@usabilityworks.net
civicdesigning.org
@danachis
@ChadButterfly