Migration Board Case Study
Taja Emmanus
The product:
An App with a secondary website designed to assist immigrants understand politics in the US and how laws affect them.
Project overview
Project duration:
January 2022 –February 2022
The problem:
Many immigrants come to the US in hopes of gaining a better life but face many obstacles, whether the complicated resources of gaining legal citizen ship or simply not knowing the language well to know their rights.
Project overview
The goal:
Bridge the gap for immigratns coming into the US in language and understanding their legal rights, regardless of their legal status.
My role:
Lead UX designer, visual designer, UX researcher
Project overview
Responsibilities:
Designing the app and website, performing a competitive audit, creating icons, etc
Understanding
the user
User research: summary
At the start of
My assumption was that the biggest hurdle for our users would be that English isn’t their first language and people might not be frustrated in trying to navigate a site in a secondary language. While this assumption was correct, users were able to navigate more easily.
User research: pain points
Initially Easily overwhelming
Users initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of steps it took to complete tasks.
Untranslated text
Users were frustrated that they couldn’t switch languages as the feature was presented but are hopeful that such a feature could prove to be useful in the future. Allowing people the freedom of information to better understand their rights.
Understanding easy access
There were several features included in the mock-ups and prototypes do not work such as language selection and text to speech features. But are hopeful of their usenfulness in the future.
1
2
3
Persona: Monica Johnston
Problem statement:
Monica Johnston is an immigrant working under a visa who needs understand the laws passed I regard to citizenship because she wishes to some day become a legal citizen.
Persona: Philipe Hernandez
Problem statement:
Philipe Hernandez is an undocumented immigrant who needs to apply for US citizenship
because he wants to be able to bring up his wife and child and build a life together.
Persona: Velshka Mor
Problem statement:
Velshka Mor is an undocumented worker and human trafficking survivor who needs apply for US citizenship and be aware of the political landscape
because she wants to advocate for those in her situation without worry of legal status.
User journey map
I wanted to allow users to be able to feel empowered by nowing what laws affect them in the lame-mans speak. However, understanding how to filter articles and posts in an effective way will be a challenge for engineers depending on how we logistically organize articles like these.
User journey map
I wanted users to have easy access to resources that would be helpful to them, whether they were seeking legal citizenship or looking to understand their legal rights when dealing with organizations like ICE.
User journey map
Image of user journey map
In addition, I wanted to allow users the oppurtunity to create a sense of community without fear of legal action being taken against them, should any sensitive information be investigated to an official capacity.
Starting
the design
Paper wireframes
I wanted to keep everything simple and easy to read at a glance, while allowing people the option to explore. I organized the information architecture for news and laws to be easily found, and the community tab to have
Image of paper wireframes including five different versions of the same screen and one image of the new, refined version
Digital wireframes
I wanted to be able to organize articles and tabs without heavy reliance of the hamburger menu design.
Tabs meant to mimic files used for storing legal or professional documentation
Search bar for easy searching across the platform
Digital wireframes
In addition, with the Law Break downs specifically, I wanted to make these articles to be broken down in easy to read segments.
Notes correlating to annotations
Abelled annotations of what will be broken down from the laws proposed.
Digital wireframes
Having accessibility in mind is an important aspect of the design that I wanted to keep in mind. This includes language slection, text size, theme changes and text to speech for those with visual impairments.
Description of the element and its benefit to the user
Description of the element and its benefit to the user
Low-fidelity prototype
[Link to low-fidelity prototype and brief description of the user flow]
Low-fidelity prototype
[Link to low-fidelity prototype and brief description of the user flow]
Usability study: findings
Write a short introduction to the usability studies you conducted and your findings.
Round 1 findings
Users found buttons clunky and visually unappealing
1
Users found promise in the prospects of the accessibility options offered
2
Round 2 findings
Users liked the option to not be logged as a means of protecting their privacy.
3
Users found the information architecture confusing
1
Users wondered to what extent accessibility was taken into consideration
2
Users worried about how data collection would affect user experience
3
Refining
the design
Mockups
Before usability study
After usability study
Users found the rounded features of the tabs more visually appealing and welcoming, though some noted that the spacing of the tabs were off, 3/5 saying they were too close together.
Mockups
The addition of appealing visual elements made people more open and willing to explore the app. Particularly seeing the law breakdowns organized for easy reading encouraged users to explore more.
Before usability study
After usability study
Mockups
High-fidelity prototype
Phone Hi-Fi Prototype
https://www.figma.com/file/RxeBUzUJkXFe5qDFdVqiQP/?node-id=22%3A5798
High-fidelity prototype
Desktop Hi-Fi Prototype
https://www.figma.com/file/RxeBUzUJkXFe5qDFdVqiQP/?node-id=75%3A2572
Accessibility considerations
Considerations for non-english speakers require professional translations for a fully comprehensive understanding of what is offered on the site.
Accessibility options for those with visual impairments, whether allowing for text to speech, enlargement of text, or changing themes to reuce eye strain. However, these features require plenty of mindfulness in regards to proper implementation.
1
2
Going forward
Takeaways
Impact:
“This has the oppurtunity to do real good for immigrants to the united states.”
What I learned:
I learned that true accessibility requires mindfulness of implementation and a mindset of adapting when an idea falls flat
Next steps
Create more thorough protoypes that allow for translations and all other accessibilty concerns in mind
Go into proper annotations of layout and hierarchy for UX engineers.
1
2
Let’s connect!
Insert a few sentences summarizing the next steps you would take with this project and why. Feel free to organize next steps in a bullet point list.
Contact information
Email: taja.emmanus@gmail.com
Phone number: (216) 236-5491
Portfolio: https://tajaemmanus.wixsite.com/website