Upstanding
8/24/2025
Upstanding is a civic engagement and voter education app designed to present stakeholder perspectives to potential voters in a familiar visual medium similar to a social media video feed. The app presents national and local issues that will appear on upcoming elections in an unbiased and empathetic manner, with clear action paths to contact a representative, find polling location info, and share content on other social media platforms to spark discussion. The videos are AI generated baesd on research and summaries of common stakeholder perspectives.
The Problem
In today’s political climate, voters are overwhelmed by a flood of information, much of it biased, dehumanizing, or divorced from the real people affected by policy. Traditional voter guides and civic platforms often prioritize partisanship over people, creating cognitive overload, distrust, and disengagement.
The Goal
Design an experience that simplifies complex ballot issues into clear, empathetic narratives. Prioritizing unbiased, human-centered education is paramount, and presenting it in a way that makes it easy for voters to understand, feel, and act. The goal was to encourage informed civic action by helping users connect emotionally with those most affected by political decisions.
The Solution
Upstanding is an app and responsive website design tailored to meet the needs of US voters who want to know more about the issues.
Requires no login or personal account
Presents fact sheets for local ballot issues and national/state legislature
Uses AI-generated videos to represent perspectives from different community stakeholders
Provides direct links and editable templates for contacting state and federal representatives
Integrates polling information such as voting deadlines and locations based on user address
This lightweight civic tool prioritizes empathy, access, and action without overwhelming users with technical jargon or partisan bias.
The Outcome
I designed a fully responsive interface that worked seamlessly across mobile and desktop, with a focus on clarity, accessibility, and minimal cognitive load. The prototype guided users through a clean, simple flow from learning about an issue to taking civic action like contacting their representative or getting polling info. During usability testing, most participants found the app intuitive and said it made them feel more confident about taking action. They especially liked the personalized content and visual tools like maps. A few users, however, were confused about what happened after sending a message or found the homepage visually busy, which gave me clear direction for future improvements.
This project helped me understand how traditional civic tech tools often make engagement feel overwhelming or impersonal. I wanted Upstanding to offer the opposite—a welcoming experience that connects people to real stories and practical next steps. Future versions will continue to focus on simplifying the path to action and expanding usability for older and lower-tech audiences, keeping empathy and clarity at the center of the design.
