IMS 452 - Senior Degree Project
Spring 2024
For my senior degree project, I spent the entire semester-long course designing PollPal, a website built to support poll workers in creating more accessible voting experiences. The project focused on a critical pain point: a significant lack of accessibility training for poll workers, which often leaves voters with disabilities facing unnecessary obstacles. PollPal addresses these challenges by providing an intuitive, real-time resource that ensures poll workers have clear, accessible guidance.
Through in-depth research—including interviews with poll workers and accessibility-focused analyses—I identified key areas where existing resources fell short. Poll workers reported difficulty navigating long, printed manuals, which made it challenging to address accessibility requirements promptly and often led to confusion at busy polling stations. The need for a streamlined, ADA-compliant quick-reference guide was clear.
PollPal’s Design: Guided by these insights, I designed PollPal as a quick-access website that puts essential information at workers’ fingertips. The homepage provides direct access to an ADA compliance checklist, task-specific instructions for various station roles, and frequently asked questions. The website’s minimalist design prioritizes readability, with high-contrast colors and accessible font choices, ensuring workers can quickly find answers without sifting through dense text. Each section is tailored to reduce cognitive load, helping poll workers handle accessibility needs with confidence and efficiency.
The project culminated in a presentation at Miami University’s ETBD Expo, where I received valuable feedback from mentors and peers, emphasizing the importance of accessibility-centered design. PollPal reinforces my commitment to designing impactful, user-centered solutions that drive equity in voting—skills I’m excited to bring to future UX roles.
Clickable Figma Prototype
Final Presentation & Process
