The Contribution of Design to Voter Advice Applications: Examining Youth-Focused, Design-Led VAAs in Aotearoa New Zealand

Design has much to contribute to the advancement of contemporary politics and the tools being developed to facilitate engagement with them. Central to this contribution is the capacity to translate complex ideas in a way that is effective, accessible and resonates with the intended audience. In achieving this the design process benefits from identifying and positioning the user’s needs at the centre of every decision made, from the look and feel through to the interactions. There is value in a closer analysis of the design processes and outputs within the field of voter advice application (VAA) development. VAAs are deployed in many different contexts and targeted at different audiences. Prioritising user-centred design principles across these projects has the potential to create a variety of bespoke responses, challenging the generic nature of VAAs and advancing creative innovations in this space. In this paper we examine the impact of design in addressing the needs specific to young voters in the New Zealand general elections. We provide a case study of ‘On the Fence’ (2017), which highlights the value of a design-led project and evaluates the processes and design decisions taken to address the main reasons young people do not vote. These reasons include: lack of knowledge about the choices at hand and what parties stand for; lack of understanding about what governments do and why they are relevant; and lack of awareness about the importance of voting within a representative democracy. The paper will illustrate how prioritising these issues and involving the user (primarily young voters) as an active participant at each stage of the design process contributed to a fit-for-purpose VAA. It will provide a closer analysis of the novel design aspects developed. In particular it will look at the mechanism and visual appearance of an animated slider interface that encourages a more deliberative response and challenges the adversarial nature of party politics. The case study will unpack the communication design elements used to create a visual and textual vernacular that was accessible to a youth audience. This was supplemented by a personalised avatar used for sharing on social media that applies gamification principles to incentivise participation. In addition the paper will discuss the development of a three-tier visual information system for mapping user and candidate responses. Through the user-centred process of engaging directly with young people, the tool was able to meet the specific needs of this group - one with a low political knowledge base and interest. It balanced the tensions between simple and simplistic and framed the issues in a way that appeared relevant - all in a transparent manner that provided opportunities for civic learning. designdemocracy.ac.nz