Elections
Newspack Elections, formerly Govpack, is a WordPress plugin designed to simplify the creation and display of dynamic candidate profiles. Tasked with refining the block’s display and usability for the 2024 election cycle, I aimed to address the challenge of overwhelming information and improve the tool’s editorial efficiency. I’m inspired to share this project as I am a huge fan of the usefulness of CalMatters’ voter guides. This work sample highlights my own thinking around service and utility in product development. The next release of Govpack is expected this May. You can explore v1 of my design samples and view v2 of my approved Figma designs here.
The Challenge: The plugin’s extensive field options led to cluttered and unfocused profiles, confusing both editors and readers. Initial discussions highlighted the need for clarity and a more strategic approach to information display.
Objective: My objective was to streamline the candidate profile block by developing simplified, user-friendly templates and providing clear use-case examples. This “less is more” approach aimed to empower newsrooms to create impactful profiles efficiently.
Solution: I proposed a set of minimal profile templates, focusing on essential information and practical use-cases. This solution provided editors with clear starting points to improve the overall usability of the plugin.
What I Did
Content Prioritization: I identified key information points, such as candidate name, party affiliation, and incumbency status, to create focused profile templates.
Use-Case Development: I developed practical use-case examples, demonstrating how profile blocks could be effectively integrated into various editorial contexts, such as candidate comparisons or alongside articles and reporting about candidates.
UI/UX Feedback: I provided detailed UI/UX feedback, advocating for common Gutenberg block controls to simplify profile creation and editing.
Design Implementation: I created comprehensive design prototypes that showcased the ideal presentation of the profile blocks, providing clear visual guidance for the engineering team.
Default Styling: I designed default styling patterns with common election colors (red, blue, yellow) to provide newsrooms with a starting point for customization.
CSS Class Optimization: I collaborated with the engineer to refine CSS classes, ensuring efficient and consistent styling across different profile block variations.
Editorial Empowerment: I focused on creating presentations that empowered editors to efficiently create and manage candidate profiles.
Retrospective
Accepted Designs: My contributions were well-received by the Newspack team, and the refined profile block will be reviewed before its official release. I am proud to have played a key role in improving the usability and efficiency of this important tool.
A Firm Stance: My approach addressed the initial concern that the “simplified templates” may be too prescriptive. By providing clear examples and use-cases, I helped the team understand the importance of the simplified profile blocks to help newsrooms avoid feeling overwhelmed by the available options.
Considering Other Use-cases: I started exploring the possibility of a sample ballot guide that would assist users in completing their ballots by presenting them with questions about the candidates and measures. These questions, which could utilize Govpack data, would be accompanied by summaries of both the candidates and the measures to provide context. User responses would then populate a sample ballot, reflecting their voting choices. To achieve this, I began experimenting with the Gravity Forms WordPress plugin to create user profiles, but this idea is still in its early stages.
A Guide To Working With Images
I have observed that newsrooms frequently encounter challenges in achieving the visual consistency required for profile blocks to appear truly uniform. The same attention dedicated to crafting thoughtful profiles should also extend to the images that represent the subjects. After all, candidates deserve to be portrayed with equal care. When one candidate is presented more favorably than another, it may unintentionally convey a disparity in quality and attention. This straightforward guide aims to assist newsrooms in circumventing this pervasive issue.