UI/UX Designer
Myself
Trinah Maulion
July 2022 - July 2023
(1 year)
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Prytaneum is an open-source, highly-interactive online town hall platform powered by artificial intelligence and an innovative user interface. This town hall platform enables constructive, virtual dialogue between government officials and their constituents - creating opportunities for democratic engagement that is not available through commercially available webinar or streaming platforms.
Since Prytaneum is still in the development phase as a platform, our primary objective was to enhance the existing designs to make features more user-friendly and intuitive. Furthermore, as we brainstormed new features and functionalities for Prytaneum, it became imperative to craft new designs that integrated with these innovative additions.
Although I cannot share the designs I am about to describe, my role involved enhancing an existing website by incorporating new features and reworking wireframes to accommodate these additions. After completing these tasks, we held bi-weekly meetings with our lead software developer and other team members to discuss user feedback on our wireframes and our plans for improvement. Occasionally, we also created wireframes for smaller projects related to the platform.
Specific tasks my team and I managed included editing the layout of the moderator dashboard, the participant view during a meeting, and more. Additionally, we created wireframes for features such as polling, intermission, pre-event, and post-event pages.
A design that I am able to share is Prytaneum's revamped homepage!
Problem: Prytaneum's initial landing page confused users on the website's purpose and lacked visual appeal.
• No clear mission statement- how is it a tool for a better democracy? What is it about? How will it help?
• Website layout and text- website lacks visual display and contains wordy text.
Solution: Revamp Prytaneum's homepage to include user-centered and responsive designs to solidify the platform's mission and improve visual appeal.
• Mission statement- included informational statement on landing page.
• Contrast- enhanced visual appeal with bolder words, colors, and lighter/variety of background colors, to draw user attention to text.
• Responsive design- inserted informational video (below landing page) about Prytaneum for audiences who prefer visual and audio learning.
• Reduce text- reduced text from initial homepage by spacing out text and placing photos and icons throughout homepage.
• Role descriptions- explicitly placed role descriptions in one area to make it easier for users to navigate and read rather than clicking through each role individually like in the initial homepage.
Privacy Disclaimer: As the new version of Prytaneum has not been launched yet, I'm unable to show the full extent of designs that our team has worked on. However, feel free to contact me to hear more about my work at Prytaneum!
I gained a lot from taking on this role as it was my first time applying my UI/UX knowledge to revamp a project. One of the most valuable lessons was learning to take user feedback seriously, understanding their problems, and using this information to solve their issues effectively. As someone accustomed to creating visual designs for personal use, it was inspiring to develop a product that is meaningful to others and has the potential to positively impact their lives.
I am so thankful to the Prytaneum team for helping me grow my skills in the UI/UX field all the while working on such an innovative project.
