DESIGNING FOR DEMOCRACY
/ SF ELECTIONS /
CONTEXT
By 2024, San Francisco had been using ranked choice voting (RCV) for two decades — yet many voters still struggled to understand how it worked. National research shows that only 61% of voters in RCV jurisdictions describe the process as “very easy to understand,” compared to 73% under traditional voting systems. In a city known for civic engagement, this gap revealed a simple truth: democracy isn’t only about having choices — it’s about understanding them.
COMPLEXITY
Even in an informed electorate, civic comprehension lags behind civic innovation. Explaining a multi-round counting system across multiple languages, communities, and attention spans required more than information — it required imagination. The campaign had to make ranked choice voting feel not just clear, but intuitive and empowering — while remaining strictly nonpartisan and accessible across print, digital, and grassroots platforms.
CREATIVE RESPONSE
In collaboration with local democracy groups, I led a citywide creative campaign to help San Franciscans make sense of ranked choice voting. We replaced bureaucratic language with human-centered design and approachable metaphors. Through bold visuals, neighborhood-specific outreach, and partnerships with community organizations, the campaign turned voter education into a celebration of civic participation. It helped voters feel confident not just about who they voted for, but how their votes counted.
MORE PROJECTS
