Democracia en Red
Civic tech design for open government
Goal & Challenge
The Argentine Chamber of Deputies aimed to modernize and democratize the legislative process by creating an open digital platform. The goal was to enable citizens to access, understand, and contribute to the creation of new laws. The challenge was to design an intuitive, inclusive platform that would make legislative language more accessible and promote civic participation in a historically opaque process.
My role
As a Product Design Consultant, I was hired by Democracia en Red, a civic tech organization focused on making public institutions more transparent and participatory through technology.
My responsibilities included:
Defining the user experience and interface of the new platform
Translating complex legislative content into a usable digital format
Collaborating closely with developers, project leads, and political stakeholders
Design process
Understanding the context: I immersed myself in the legislative workflow and interviewed stakeholders from both civil society and within the Chamber of Deputies.
User Types & Needs: We identified three main user types:
Legislative Advisors: responsible for drafting and uploading legislative documents.
Civic Activists / Citizens: engaged users who wanted to review, comment, and contribute to laws.
Administrators: moderators managing comments, user activity, and platform settings.
Benchmark & Research: We reviewed other civic tech platforms globally (e.g. vTaiwan, GovTrack, Parlement & Citoyens) to identify best practices.
User Flows & Wireframes: Designed flows for each user group, including law creation, editing, commenting, and moderation tools.
Information Design: Focused on clarity and transparency—simplifying legislative language with explanatory modules, contextual tooltips, and progressive disclosure.
UI Design: Developed a minimal, accessible, mobile-responsive interface with high typographic contrast and clear navigation. Although responsive, the platform was primarily optimized for web desktop viewports.
User Testing:
We conducted usability tests with legislative advisors and some accessible deputies to understand how they interacted with the internal tools for drafting and editing laws.
We also tested the platform with 5 citizens to observe how people with varying levels of tech experience would engage with it.
Results showed that while the platform was easy to navigate, reading complex documents and adding comments needed further iteration.
Validation: Feedback sessions and internal reviews helped us align the platform with both user expectations and institutional requirements.
Impact
First-ever digital participation platform launched by the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
Created a bridge between citizens and lawmakers by allowing public suggestions and feedback on draft laws
Increased transparency and civic engagement during the early legislative stages
Outcome
The platform, named Leyes Abiertas, became a pioneering case of civic tech in Latin America. It offered an interface where citizens could explore legislative projects, understand their implications, and contribute their perspectives. Its launch received positive feedback from both institutional actors and civil society organizations.
Reflections & Learnings
Designing for civic tech requires balancing usability with institutional constraints and political sensitivities.
Collaboration with mission-driven organizations like Democracia en Red shows the impact design can have on democratic processes.
Clear information architecture and accessibility were critical in ensuring users of all backgrounds could engage with the platform.
Testing with both political stakeholders and everyday citizens revealed valuable insights about the tension between complexity and clarity.
This project was a meaningful challenge where civic responsibility and design practice came together, reminding me of the transformative role designers can play in public life.
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