Civica
DURATION
3 months
ROLE
UI Designer
Project Manager
TOOLS
Figma
Expo
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects
Premiere Pro
Civica is a legal app designed to empower underprivileged women to exercise their legal rights. Through document reviews, explanations, and simplification, Civica equips women with the tools to approach legal challenges with greater confidence and clarity, helping to reduce the disadvantages they often face in legal matters. The app’s design prioritizes minimal interactions to prevent feelings of stress and information overload. Additionally, Civica employs a calming blue-purple color scheme and personalized icons to create a comforting experience at every step.
View Figma prototype ↗Minimal Access to Legal Aid for Women
Navigating legal challenges can be overwhelming, often hindered by anxiety, high costs, or a lack of reliable resources. For women, these barriers are even more pronounced due to systemic inequities and limited access to tailored support. In fact, a survey showed that 85% of vulnerable women are unable to access civil legal aid, with 77% reaching a crisis point before receiving any legal help. This gap highlights the urgent need for solutions that simplify the process and provide reliable assistance. Civica was created to address these barriers by offering accessible information, support, guidance, and trust—key elements often missing in the complex legal system.
Solution
To address the issue, Civica involves creating a platform that provides women with the necessary tools to simplify the process. These are tools that take the user step by step through the mentally and emotionally taxing system, and allow women to feel empowered to take the steps necessary to take the proper legal action. Features include…
Chatbot Guidance
Get personalized guidance on your legal issue, like how to get started or reviewing your letters, by chatting with the AI Chatbot.
Document Simplifier
Simplify complex legal jargon and summarize your documents to better understand your situation.
Personal Support
Access directories for lawyers and counsellors providing you with an additional source for humanized care and a list of support groups that connect you with others who may understand what you are going through
Web Supplement
All simplified documents are added to your history, that way, you can access them later on any type of device, making it possible to read your important files regardless of the circumstances.
View the web supplement ↗User Research
At the beginning of the process, extensive research was conducted to validate the problem and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by users. Research through surveys, competitive analysis, interviews, and case studies, informed the ideation of solutions and strategies to address key pain points effectively.
Civica’s design was tailored to address three key pain points identified through research with the target audience. The first is the unfamiliarity with the legal process, which often leads to intense emotional stress. The second is the confusion caused by complex legal documents and jargon, making it difficult for individuals to take the necessary steps. Finally, the lack of affordable legal assistance and reliable online resources creates significant barriers to accessing help.
USER PERSONAS
INTERVIEW
To ensure that Civica’s initiatives address real-life challenges with practical solutions, an interview was conducted with an immigration lawyer to gather insights from actual cases. This approach provided a deeper understanding of the struggles, needs, and legal obstacles faced by women, enabling Civica to refine its strategies and better support individuals in similar circumstances.
Exploitation of a Permanent Resident – Worker at a Public Laundry
Background
The employee was a permanent resident (PR) of Canada and was working at a public laundry. She was new to Canada – a single mom (age 35-45) with two children, making her particularly vulnerable in this new environment.
Conditions & Legal Violations
The employee faced harsh working conditions, including long hours from 9 AM to 8 PM without official breaks and unpaid overtime if customers were still present after closing. She was also required to perform additional tasks, such as washing and ironing the owner’s personal clothes, without extra pay. Legally, she was paid below the minimum wage, receiving only half of the mandated amount. The owner falsely claimed that the low wage exempted her from tax obligations and insisted on handling her tax filing, misleading her about her rights and violating labour and tax laws.
Pain Points
The employee’s unfamiliarity with Canadian labour laws and her vulnerable position as a single mother with no relatives in Canada left her open to exploitation. She endured long hours, underpayment, lack of overtime compensation, and unpaid additional tasks. The financial pressure of supporting two children in a new country forced her to tolerate these poor conditions, while the owner’s misleading claims about taxes further compounded her challenges.
Main Possible Features Focused on Women's Support
- Women-Centric AI Chatbot: An AI assistant that offers quick answers tailored to women’s legal and emotional challenges.
- Legal Aid for Women: Connections to female-focused legal services.
- Document Templates for Women: Pre-drafted forms to help women report violations, submit complaints, or file legal actions.
- Mental Health Support: Resources and services for emotional well-being, specifically addressing women’s struggles with harassment, abuse, and exploitation.
- Tailored Step-by-Step Guides: Clear, personalized navigation through legal processes, designed for the unique challenges women face.
Design Process
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
After the completion of the first iteration, usability testing, interviews with professionals and more user research was done to validate and improve the design. There were two main areas of improvement:
Visual Seriousness
The mascot was initially introduced as a visual guide to assist users while navigating the app. However, its random appearances were deemed redundant and unhelpful, detracting from its intended purpose. Furthermore, the mascot’s overly cute design contributed to a lack of seriousness, which conflicted with the app’s professional tone. Additionally, the use of blues and pinks in the color scheme was often perceived as reminiscent of a gender reveal, and its softness did not align with the authoritative nature of the legal system.
Information Architecture
The app’s main feature, document scanning, was often hidden behind too many clicks, making it difficult for users to access efficiently. Additionally, the grammar check feature was found to be redundant and could be seamlessly integrated with the AI chatbot to streamline functionality. Usability tests revealed that users struggled to locate the step-by-step guides, as they expected to find them within the support section rather than where they were placed.
IMPROVED SITE MAP
The elements highlighted were reconsidered to ensure the design better reflected the app’s purpose and user expectations, while also addressing usability concerns. Based on the feedback given, the app’s information architecture was reconstructed for better usability. At the same time, the mascot was removed and color was changed, while implementing dark mode screen variants.
Branding
COLOR PALETTE
Through research, it was found that blue is the most commonly associated color with the legal system, making it a natural choice for the app’s design. In color theory, blue evokes feelings of calmness and trust—emotions Civica aims to instill in women as they navigate the app. To further tailor the design to its audience, a tint of purple was incorporated to introduce a sense of femininity, reflecting the app’s focus on empowering women.
LOGO
The logo features two women depicted as hearts, united in a warm embrace. This symbolizes Civica’s commitment to providing support and solidarity to women during challenging times. By visually representing care and connection, the logo reinforces the app’s mission to empower women through their legal journeys with compassion and trust.
ICONOGRAPHY
While addressing serious legal challenges, Civica’s design also showcases personalization and a welcoming, non-intimidating aesthetic. Shapes such as hearts were thoughtfully incorporated into the icons in consistency with the logo, reflecting Civica’s core value of care. This approach ensures the app feels approachable and comforting, while balancing the gravity of its purpose with an empathetic design.
Marketing
To enhance the visibility and engagement surrounding Civica, a series of promotional initiatives were implemented to provide external audiences with a comprehensive understanding of its development process and benefits. A dedicated website featuring a blog was established to document weekly progress updates, introduce the team, and highlight the platform’s features, while also offering opportunities to connect. Furthermore, content was actively promoted on Instagram to raise awareness about the upcoming Student Design & Technology Showcase, where Civica was showcased as a key project. These efforts aimed to foster interest, transparency, and engagement with the broader community.
PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
In addition, a promotional video was created to be presented at the Student Design & Technology Showcase. The video was outlined with Storyboarder, filmed with Sony Camera, and edited with Premiere Pro.
View promotional video ↗
PRINTED MATERIALS
Other Screens
