Context — Government Transparency Through Data
Municipal governments collect vast amounts of data, but this information was often inaccessible, poorly organized, or difficult to understand for citizens and researchers.
The open data portal aimed to transform how citizens access and understand municipal information, making government more transparent and enabling data-driven insights for community improvement.
My role focused on designing an intuitive interface that would make complex municipal data accessible to diverse audiences, from casual citizens to data analysts.
I want to understand how my tax money is being spent, but the information is buried in PDFs.
— Citizen feedback
The Problem — Inaccessible Government Data
Municipal data was scattered across different formats, difficult to search, and lacked proper visualization tools for understanding trends and patterns.
Research & Discovery
We interviewed citizens, researchers, journalists, and developers to understand how they would use municipal data and what barriers they faced.
User Groups Interviewed
25 participants
Data Categories
15+ datasets
Use Cases Identified
20+ scenarios
Key Findings
Insights that shaped the data portal
Diverse User Needs
Different users needed data in different formats and levels of detail.
Visualization Preferences
Users preferred interactive charts and maps over static tables and reports.
Data Quality Concerns
Users needed confidence in data accuracy and regular updates.
Solution Strategy
The solution focused on creating a user-friendly interface with multiple data formats, interactive visualizations, and clear data quality indicators.
Design Solution
Key features and data experience
Multi-format Data Access
Data available in various formats: interactive charts, downloadable datasets, and API access.
Interactive Visualizations
Dynamic charts, maps, and graphs that allow users to explore data relationships.
Search and Filter
Advanced search capabilities with filters for data categories, time periods, and geographic areas.
Data Quality Indicators
Clear indicators showing data freshness, source, and update frequency.
Results & Impact
The open data portal significantly improved government transparency and data accessibility:
Data Downloads
500+ monthly
Citizen Engagement
300% increase
API Usage
50+ developers
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Data visualization must balance simplicity with depth for diverse user needs.
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Transparency builds trust when data quality and freshness are clearly communicated.
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Multiple access formats (visual, downloadable, API) serve different user workflows.