Politika NYC
UX, UI, Brand Identity, Web Development, Illustration
Politika NYC is a political marketing firm that strives to connect campaigns with the right people through comprehensive data-analysis techniques.
Disrupting a Traditional Industry
By harnessing observational and behavioral data methodologies often overlooked in political marketing, Politika is able to discover and activate previously untapped supporters.
Politika was a budding startup when I joined. As the firm’s in-house UX Designer, I was tasked with designing and developing its official website – from research to launch. The goal was to boost brand awareness and drive client sign-ons.
The website had three key objectives:
Explain Politika’s unique approach without drowning users in technical details.
Showcase our impact across a broad range of campaigns.
Reinvent Politika’s brand identity.
Charting Opportunities
Before diving into the website, I worked closely with Politika’s partners to develop a marketing strategy for the firm.
I conducted a competitor analysis across the political consulting, digital marketing, and campaign management industries. Here’s what we found:
With this landscape mapped out, we identified a few key competitors and analyzed their branding and social media strategies as a starting point.
Blending the Old with the New
With this report in mind, Politika needed a bold identity to match its disruptive approach. It was also important that we highlight Politika’s dependability as a firm.
Here’s what we crafted:
Although there was plenty of room to expand this analysis, we gathered enough insights to shape the website’s UI and social media strategy.
Focused Interface, Colorful Stories
Moving onto the website’s structure, we extracted and analyzed sitemaps from our competitors’ websites to better see how they told their stories and guided potential clients through their services.
Here’s what these sitemaps told us:
Keep the Magic
Stay results-oriented, don’t get bogged down in details.
Tell A Story
Lead with values and approach, then walk users through the process.
Categorize
Keep services general to imply adaptability.
Clients As Relationships, Not Metrics
Client success stories should prioritize long-term takeaways.
Using these insights, I outlined a sitemap that simplified the Politika story into two categories: services and client stories.
The user flow prioritized touchpoints that led users to Politika’s services and approach.
What Worked
- Straightforward layout, especially the menu
- Big client feature on homepage
- Client story pages
What Didn’t
- “Contact Us” CTA on homepage takes away from story focus
- No CTA near header, should link to About page
- No navigation between client stories once you enter a client page
We began user-testing with 14 members from our mailing list – both existing clients and campaign workers that ranged in their roles and experience.
Here are some key UI features that users enjoyed:
Illustrative Graphics:
Inspired by magazine covers and newspaper cartoons, these visuals are familiar to campaign workers and help balance the technical nature of our work.
Bold Color Palette:
A striking black-and-white color scheme reflects our neutral, data-driven approach, emphasizing clarity and focus.
Client Focus:
Client images start off in black-and-white to align with the newspaper theme, with the clients being brought to color on hover.
Smoothing the Edges
After reviewing feedback from a larger sample of 23 users, we refined some copy and graphical elements.
With a finalized design in place, I developed and launched a fully responsive WordPress site. I also implemented post-launch updates and bug fixes to ensure a seamless experience across all devices.
Building Beyond
You can view Politika’s live website here. Since the website launch, Politika has increased its reach across New York State:
50+ Races Served
70,000+ Contacts
Gained for
Campaigns
$100,000+ Raised
for Campaigns
Additionally, Politika has taken on high-profile races and is preparing to scale nationally.
As the firm continues to grow, Politika could expand market research into email messaging and ad deliver, conduct yearly competitor analysis and SWOT reports, and build a comprehensive content marketing strategy leveraging these insights.
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UX, UI, Research, Brand Identity, Illustration