Prisoner's Express App Design
Designing and building a functional PWA tablet application to digitize + streamline an educational resource for incarcerated individuals.
CLIENT
SERVICES
ROLE
DATE
Prisoner's Express
UI & UX Design
Back-end
UX Research
Product Designer, Engineer
(Team of 4)
March - May 2024
PRISONER'S EXPRESS APP
BACKGROUND
Prisoner's Express is a non-profit organization that fosters creative expression among incarcerated individuals through letter writing, poetry, and art. Our team worked to take their outdated website and streamline their content submission process into an app. We experienced all phases of the product life-cycle by conducting user research, identifying pain points, and developing an intuitive interface that enhances the user experience for both incarcerated participants and volunteers.
the problem
Prisoner's Express faces challenges in engaging users due to an outdated website and a cumbersome content submission process.
This complexity discourages potential users and also limits the interaction and feedback opportunities for incarcerated individuals, who struggle to express themselves creatively in a constrained environment.
User Needs
Using the data collected during user research, we created a persona named Sam, representing a typical inmate with an average sentence of five years. Sam embodies the key values, needs, and experiences of the target user group we are designing for.
RESEARCH + ANALYSIS
We conducted user research through interviews and field studies with current users and administrators of Prisoner's Express, focusing on understanding their workflows and identifying friction points in the existing system.
Pain Points
and
Solutions
Complicated Submission Process: Users found submitting content to be outdated and confusing.
Digitize mail-in submission process to an online form.
Provide clear guidelines and simplify templates for easier navigation.
Lack of Engagement & Feedback: Users felt disconnected from inmates due to no feedback.
Introduce a feedback system for inmates to respond.
Allow volunteers to track their submissions' progress.
Difficulty Navigating the Website: The current website was cluttered and hard to use, deterring users.
Redesign the website for simplicity and better accessibility.
Add clear calls to action for content submission.
User Persona "Sam" embodies the key values, needs, and experiences of the target user group.
IDEATION
Initial Brainstorming, Sketches, and Design Explorations
Our team collaboratively designed an app that balanced client requirements with user goals. We planned our interface components with low-fidelity prototyping methods to brainstorm and your communicate our design ideas.
BRAINSTORMING
We collaborated to create initial sketches that included a side navbar featuring key sections like newsletters, submissions, archives, and program information, designed specifically for tablet use.
Brainstorming Process where we first listed down ideas then started cutting based on MVP needs
Beginning of design ideation
low fidelity Sketches
We took the features + components we brainstormed and sketched preliminary interfaces to carry out an effective conversation with users.
Iteration 1:
Bottom navbar design featuring "Explore," "Submit," "Archive," and "About" tabs. Highlights include a grid view of newsletters, program access through PDFs, an organized archive, and an introductory page for new users.
Iteration 2:
Sidebar navigation layout with tabs for "Explore," "Archive," "Submit," "About," and "Programs." Displays a main “Programs” page with thumbnail links to PDFs, plus a masonry grid for randomized content exploration and a filter option.
Iteration 3:
Bottom navbar design with "Newsletter," "Submit," "Archive," and "About" tabs. Features a masonry grid for newsletter content, PDF access for programs, a submission guide, and an introductory page for new users.
PROTOTYPING
We created a polished set of sketches to communicate the application’s final design and built a working prototype of the app.
Initial Design Implementation
Our team consolidated our three different iterations to create an app based on features from ideation we believed would best support our user and client goals.
Final wire sketch iteration
Prisoner's Express tablet app
TESTING AND ITERATING
We user-tested by evaluating how the design supports/disrupts our task scenarios, then iterated on the app's design to address client needs.
User Testing
We conducted user testing with 5 college students as a more accessible substitute for this round of testing, simulating the experiences of our target audience. The participants, all unfamiliar with the app, provided valuable insights as they navigated through 4 different task scenarios designed to emulate common user experiences.
Based on our findings, we made these design updates:
Clarified filter functionality by adding a 'Select filters' label and checkboxes to each filter pill. We also updated the 'clear all' label with underlined text for clarity.
Differentiated between programs and newsletter entries by adding tags and distinct styles.
Distinguished Home and Archive pages by updating content and filters to reflect current and past entries.
Enhanced submission instructions with detailed steps for different programs.
Improved usability by adding a back button to assist low-tech users.
Aaffinity diagram identifying key themes:
Effective Initial Understanding
Program Recognition Challenges
Filter Usage Confusion
Archive Navigation Disorientation
Submission Process Oversight
The survey data affinity diagram consists of responses from our user survey, organized into sticky notes and grouped by theme.
FINAL DESIGN
Next Steps
If I had to chance to continue improving the Prisoner's Express project, I would prioritize further research on the communication limitations inmates face. This would help us refine the platform’s features to address their specific needs more effectively.
Some ideas I’d like to explore:
Enhanced communication tools: Developing features that allow inmates to interact with facilitators or fellow participants in a structured, supportive way, respecting the constraints of the prison environment.
Offline access to content: Given the limited internet access in correctional facilities, providing offline access to program materials or letter-based options would make the content more accessible.
Personalized recommendations: Offering tailored content based on inmates' program history and interests could boost engagement and make the platform more impactful for each individual.
Reflections
The importance of empathy in design cannot be overstated.
Reflecting on my experience designing for Prisoner's Express, I realize how critical it is to deeply understand the needs of an underserved user group. Working on a project that supports inmates reminded me how easy it is to overlook perspectives when designing products. Initially, we believed that focusing on a generalized user persona would be sufficient, but as we dove into more research, including interviews and feedback from people involved with inmate programs, it became clear that there was so much more to learn.
Designing with empathy for this particular group expanded my understanding of user needs, and I will carry this mindset into future projects—recognizing that there is always more to explore, especially when creating for communities often left behind by mainstream design processes.
"My name is Miguel Velasquez. I’m 22 years old (23 next month) and I’ve been incarcerated since I was sixteen years of age. I’m serving a 25 to life sentence. I haven’t been able to give back to my community much since I’ve been in, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to.
I’ve never been able to be a part of something positive as a youth. With the environment you guys have created with this program I feel like I’m part of something positive and it gives me hope.
A lot of individuals have given up hope on prisoners, but as for me I believe in the good I am capable of and I see you guys believe the same. I appreciate your time in this."
—Miguel Velasquez