top of page
BW_22_DUDE_widebanner_EB.jpg

Ballot Wayfinder 2022

helping students navigate their ballot

Student voters are often surprised — and overwhelmed — by the length and complexity of their ballot. Located in the Duderstadt Center Gallery Voting Hub, our 35’ installation invited new voters to "walk through a ballot"  and gain key civic knowledge in tactile, engaging ways. By interjecting unexpected delight, we transformed a stressful undertaking into a playful entry point to civic participation.

“this was the first time I ever connected with any resource for voting, the first time I felt genuinely excited about [voting]"

Student Voter

BW_22_DUDE_proposals_EB.jpg
BW_22_DUDE_ballotwayfinderwide_EB.jpg

We created an invitation with a giant ballot floor graphic, leading from the hallway into an area with four playground-like sculptures introducing key offices on the federal, state and local levels.

BW_22_DUDE_statesculpture_EB.jpg

Colorful, rotating forms intuitively drew students in to explore the content. Our careful attention to typography (typeface, color, sense breaks) created a clear and reassuring tone of voice.

BW_22_DUDE_station1_EB.jpg

We introduced the top-level goal of the installation with a ‘Ballot Field Guide’ to help students connect the offices on the ballot to the issues they care about.

BW_22_DUDE_cubeexplanation_EBHSSR.jpg

Each rotating cube explained an office on the ballot with concise, plain language descriptions and salient examples of the impact the office could have on specific issue areas.

BW_22_DUDE_judgesgraphic_EB.jpg

We developed a tactile infographic to bring attention to judicial races—a consequential yet often overlooked part of the ballot.

BW_22_DUDE_proposalsphone_EB.jpg

We designed an area to explain the ballot proposal process in Michigan and point students to reliable, non-partisan information about supporters and opponents of each proposal.

BW_22_DUDE_stationthree_EB.jpg

Our research table—with tips on how to learn about candidates and links to trustworthy, non-partisan resources—normalized the idea that everyone needs to ‘study’ a bit before they feel ready to vote.  

Ballot Wayfinder Credits
Stephanie Rowden and Hannah Smotrich: creative direction and design
Sky Christoph, Casey Rheault, Madeline Shepherd: design and prototyping
Juan Marco: prototyping and 3D printing
Ben Leavitt: content research
Logan Woods, Edie Goldenberg, Debbie Field: content review
Brock Lytle/Paragon Design + Display: printing and fabrication

 

Video by Andy Kirshner, with video editing by Rishad Hasan
Photos by Eric Bronson/Michigan Photography and Mark Gjukich

 

 

The Creative Campus Voting Project is a non-partisan initiative based at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design, led by co-founders Associate Professors Stephanie Rowden and Hannah Smotrich. They work in close coordination with the Ann Arbor City Clerk and their UMICH Votes Coalition partners: Turn Up Turnout, U-M Democracy & Debate, Ginsberg Center, U-M Office of Government Relations, University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), and the Duderstadt Gallery.

 

The 2022 Ballot Wayfinder was generously supported by U-M Office of Research,  U-M Democracy and Debate Initiative, and U-M Stamps School of Art & Design.

bottom of page