Want to work on ballot design? Read these first.

As AIGA's Design for Democracy project moves into a new phase, we can celebrate their work on research and design guidelines for ballots and election materials. Elections all over the US are smoother and more voters are able to vote as they intend than ever before because of this work. Well done, people!

Let's continue this good work.

Whenever I speak to designers about design in voting and elections, one of the first questions I get is, "Why is it so damn hard to get to a ballot that is easy to use?" As with many design problems, this one is more complicated than you might think. As with other design problems, there are business and technology constraints. There is also history, culture, and momentum. In addition, there are local laws that also affect design of ballots and election materials.

And so, Design for Democracy has put together a top 10 pointers for designers who want to work in the election space.

Special thanks to Jessica Friedman Hewitt, who has been AIGA's lead on the D4D project.