Designing for Low Digital Literacy

Overview

Digitize educational and entertaining materials that our client has been mailing to prisoners.

Low Digital Literacy + No Internet

Prisoners often have low digital literacy,
isolated from technology

App must run without internet

Accessibility is key.

Categorized, image-based Display of all programs offered

• Reduced the need for navigation or searching.
• Sparks curiosity and motivation, encouraging users to browse and engage with more content.
• Serves as intuitive visual cues for users who may struggle with text-heavy interfaces or digital tasks.

Displaying the Author’s Name and Mailing Address with each entry

• Encourages readers to reach out directly, fostering connection that helps incarcerated individuals feel seen and valued.
• Shifts the focus from anonymous content to real people with stories, increasing empathy and emotional impact.

Pre-expanded First Category in Save View

• Helps users with low digital literacy quickly understand the feature.
• Reduces clicks and cognitive load.

Design Process

During an hour-long interview, we spoke with a former inmate. Our client also provided past prison survey results.

• The Power of Shared Stories in Prison: Submissions of personal stories from other prisoners are motivational and encouraging for our interviewee.
• Desire for Expression and Reentry: Prisoners seek to express themselves and explore new interests both for entertainment and to prepare for reentry, aiming for validation from the outside world.
• Lack of Digital Literacy: Prisoners often find technology intimidating and inaccessible due to limited exposure and lack of support for learning.

To better understand how prisoners will interact with our tablet app, we used our research insights to create a persona.

Due to prison restrictions, our client's requirements for the App and the needs of our primary user – prisoners– were clashing.

Our team listed the necessary features for our app.

Main Features

• Dashboard for display of content.
• Search in case users want to look for specific content such as author of poem.
• Help button for simple explanation of unfamiliar app features.
• Save like content.

We started sketching to plan the app's layout and structure.

Final Prototype with User-Centered Design Decisions

Home

• Intuitive Visual Cues: Categorized, image-based previews serve as intuitive visual cues for users who may struggle with text-heavy interfaces or digital tasks.
• Familiar Language: We used plain language that users with low digital literacy are familiar with such as "See All" to ensure that all users can navigate the app easily and confidently.
• Increase Discoverability: A visual, scrollable display of newsletters, journals, and art makes it immediately obvious what the app offers, reducing the need for navigation or searching.

"Mail" and "Help" Instructions

• Immediate Assistance: The "Help" button offers easy guidance on app usage, crucial for users with limited digital literacy, reducing frustration and boosting navigation confidence.
• Clear Communication Channels: ‍The "Mail" button clearly explains how to send communications to Prisoner Express, boosting user participation by making these instructions readily accessible.

Saved Items

• Demonstrate Functionality for Accessibility: The "Newsletter" category is expanded by default to demonstrate the functionality and assist users with low digital literacy in navigating their saved content.
• Facilitate Quick Access: ‍‍For users returning to revisit saved content, having the first category open allows for immediate access to items they are likely interested in.

Search

• Enable User Control & Choice: The design empowers them to independently navigate the app, enhancing their overall user experience by providing control and flexibility in how they access the information.
• Provide Visual Cues: ‍Category icons for Newsletter, Journal, etc. make it easy for users to visually identify different types of content.

View Catalogue

• Encourage Social Connection: By providing mailing addresses, the app facilitates direct communication, fulfilling user's goal of seeking human connection.
• Enhanced Engagements: ‍By providing visual and textual previews, the design draws users in and encourages deeper engagement with the content.

Read PDF

• Inclusivity and Info Retention ‍Catering to users with different reading levels or limited time, the overview section offers content summaries, enhancing accessibility.
• Focused Reading Experience Through Minimal UI: ‍The design emphasizes the PDF info and close button, maintaining user focus on the content while avoiding visual clutter and excessive options.

To ensure our prototype aligns with user needs and business goals, I decided to create a user journey map guiding future iterations and improvements.