r/politics Dashboard
A comprehensive dashboard of Reddit politics
CLIENT
JumboHack 2024
PRODUCT
Website
ROLE
UX Designer
TIME
36 Hours
Challenge
Create a project that aims to increase the political awareness and engagement of citizens and communities.
OVERVIEW
JumboHack 2024
JumboHack is a weekend-long hackathon at Tufts University that brings together innovators of all skill levels to collaborate, learn, and build exciting projects. Inspired by the challenges in education, my team and I took on the task of creating an interactive tool that helps visualize and explore school events in a more intuitive way.
Goals
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Analyze and interpret political sentiment across subreddits to
provide users with clear insights
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Ensure that users receive timely, subreddit-specific information that reflects the latest discussions and trends
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Present sentiment analysis and related data through an intuitive, interactive, and visually appealing dashboard
Challenges
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Navigating the limitations of Reddit’s API by developing alternative scraping methods that are reliable, ethical, and scalable
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Filtering and organizing vast amounts of subreddit data to isolate discussions that are politically relevant, while maintaining contextual accuracy
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Developing a machine learning model tailored to the nuances of political discourse, which often includes sarcasm, ambiguity, and polarized language
My Role
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Main UI/UX Designer and Front-End Developer
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Collaborated with four software engineers (two developers, a ML engineer, and a front-end developer)
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Created wireframes, interactive prototypes, visuals, and developed front-end screens
Problem Statement
As access to news become increasingly dependent on algorithms designed to hold our attention, consumers become enthralled in "epistemic bubbles" or "pipelines," where users will only come across information that is given to them. The division between those on both sides on the political compass is growing each day, and people are unaware about how much their or others' ideologies are being spoken about.
EXPLORE
Designing a Solution
Wireframes
In my sketches, I opted for a bento box design. This was a strategic choice, driven by our goal of creating a user-friendly and visually engaging dashboard. With only a few key data points to showcase, the bento design proved to be the most effective solution.
Its compartmentalized layout allows for clear organization of information, ensuring that users can easily digest and interpret the data. Overall, the bento box design aligns perfectly with our objective of delivering a functional and visually appealing dashboard.
CREATION
Visual Identity
UI
The visual identity of r/politics dashboard incorporates solid, dark colors. Our goal was to craft a modern and simplistic dashboard with a harmonious and visually pleasing composition, contributing to an overall polished and professional appearance. For the font, we sought to enhance simplicity by selecting a clean, readable typeface.
Visuals
r/politics Dashboard
Subreddit Filter
Project Information
IMPLEMENTATION
Final Product
Development
Within just 36 hours, our team successfully coded and implemented the dashboard’s core functionality. Despite never having met before the event, we quickly built a strong, collaborative dynamic.
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To maximize efficiency, we structured ourselves into three focused sub-teams: Data Scraping, Machine Learning, and Design. This clear division of responsibilities allowed us to work in parallel, streamline our workflow, and deliver a fully functional product within the limited timeframe.
Results
At JumboHack 2024, we pitched r/politics Dashboard under the Political Awareness and Racial Advocacy track, competing among 100+ participants and 19 submissions. Some highlights included:
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Successfully designed, developed, and deployed the entire site within just 36 hours.
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Overcame technical challenges, such as the limitations of the private Reddit API, by quickly pivoting to a custom-built manual scraper to collect the necessary data.
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Effectively consolidated all the collected data into a single, intuitive dashboard for seamless analysis and visualization.
README
What's Next?
Takeaways
Working on the r/politics Dashboard for JumboHack 2024 was an incredible experience. It was my first time collaborating closely with developers to bring a shared vision to life. More importantly, I had the opportunity to build an exciting project that leveraged cutting-edge technologies.
Over the course of 36 intense hours, we worked tirelessly to build a fully functional dashboard. Despite facing tight time constraints and API limitations, we successfully implemented the core features of our site—finding creative workarounds and proving that innovation thrives under pressure. The experience strengthened my technical skills but also taught me creative problem-solving in a fast-paced environment.
I learned a lot from this project through:
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Working as a sole designer with developers for the first time
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Learning how to produce a MVP against a time constraint and technological challenges
Achievements
Runner-up in the Political Awareness and Racial Advocacy Track