ZONE CANVASSING
Making Outreach Count
Note: Due to confidentiality, I cannot share design artifacts or final visuals from this project. Instead, I describe the process and outcomes in detail, supported by abstract diagrams and conceptual visuals.
Adopted by
Recruiters nationwide; improved outreach visibility, supported data-driven decisions, reduced admin burden
Lead UI/UX Designer
5 Developers
1 QA
1 Product Owner
1 UI/UX Designer
January 2024 - July 2024
Mobile App
Overview
This project focused on creating a digital feature suite that gave Recruiters visibility into their outreach for the first time. I led discovery, design, testing, and rollout, delivering tools for event logging, QR analytics, and heatmaps, all integrated into the existing Aim High App.
Beyond new features, the work required rethinking navigation and the dashboard to support more than 2,200 Recruiters nationwide with a lightweight, mobile-first system.
PROCESS
The Effort That Went Unseen
Recruiters were on the ground every day, canvassing neighborhoods and handing out flyers with QR codes. But the results of their hard work vanished the moment the conversation ended.
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Were people scanning? Did those scans lead to interest? No one knew.
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“I hand out dozens of flyers, but I never know if anyone actually follows through.” — Recruiter
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This lack of visibility left both Recruiters and leadership flying blind.
Searching for Clarity
To understand the problem deeply, I spoke directly with Recruiters. They walked me through their zone canvassing routines — the checklists, the paper notes, the confusing app navigation they had learned to “just deal with.”
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Their frustrations weren’t about doing the work. They simply wanted to know if their work was making a difference.
The Challenge Beneath the Challenge
It wasn’t enough to design new features. I had to fit them inside the existing Aim High App, with its already cramped dashboard and familiar-but-flawed navigation.
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Recruiters admitted the navigation was confusing, but they were so used to it that changing it outright risked alienating them. This meant designing a gradual shift, layering new items in while carefully phasing out the old ones.
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“The old nav doesn’t make sense, but I’m used to it. If you change it now, I’ll just get lost.”
— Recruiter
SOLUTION
Designing With Purpose
Three simple but powerful ideas drove the solution:​
Event Logging →
Make recording outreach effortless with geotagging and quick forms
QR Analytics →
Turn invisible scans
into visible data
Heatmaps →
Show patterns across neighborhoods, helping plan smarter
Each was guided by one principle: keep it lightweight and actionable.
Feedback That Shaped the Design
This project lived and breathed iteration. Every two weeks, I presented prototypes to Recruiters.
They weren’t shy about pushing back - asking for clearer labels, prioritizing conversions over raw scans, or challenging flows that looked good in theory but not in practice.
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Developers and leadership also pressed me to defend my choices, which sharpened my communication and strengthened the final product.
RESULTS
Making the Invisible Visible
The new tools gave Recruiters and leadership what they had been missing:
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2,200+ Recruiters gained visibility into outreach
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Leadership could direct resources based on real data
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Historical tracking informed future campaigns
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Recruiters saved time and felt validated knowing their work mattered
Lessons I Carried Forward
This project left me with lessons that shaped how I work today:
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Constraints can inspire creativity — fitting new features into old systems taught me flexibility.
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Familiarity is sticky — replacing broken patterns requires empathy and patience.
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Growth comes from pushback — constant challenges made me a stronger communicator and collaborator.
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Accessibility and trust matter — designing in a federal context reminded me that compliance isn’t a barrier; it’s a design opportunity.
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Most of all, I learned that UX doesn’t have to be flashy to be transformative. Sometimes, it’s about making sure every effort counts — and every story has proof behind it.
