Responding in Times of Uncertainty
During the C-19 pandemic, our experiences had many facets. California, which was hit exceptionally hard by the virus, needed to rapidly communicate with and connect to people grappling with changing needs during uncertain times. By investigating significant behavioral and emotional shifts through several rigorous research methods over four months with over 28,000 participants, we identified the emergence of a new order of priorities to act on: trust, safety, and connection.
Through high ambiguity, we clarified priorities into guiding implications for the State of California, helping them respond, recover and ultimately thrive with new, safe, trustworthy digital connections.
My Role: Associate Design Strategy Director. Along with: Lead UI Designer, Lead Copywriter, Project Manager, 2 FE Developers
Determining Patterns in How People Engage Information
We sought to understand how people thought about public health, and to explore the behavior changes required to curb the pandemic. I led the UX team that identified the four distinct modes in which people operate and four behavior mindsets they engage. These insights impacted how we approached, designed, and built digital experiences for our users.
We used strategic trigger questions to rapidly identify these patterns: How engaged are you? When do you engage? How do you engage?
The Four Behavior Modes:
Pursue Information
Making the decision to actively search for the most current information, cross referencing multiple sources.
:: ACTIVE
Share Information
Extending information to others by choosing to create, re-share or discuss matters deemed valuable.
:: ACTIVE
Aware of Information
Keeping an ear out for noteworthy changes or fluctuations before investing any significant effort.
:: PASSIVE
Ignore Information
Insulating oneself from information to prevent disruption and maintain equilibrium.
:: PASSIVE
There are two prevailing tensions that drive user behavior: Information Scope & Information Structure.
Framing the Objective
Purpose and Shared Vision
California works to protect the public's health and helps shape positive health outcomes with programs and services, implemented in collaboration with local health departments and state, federal and private partners.
