Visible City Projects
Making municipal construction transparent for every citizen.
Client
City of Moosburg
Role
UX Designer, Website
Duration
1 semester
Industry
Civic / Government
Client
City of Moosburg
Role
UX Designer, Website
Duration
1 semester
Industry
Civic / Government
Stack
A civic UX project in collaboration with the City of Moosburg. The goal: make municipal construction projects visible, understandable, and accessible for all residents. A multi-touchpoint system spanning a web platform, QR code posters at construction sites, and a print version for the local newspaper. Validated through guerrilla testing with real citizens. Average satisfaction score: 4.3 out of 5.
The Problem
Municipal construction projects in Moosburg were invisible to most residents. Information existed but was scattered, hard to find, and rarely updated. Citizens had no simple way to answer basic questions: what is being built, why, what does it cost, and when will it be done. The city had the same problem in reverse. No reliable channel to communicate project status without bureaucratic overhead.
Research
We mapped the full stakeholder landscape before touching a single wireframe. Local residents as primary users, city administration, district councils, press, and social institutions as indirect stakeholders. Desk research was combined with prior-semester citizen interviews. The recurring theme: transparency builds trust, and trust is currently missing.
Synthesis
Six thematic clusters emerged from affinity mapping: accessibility and usability, transparency and communication, innovation and modernity, medium and format, citizen engagement, and feasibility. The most critical insight was that citizens do not distrust the city. They simply do not know what is happening.
Ideation
Brainstorming mapped every possible medium: website, mobile app, QR codes, flyers, newspaper inserts. The key constraint was that any solution had to work for everyone, including elderly residents without smartphones. The decision was a multi-touchpoint system where the same information reaches people through different channels depending on their access.
The Concept
A central web platform with an interactive project map, filterable by status and location. Each project page shows budget, timeline, responsible stakeholders, and a progress bar. At every construction site, a weatherproof QR code poster links directly to that project page. One scan, full context. A print version for the local newspaper reaches residents without internet access. Same information, three paths in.
Testing
Guerrilla testing with real Moosburg residents across age groups. Not a lab. On the street, in context. Average satisfaction score: 4.3 out of 5. The city branding on the poster immediately communicated official authority and raised trust. One unexpected finding: residents wanted to know who would actually read their feedback. Transparency about the process itself mattered just as much as transparency about the projects.
The Problem
Municipal construction projects in Moosburg were invisible to most residents. Information existed but was scattered, hard to find, and rarely updated. Citizens had no simple way to answer basic questions: what is being built, why, what does it cost, and when will it be done. The city had the same problem in reverse. No reliable channel to communicate project status without bureaucratic overhead.
Research
We mapped the full stakeholder landscape before touching a single wireframe. Local residents as primary users, city administration, district councils, press, and social institutions as indirect stakeholders. Desk research was combined with prior-semester citizen interviews. The recurring theme: transparency builds trust, and trust is currently missing.
Synthesis
Six thematic clusters emerged from affinity mapping: accessibility and usability, transparency and communication, innovation and modernity, medium and format, citizen engagement, and feasibility. The most critical insight was that citizens do not distrust the city. They simply do not know what is happening.
Ideation
Brainstorming mapped every possible medium: website, mobile app, QR codes, flyers, newspaper inserts. The key constraint was that any solution had to work for everyone, including elderly residents without smartphones. The decision was a multi-touchpoint system where the same information reaches people through different channels depending on their access.
The Concept
A central web platform with an interactive project map, filterable by status and location. Each project page shows budget, timeline, responsible stakeholders, and a progress bar. At every construction site, a weatherproof QR code poster links directly to that project page. One scan, full context. A print version for the local newspaper reaches residents without internet access. Same information, three paths in.
Testing
Guerrilla testing with real Moosburg residents across age groups. Not a lab. On the street, in context. Average satisfaction score: 4.3 out of 5. The city branding on the poster immediately communicated official authority and raised trust. One unexpected finding: residents wanted to know who would actually read their feedback. Transparency about the process itself mattered just as much as transparency about the projects.
Next project →
Munich Budget (Hackathon)