Facebook Illustrations
Commissioned by the Civic Engagement team to illustrate call to actions to help drive election awareness around the globe.
Problem
Facebook initiated a project to enhance civic engagement by educating users about their local politicians and encouraging community involvement. The effort aimed to support users in making informed decisions, getting to the polls, and participating in local governance. As part of this initiative, Facebook sought to redesign its illustrations for educational content, focusing on clarity, inclusivity, and community representation. To ensure these visuals resonated with users, a structured A/B testing process was implemented, leading to a final selection that optimized user understanding and engagement. The key objectives of the project were to: 1. Create illustrations that simplified complex civic topics and made them engaging. 2. Test the effectiveness of various illustration styles in driving awareness and action. 3. Select a single, cohesive style that could scale across Facebook’s civic engagement tools.
Process
1. Initial Research and Ideation
Before diving into testing, the design team conducted:
User Interviews: To understand user awareness of local politics and gather insights on visual preferences.
Competitor Analysis: Reviewing how other platforms presented civic education content.
Mood Boarding: Compiling visual themes, including infographics, community-centric designs, and bold iconography.
The insights from this phase informed the creation of few distinct illustration styles/themes: We knew we wanted to keep the designs simple, we wanted to tap into local stylings when possible, we wanted something that felt hand made and inclusive, and lastly we were open to a playful style.
2. A/B Testing Phase
Test Structure
The A/B testing was conducted over two weeks, targeting three key scenarios:
Educational Prompts (e.g., “Learn About Your Local Candidates”)
Community Action Reminders (e.g., “Upcoming Election Day” notifications)
Poll Engagement Tools (e.g., “Check Your Voter Registration”)
Solution
Based on A/B testing results, a dithered gradient-based abstract style was selected for further refinement. Key considerations in this phase included: Localization: Adjusting color palettes and character designs to reflect cultural and regional nuances. Performance Optimization: Reducing file sizes to ensure fast load times across devices. Scalability: Ensuring the style could be adapted for future civic initiatives. We learned that users responded better to graphics of people and it helped if they could relate to them in some way. After several rounds of refinement, we landed on the drop pin illustration that showcases a poltical figure interacting with characters from different demographic affiliations.
Results
The updated illustrations were rolled out in Q4 2018. Post-launch metrics demonstrated:
25% Increase in User Engagement: Higher click-through rates on voter education content.
20% Boost in Action Rates: More users checking voter registration and learning about local candidates.
Enhanced Community Sentiment: Users described the new style as “empowering,” “informative,” and “inspiring.”
By leveraging a user-centered and data-driven approach, Facebook successfully enhanced its civic engagement tools, empowering users to take meaningful actions within their communities.