How I Unknowingly Designed Donald Trump’s Presidential Campaign App
If the product you’re designing became wildly successful, would that be a good thing?
“Design ethics” is one of those phrases that many of us brush over as too intangible, too abstract, or even maybe too obvious — we would never knowingly design something we believe to be negative, right? But reality is much more nuanced than that.
In 2014, I was a junior designer whose work couldn’t possibly have any significant impact on the world, let alone contribute to global political discourse… or so I thought. Around that time, the concept of gamification was gaining traction, and I had just finished a course on it with Kevin Werbach. Soon after, I stumbled onto an opportunity to design a gamified social activism platform from the ground up. I jumped at the chance, ecstatic to experiment with my newfound knowledge of human psychology.
uCampaign was an app that awarded points to campaign supporters when they invited friends to use it, advocated on social media, and even physically checked in at voting centers. I was the sole designer, and it was my responsibility to architect the fundamental experience. When I met with the CEO, the app’s right-leaning orientation became apparent as we discussed potential clients: small, local…
