Slovenian State Election Commission

A group of students from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana were given the task of coming up with a graphic design for the Slovenian State Election Commission’s website. They worked individually and in groups, with a jury deciding on a winner at the end.

The Wonderland Of Opportunity

Sara Božanić was approached by the winners and decided to mentor the group to create a new transmedia communication strategy. Joined by Tanja Užmah Mosquera, they completed the entire web design, as well as the election forms. The independent jury deliberated on ten proposals and decided to put Tanja’s project into production. Polling stations used information posters and ballot papers designed by Tanja, as well as information boards, speaker podiums, correspondence papers, envelopes, etc. The team, consisting of designer Tanja Užmah Mosquera, programmers, and translators, and led by DVK Director Dušan Vučko, took part in the competition and won. They were invited to Kuala Lumpur by the International Electoral Awards Committee and were given the International Electoral Award in the ‘Electoral Management Award’ category.

During this time, they also developed an application for mobile phones featuring a map of all the available polling stations (when you enter your home address, the app directs you to the nearest one), as well as an educational appl with a detailed description of voting rights for voters and the election board.

The newly designed website was the first in Slovenia to have most of its content prepared for people with special needs as well. The videos contain voice, sign language, and subtitles, which makes them suitable for those with hearing problems as well as the visually impaired.

Following this success, the team has continued to collaborate. During the elections, they were working on the design of the forms and the graphic organizer, as well as updating the website with the latest and most accurate information, managing the Twitter community on election day, publishing the election results – both regular unofficial and the final results. In 2021, the team also worked on the redesign of the website and content. The aim is to make elections democratic, to set up a user-friendly website and a toll-free number for any questions voters may have about the elections.

The project was developed under the guidance of Boštjan Botas Kenda, Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, and Sara Božanić.