HTC Map 2030

CIVIC UX RESEARCH · MAPPING INTERFACE

Visualizing CUNY’s Hard-to-Count Map to help organizations identify and reach communities most likely to be missed in the 2030 Census

Client

Center for Urban Research, CUNY

Role

Product Design Strategy Lead — Interface design, information architecture, UX research, and product strategy

Timeline

15 weeks

Team

Shayla Singh, Shriya Chipde, Emily Yip, Rex Fukuchi

Data Determines Representation: When Communities Go Undercounted

Every ten years, the U.S. Census determines how billions of dollars in federal funding are distributed and how political representation is allocated across the country. When communities are undercounted, they lose access to resources that shape housing, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

To help prevent this, the Center for Urban Research at CUNY built the Hard-to-Count (HTC) Map, a data platform that identifies neighborhoods most likely to be missed in the census. Advocacy groups, policymakers, and nonprofit organizations rely on this map to plan outreach efforts and allocate resources.

As the product design strategy lead on this project, my goal was to make critical geospatial census data easier to understand, explore, and act on.

The HTC Map 2020 offered valuable insights, but usability issues and fragmented census data made it difficult for organizations to quickly identify and communicate hard-to-count communities.

Our design challenge and opportunity:

How might we design an intuitive tool that helps organizations identify hard-to-count communities and generate insights to guide effective 2030 Census outreach?

Our team with Steven Romalewski and Zhi Keng from the CUNY Mapping Service

After attending the kickoff meeting with the CUNY team and auditing the 2020 HTC Map website, we defined the following core objectives for the project.

OBJECTIVE 01

Understand how key users such as nonprofit organizations, and funders use the HTC census map.

OBJECTIVE 02

Shape a design strategy for the 2030 HTC website using research insights.

OBJECTIVE 03

Create an easy-to-use tool that effectively communicates HTC data to support the 2030 Census efforts.

A Research-Driven Framework for Understanding the Census Outreach Landscape

Over a 15-week design sprint, we followed a three-phase process.

INITIAL RESEARCH

Audit the 2020 HTC Map website

UNDERSTAND COMPETITOR MAPS

Analyzed 11 competitor maps

IDENTIFY USER NEEDS AND PAIN POINTS

Interview 10 stakeholders
Affinity mapping
MoSCoW prioritization workshop

To kick off our baseline research, we conducted a review and audit of 12 different maps, including the CUNY 2020 HTC Map.

3 Census Bureau Maps
4 Census projects
5 Other interactive maps for ideas

Conducted 30-minute interviews with 10 US-based stakeholders with experience using the CUNY HTC 2020 map representing 10 different organizations types.

Used affinity mapping and identified 6 main findings characterizing how users interact with the interface and what their needs and challenges are.

Understanding HTC Data Users: Needs and Challenges

FINDING 01

Users view different demographics as important in their work, and thus need multiple layers at a time to filter for these specific categories.

FINDING 02

Many users want simplified access to the raw data and reports because it is needed to inform their on-ground workers to perform outreach.

FINDING 03

Users found parts of the map to be too overwhelming and difficult to navigate and understand, making it inaccessible to all audiences.

Workshop to Define HTC 2030 Priorities and Structure

Based on our competitor research, user interviews, and the key insights derived from affinity mapping, we decided to conduct a workshop with our clients to brainstorm the key considerations for the HTC 2030, including layer categorizations and a MoSCoW Prioritization.

Establish a Strategic Direction and Guiding Principles for the HTC 2030 Map

STRATEGIC DIRECTION

Designing for users coming from different backgrounds by offering comprehensive onboarding and user guides, presenting a wide range of layered information with precise filters, and prioritizing usability and way-finding to meet the specific needs of a nationwide mapping project.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Design for Everyone

The platform must remain usable for people with different levels of technical expertise.

Clarity and Transparency

Users should immediately understand what the data represents and where it comes from.

Foster Collaboration

Organizations should be able to quickly share insights with partners and stakeholders.

Rethinking the HTC 2030 Experience

We focused on redesigning the areas with the greatest usability impact.

The redesign targeted six major product systems:

01. Style Guide & Component Library

02. Updated Dashboard Experience

03. Revised Information Architecture

04. Restructured Information & Map Controls Panels

05. Addition of Onboarding and a Share & Export Toolbar

06. Revamped Data Trends & Content pages

Style Guide & Component Library

To begin, we defined an accessibility-driven design system that transforms complex data into clear, inclusive experiences while ensuring visual consistency and scalability across the platform.

This ensured a seamless handoff to the development team at CUNY.

Updated Dashboard Experience

The HTC 2030 map dashboard was fully redesigned to reflect the new census cycle and distinguish it from the 2020 experience. The updated UI introduces a cohesive framework that prioritizes key data and insights. The redesigned elements include:

A restructured information architecture and navigation (top)
An improved information panel (left)
A redesigned map layers panel (right)
A toolbar for quick export and sharing functions (bottom)

Each of these components is explored in detail in the following sections.

Revised Information Architecture

A restructured information architecture that improves navigation and content discovery by surfacing previously buried pages, and incorporating new pages that make information about the HTC map and its data files more accessible to users.

Core map interactions were separated from informational modals to avoid interrupting the dashboard experience.

New Site Navigation: Improved Usability and Wayfinding

The redesigned structure introduces clearer hierarchy and navigation, making content easier to find and use. This update strengthens the CUNY Map’s information hierarchy, replacing unclear navigation with a structured header that allows users to easily discover and utilize critical data resources.

Restructured Information & Map Controls Panels

I strategized and redesigned the information panel and map controls panel for this project, two of the most essential and critical components for navigating and interacting with the HTC map.

Given the complexity of the dashboard, I designed and iterated on over 26 states across the information and map controls panels to ensure clear logic for the development team as they moved into production of these panel states.

A. Information Panel

I began by restructuring the information hierarchy into three clear information layers:

Layer 1: Geographic details
Layer 2: Census data
Layer 3: Demographic insights

This layered approach improved clarity and scannability, supported by a refined text hierarchy to better present dense geospatial layering information.

B. Map Controls Panel

Even in its default state, the map displays up to 20 layers simultaneously. To simplify interaction, I introduced a structured layer grouping system to sort layers by type, with clear section titles, filters, and guidance to support accurate usage. Accessibility was also improved by making the map contrast slider more prominent.

Addition of Onboarding and a Share & Export Toolbar

To support users with varying levels of familiarity, onboarding was integrated into the main dashboard via an interactive walkthrough. The centralized User Guide consolidates tutorials, overlays, a glossary, and shortcuts for easier use of the HTC map.

We introduced a bottom-pinned toolbar for export and sharing, providing quick one-click actions such as print, share, and screenshot, which users access at the final stage of their dashboard journey.

Revamped Data Trends & Content Pages

We redesigned the Data Trends and supporting content pages to improve accessibility and clarity, making insights easier to find while aligning them with the dashboard’s visual language.

Presenting the Final Design and Key Takeaways

CLIENT VALIDATION

After our final presentation, Steve and Zhi from CUNY Mapping Service shared that our work exceeded their expectations. It is now helping them build the next version of the HTC Map!

SHAPING DESIGN STRATEGY

Leading design and strategy for a product of this complexity pushed me to think more deeply about the importance of research-backed design. To visualize and build something for real-world impact felt incredibly rewarding.

IF I HAD MORE TIME

I would conduct usability testing with community organizations and field workers who rely on the HTC Map to validate and refine key workflows. This would help ensure the tool serves a broader range of users effectively.

INSIGHTS & APPRECIATION

This project gave me a strong appreciation for people who work on the ground to ensure everyone is counted. Excited to see how the CUNY HTC Map supports outreach efforts leading up to the 2030 Census!

Our team and the CUNY Mapping Service, all smiles after a successful final presentation

Contact

shaylaprabhusingh@gmail.com