ABSTRACT
Civic participation plays a vital role in developing healthy democracies in our society. In this chapter, we discuss how design can help develop technology that addresses the complex issue of the lack of active civic participation in political contexts. As a case study, we present the design process used in conceiving an interactive referendum hub. The aim of the proposed concept was to bring public awareness to the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 in an effort to encourage active participation on the part of the Scottish electorate. Our concept was implemented and evaluated through a trial vote in the wild using a high-fidelity working prototype. The findings highlight that the prototype was positively received, and moreover, its usability and interactivity were found to have the potential to increase public awareness and encourage civic participation in a public setting.
