Case study / CNN
Election Night, designed for everyone
Election night at CNN was built for political insiders. We rebuilt it so everyone could follow along.
By Christian Eckels / Design lead, Election Center
Watch the election night walkthrough
Role
Design lead, Election Center
Team
3 product designers, 1 PM, 7 engineers, with editorial, research, UX copy, growth, ads and app partners
Timeline
2022 midterms through the 2024 presidential election
Platforms
Web and mobile web
FIG. 1 Election Center on desktop and mobile.
01
The problem
For years, CNN’s election coverage was aimed at people who already followed politics closely. But our research team kept hearing that many readers cared most about local races, the ones that mattered most to them, and wanted help following those. So we asked how we could make election night more personal.
02
2022: Clearer results
First, we stopped relying on color alone for results. We added candidate names, party labels, and short notes on why each race mattered. Then we launched My Election, a dashboard readers could personalize with a free CNN account. Since CNN was moving to a new CMS, we released updates in phases.
FIG. 2 Results modules, before and after.
03
2024: Your Election
For the presidential cycle, we rebuilt personalization as Your Election. Readers could follow any race, return to it with a button that stayed on screen, search by state, and start with suggested races on their first visit. For anyone new, a voter handbook explained the process.
04
Research that changed the design
We tested Your Election with CNN’s community panel and then ran a mobile-first layout study on the Election Center hub, since most visitors use their phones. The findings led us to change the copy, the first-visit experience, and the hub layout. For example, a simplified map looked tappable when it wasn’t, so we replaced it with a ribbon of links to key races.
05
Election week
During the primaries and election week, I led QA and handled planning and programming for the Election Center pages. Every label, state, and number had to be correct the first time. On election night, there are no second chances.
06
Outcome
67.2M
unique visitors on Election Day
61M
unique visitors the day after
Both days ranked among CNN Digital’s ten highest-traffic days ever.
A company-wide result that the Election Center experience helped carry.
07
What I learned
On election night, clarity is essential. Every label, state, and color must work for people who are anxious, in a hurry, and using their phones.