arrow_backward Projects


Understanding the U.S. Constitution

Understanding the U.S. Constitution

First released: Jul 2016

Graduated: Jun 2019


Understanding the U.S. Constitution is no longer available, but all its features and content are available within the JSTOR Understanding Series

Concept:
Select an article, amendment or clause to see all the articles in JSTOR that quote or cite it. Understanding the U.S. Constitution leads you to a library of constitutional scholarship -- in your pocket.

What we did:

  1. Created the data, using a process similar to Understanding Shakespeare. This data included the ability to associate passages with named clauses.
  2. Conducted a flash build at our Ann Arbor offices and subsequently iterated on the design of the app. For more on how iterated on the design of the "equalizer" (the means to filter and sort recommended articles), see this blog post.
  3. Released Understanding the U.S. Constitution as iOS and Android apps.

What we built:

Understanding the US Constitution demonstration video

What we learned:

  1. The matchmaker algorithm that created the data for Understanding Shakespeare was extensible for other kinds of content.
  2. This was our first app. We learned a great deal about what it takes to design for apps.
  3. Driving adoption of this app was quite challenging.