Legal Evidence & Safety App
Empowering survivors through immutable evidence
In cases of gender-based violence, 80% of reports worldwide are dismissed due to a lack of documented, legally valid evidence. Victims face a harrowing paradox: they need to document abuse to seek protection, but the act of recording itself creates a massive risk of escalation if discovered. Our goal was to build a «digital shield», a tool using blockchain to secure an unalterable chain of custody while ensuring the collection process remained invisible to an aggressor.
My rol: Leading the digital shield
As the lead Senior UX/UI Designer, I spearheaded the end-to-end experience for a complex ecosystem consisting of an information hub, a high-security management vault, and a discreet mobile recording tool. I led a lean team of one Product Owner and four developers (1 Front-end, 3 Back-end), acting as the primary bridge between legal validity, technical feasibility, and user safety.
Process: Discovery & Tactical Logic
The core challenge was architecting three distinct interfaces that shared a brand DNA but served different psychological states:
Stakeholder Management & Aesthetic Pivot: I originally championed a «hand-drawn, crafty» landing page to maximize approachability. Stakeholders requested a shift toward a more «serious, tech-forward» look. I compromised by using a more «techy» icon set while retaining the «friendly» background illustrations and a conversational, non-technical copywriting tone to accommodate users with lower tech literacy.
The «Zero-UI» Veto: I initially pushed for gesture-based recording (e.g., volume button triggers) to keep the phone hidden. When this proved technically unfeasible at the time, I pivoted to a «High-Speed UX» solution.
User-Validated Accessibility: Usability testing confirmed that precision is impossible in high-stress moments. In response, I designed a persistent, full-width «Big Button» at the bottom of the screen. This placement was specifically optimized for thumb-reach and instant reaction, ensuring the path to legal safety was never more than one tap away.
The Solution: Contextual Camouflage
We delivered a system centered on Contextual Masking.
Adaptive Skins: To ensure the app never looked «out of place,» I developed a library of masks (e.g., Radio, Yoga, Cooking). Users choose the theme that best mirrors their lifestyle, making the app’s presence on their phone organic and invisible to an aggressor.
Atomic Design, I built a system that shared a core DNA across the landing page, the vault, and the app. By treating the management vault as a «daughter project» and reusing components from our previous surveillance work, we saved significant development time—pivoting variables like fonts and colors rather than building from scratch.
Impact & recognition
Award-Winning Innovation: The project won the BlockchAngel Challenge, recognized for its social impact and technological execution.
Successful Deployment: Launched in Colombia under the name Ni1 +, moving a high-stakes legal tool from a concept to a functional reality for survivors.
Universal Applicability: While built for domestic violence, the framework has proven its utility in other assault-evidence contexts, proving that high-security tech can be made accessible through empathetic design.