SCOPE
CONTEXT
Short group project. My role: product designer. I worked with a copywriter, art director, and an experience designer/product manager.
PROBLEM
Any proposals for gun background checks are inevitably met with protests from gun owners about how restrictive they are, and protests from gun control supporters for not being restrictive enough.
SOLUTION
My group decided to find a neutral solution: we created a background check service that would be both more convenient and more thorough.
THE CONCEPT
Fun fact: I was a competitive target shooter from ages nine to nineteen. This product is the result of my combined passions for product design, complex problem spaces, and gun safety.
Scope is a background check service that can be accessed through any mobile phone, placing a secure background check directly in the hands of every potential gun seller. This service is made possible through a blockchain-backed system that secures personal information and makes credentials impossible to fake.
MAIN FEATURES
The home screen shows the steps that must be taken to apply for your Scope Credential. After you interview with your Spotter and they initiate the process, you can see the progress. If you obtain your credential, you get a QR code that can be scanned by phones with or without the app, allowing any seller to verify your credential and identity quickly. Note: we designed the service to specialize around each state's firearm regulations.
PROCESS AND REFLECTION
Unfortunately, the short timescale of the project and large amount of secondary research required to understand background check legislation and systems meant that we didn't have much time for feedback beyond concept validation and look/feel impressions of the app user flow. I'd like to continue to solicit feedback to improve usability of the app and seamlessness and transparency of the process in general.
This project went very smoothly for such a controversial topic. Half our team was pro (safe) gun ownership, and half our team was pro more gun control. But by agreeing that our first priorities were safety and creating something both sides could agree on, we were able to focus and build our solution.