echo. - Your media assistent
The project aims to create a user-friendly, transparent, and interactive platform for political education. It combines AI-powered analysis, personalized news, and interactive elements to engage users with political topics and encourage active participation in society.
All projects
Team
Supervision
Course
Mia Wannags
Vivien Bertz
Maceo Pohl
Prof. Hans Krämer
Jens Döring
Lean design
6. Semester
Does politics feel distant to you? Are you frustrated, overwhelmed, or simply don’t have the time to dive deep into information? Maybe you don’t know where to start, who to trust, or you've lost interest because nothing ever seems to change. No matter what type of person you are, Echo helps make politics understandable and accessible!
Skills
ux design
market research
DESIGN PROCESS
ui design
Because guessing isn’t a strategy
From our interviews and surveys, we gained valuable insights.These numbers show how challenging it is for many people to engage with politics, and that’s exactly where Echo comes in.
98%
find political topics often overwhelming.
84%
use social media and YouTube as their main
sources for political education.
84%
wonder how political issues affect
them personally
Design methods
We used methods like the Value Proposition Canvas, personas, and morphological boxes to design a solution that balances usability with depth. One of the main insights was that users tend to be overwhelmed with political content and uncertain how it relates to their own lives. To achieve this, we aimed for the information depth of an average article, objective, factual, and lightly discursive. We touched on pain points like misinformation, cognitive bias, and overload but allowed users to think, make their own minds up, and engage through means like guided audio scenarios and personalized news feeds.
Conclusio
Outside the app [pink] users can access various ways to activate the assistant, along with motivational features
to encourage engagement with the service.
Within the app [blue] users are prompted to activate the assistant or navigate to the dashboard.
In the dashboard [purple] users find an overview of their media consumption tracked by the assistant.
Once the assistant is activated [green] a selection of options is available, leading to the core feature of the service,
an AI-generated analysis of shared content. This analysis provides users with in-depth knowledge and strengthens
their ability to reflect and engage with political information.
Pixels with purpose
Many political topics feel abstract, complicated, distant, or hard to grasp. But politics affects us all.
To make it more tangible, we focused on understanding users' lived realities.We developed a questionnaire
that captures this context through simple questions and multiple-choice options, creating a personalized
perspective on political issues.
Reality of life quiz
After speaking with the sociologist Georg Kneer, we became aware of how important it is to help users better understand their own social position. Knowing which groups face similar challenges is essential for addressing
problems at their root, rather than being misled by populist narratives or blaming the wrong people.
To make the complex sociological concept of “lived reality” more accessible, we reduced it to its most essential
aspects, keeping it simple and easy to understand.
echo. modes
Screen
Capture political content directly from your smartphone—social media, online newspapers, or videos. Whatever it is, Echo understands you.
Audio
Heard something that left you wondering? Record podcasts, radio segments, or spoken content with a single tap. Whatever it is, Echo understands you.
Camera
Capture real-world scenes, like a political poster that raises questions, flyers that appeared in your mailbox overnight, or newspaper articles. Whatever it is, Echo understands you.
Getting an overview
No matter the format of the content, users are always directed to this overview. The overview displays the different options and the source the content refers to. At the center are the key questions. Once a key question is selected, the user receives a more detailed explanation tailored to their inquiry.
When and where does
Echo provide value?
At the core are the key questions that cover everything needed for strong media literacy. They are directly based on our research and are tailored to meet the diverse needs of different user types. These questions help users understand content, even if they don't yet know what to ask.
Highlight feature
The highlight feature allows users to mark specific parts of any content and ask questions directly about them. Inspired by common editing tools, it’s designed to be fast and intuitive. It works across all media types, whether it's video or audio content, online articles, or posters in public spaces.
Browser extension
User testing revealed a clear demand for a browser extension to make Echo more accessible on larger screens. The extension is now available for anyone who prefers researching on a desktop and wants to explore political topics more thoroughly and efficiently.
Control center
When time is short, Echo can be activated directly from the Control Center.
This provides the same answers in a convenient overlay, without having to leave
the app or content you're currently using.
Motivation
To keep users engaged with political topics, we developed several campaigns that integrate seamlessly into our concept. One classic approach is the use of iPhone widgets featuring various calls to action. Additionally, we plan to collaborate with meaningful platforms such as "Der Koalitionstracker - Frage den Staat" or the "Wahl-O-Mat" to provide relevant content and timely incentives.
A dynamic personalization layer adapts content to users’ lived realities without creating filter bubbles. This encourages reflective, interactive information consumption and strengthens critical thinking and dialogue.
All in all
Our project focuses on delivering an intuitive and personalized user experience. The dashboard provides a clear overview of saved content, browsing history, and relevant topics. To support structured use, we differentiate between saved items, history, and shared content. Saved items are visually highlighted, history helps track research, and the sharing feature allows users to exchange articles and messages with friends or groups, including source references for context.
Want to get in touch?
That's great for both of us! :)
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2025 Tina Puseljic
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