From Awareness to Action: Empowering Clarkdale Through Water Data Insight

Arizona State University: Graduate UX / CX Project for Town of Clarkdale, Arizona (Public Works – Water Department)

Duration: Fall 2024

Role: Lead Designer and Strategist

Team: Town of Clarkdale, AZ.

Project Summary:

This case study highlights the capstone project I completed for the Data Visualization course at Arizona State University, as part of a civic engagement initiative. I partnered with Clarkdale Public Works: Water Department to develop a comprehensive public outreach campaign focused on water conservation. The goal was more than just presenting water usage data; it was to build public trust, inspire sustainable behavior, and elevate the visibility of the town’s ongoing conservation efforts.

To meet this challenge, I transformed complex municipal datasets, ranging from water usage reports to infrastructure investments, into a clear and human-centered narrative. I designed a holistic, omnichannel communication strategy grounded in UX, CX, and marketing best practices. Deliverables included social media assets, newsletter content, educational infographics, and community event materials, all unified by Clarkdale’s voice, values, and visual identity.

The resulting campaign concept was visually intuitive, emotionally resonant, and grounded in storytelling. It demonstrates how thoughtful design, clear information hierarchy, and consistent messaging can make government communications more relatable and actionable—moving audiences from awareness to long-term behavioral change.

The Challenge:

Clarkdale’s Water Department faced a common yet complex municipal challenge: how to share data that matters in a way that motivates meaningful action. While raw usage numbers and infrastructure updates were available, they lacked context and emotional appeal for everyday residents. Prior materials were often technical or transactional—missing the opportunity to build engagement or strengthen community identity around conservation.

The core challenge was twofold:

• Humanize complex datasets and highlight the success of Clarkdale’s current efforts.

  
  

• Design a user-friendly, emotionally intelligent campaign that could resonate across age groups, household types, and digital literacy levels.

This required blending visual storytelling with behavioral insights, ensuring that each touchpoint—from a Facebook post to a town hall infographic—conveyed both urgency and optimism. Our task was not simply to inform, but to inspire.

Summary of Initiatives:

Clarkdale faced a classic engagement challenge: key water conservation information wasn’t reaching or resonating with the community. This created a perception gap for the residents, as many were unaware of the meaningful progress in conservation, infrastructure upgrades, and policy innovation. To close this gap, the campaign needed to do more than inform; it also needed to engage the community in a compelling way The campaign needed to combine data and technical updates, with emotional relevance and visual clarity.

The following key initiatives were designed to build trust, create a sense of shared responsibility, and make water conservation something the entire community could understand, appreciate, and support.

Data Visualization & Clarity: To cut through the noise of technical reports and policy language, I transformed raw water usage and infrastructure data into clear, visually engaging formats. The goal was to make the information not just visible, but memorable and motivating.

Clarkdale Water Report Card: A clear, resident-friendly summary of key water usage metrics, conservation progress, and infrastructure updates. Designed to build trust, showcase success, and inspire continued community participation.

• Designed a resident-facing Water Report Card that highlighted key conservation metrics and infrastructure milestones.
  

• Applied visual hierarchy and color coding to clarify urgency and guide the eye through layered data.
  

• Developed infographics and iconography to reduce cognitive load and increase clarity across all print and digital assets.

"Small Talk" Newsletter Example: This segment introduced residents to water trends and spotlighted the town’s progress on infrastructure upgrades.

Omnichannel Communication: This campaign wasn’t confined to one platform. I designed a system of communications that reached residents where they were—on paper, on screens, and in public spaces—while maintaining a single, unified brand voice.

• Built a multi-channel strategy that included social media, printed newsletters, informational posters, and live event signage.

  
  

• Aligned tone, imagery, and language with Clarkdale’s civic brand identity, reinforcing credibility and consistency.

  
  

  

  Social Media Sample – Community Awareness Post: Part of the omnichannel strategy, this social post was designed to inform and emotionally connect quickly. Using bold visuals, plain-language messaging, and consistent branding.

  
  

• Created flexible content templates to help the town continue updating materials without sacrificing design quality.

  
  

Community Events & In-Person Engagement: To bring the campaign off the page and into real life, I designed event materials and strategies that turned public gatherings into meaningful touchpoints. These community events offered opportunities to connect face-to-face, answer questions, and celebrate conservation progress with residents directly.

• Developed signage, talking points, and take-home materials for public works events, town hall meetings, and neighborhood gatherings.

  
  

• Emphasized approachability and two-way dialogue, allowing residents to feel heard while reinforcing campaign messages in a trusted, local setting.

  
  

Reflection & Impact:

This project demonstrated how design can create clarity, build trust, and drive engagement, even when the topic is as complex as water conservation data. Ultimately, the campaign was not fully implemented during the class, however, it provided me the opportunity to lead a real-world initiative that integrated user experience, customer experience, and visual storytelling.

I learned that data needs to be humanized so we can all connect with it in a meaningful way, and then shared consistently across all channels (social, print, or in-person) to build credibility. More importantly, I observed how community-centered design and co-creation with stakeholders yield stronger, more inclusive outcomes.

As a designer and strategist, I now carry these lessons into every project:

• Craft experiences that meet people where they are

• Design messaging frameworks that foster trust and transparency

• Always connect the emotional “why” to the informational “what”

This campaign showcases my ability to lead multi-touchpoint design efforts and affirmed that great CX starts with empathy, not just execution.