Empowering Communities to Report and Prevent Local Incident

STAART is a mobile application designed to help local communities protect businesses and create safer shopping environments by allowing users to anonymously report incidents and submit evidence (photos and/or videos) of unsafe behaviors or disturbances. This app provides a simple, efficient, and secure way for people to take action against illegal or harmful activities without revealing their identity.

Local businesses and communities are often impacted by theft, harassment, or vandalism, yet these incidents frequently go unreported due to fear of retaliation or distrust in law enforcement. Additionally, businesses and shoppers lack an easy way to document these incidents and report them in a way that is useful to authorities. The existing options are often cumbersome, require unnecessary personal details, or don't offer the necessary anonymity.

Led the Design Research, Prototyping, Interaction Design, and UI/UX Design for the StAART app.

Louie Ambriz - UI/UX Manager

4 Months

We conducted an analysis of reporting apps and systems used by businesses and local communities. While certain platforms exist for incident reporting, none focused on anonymity, evidence sharing, and business protection simultaneous

Many existing apps require personal information, which discourages users from reporting incidents.

Platforms lack a streamlined way to submit visual evidence that is accessible and easy to share..

There is no single app dedicated to creating a safer shopping environment while keeping businesses informed and protected.

Based on the interviews, we created several user personas. One key persona is Sophia, a local shopper who often notices suspicious activity but feels uncomfortable reporting it in person.

• Stay anonymous when reporting.
• Quickly submit photos or videos of incidents.
• Feel confident that the report is being taken seriously by local businesses and authorities.

Sophia experiences a “Moment of Decision” when she witnesses a theft outside a local shop. She decides to use Staart’s app to submit a photo anonymously. She goes through a simple three-step process:

• Open app and select “Report an Incident”
• Capture or upload the image/video
• Choose the business affected and submit the report

Our solution was to create a clean, intuitive app with a focus on anonymity and ease of use for both shoppers and businesses. Key features include:

• Anonymous Reporting: Users can report incidents without revealing their identity. The app also anonymizes their location.
• Evidence Submission: Users can attach photos, videos, and descriptions to their reports, with simple options to add and annotate visual evidence.
• Business Alerts: Local businesses are notified immediately of new reports relevant to them. The app integrates with their existing communication systems to streamline follow-up actions.

Sophia experiences a “Moment of Decision” when she witnesses a theft outside a local shop. She decides to use Staart’s app to submit a photo anonymously. She goes through a simple three-step process:

• Home Page: Quick access to report an incident, view recent reports, and browse business alerts.
• Report Incident: A clean interface that allows users to input a brief description and attach photos/videos.
• Report History: Users can track their submitted reports and check if they’ve been resolved.
• Business Dashboard: A section where businesses can manage and respond to reports.

We created an interactive prototype using Figma and conducted three rounds of user testing with 20 participants (shoppers and business owners). Through these tests, we identified several key areas for improvement:

• Improvement Areas: The report submission form initially felt overwhelming. Users requested a more straightforward way to submit evidence without too many options.
• Accessibility: We ensured the app was WCAG 2.1 compliant, with high-contrast text, accessible fonts, and easy navigation.