The White House
Intern / Summer 2016
During the summer of 2016, I interned in the Office of Digital Strategy in the Obama administration. I worked with the Director of Product on designs for whitehouse.gov, the WeThePeople petition site, the TSA, and other projects.
White House Messenger Bot
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/37184e69efb2519ad836071921d0b1619d9df6ab21f48feacb65bb8f63136d88/static1.squarespace-min.png)
While in office, President Obama read 10 letters a day from citizens across the country. He repeatedly said it was one of the most important parts of his day — a vital way he kept in touch with the thoughts and feelings of Americans.
Introducing a White House Facebook Messenger bot — a new way citizens could write the President — was not a random idea, but rather a logical extensions of one of President Obama's important routines. In designing the page announcing the product, it was my job to communicate this.
To do this, I decided to ground the Facebook Messenger bot in historical significance, through the graphics and copy on the page.
In addition to designing the announcement landing page, I also developed the page in Drupal, which was launching on WhiteHouse.gov.
Introducing a White House Facebook Messenger bot — a new way citizens could write the President — was not a random idea, but rather a logical extensions of one of President Obama's important routines. In designing the page announcing the product, it was my job to communicate this.
To do this, I decided to ground the Facebook Messenger bot in historical significance, through the graphics and copy on the page.
In addition to designing the announcement landing page, I also developed the page in Drupal, which was launching on WhiteHouse.gov.
Early Sketches
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6ba3dd69edc1baa64816296fb7e49ffb1589b3966d9df9389e3a4b98f722c797/sketches-min.png)
Final Designs on WhiteHouse.gov
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e580717a4455bf9fbd2ce95a8d0ce02803710959aab101bc61f3363c404ad86c/static1.squarespace-1-min.png)
Press & Response
The product launch got a lot of press, but the most satisfying part of the project was seeing The President personally read and respond to one of the letters received through Messenger himself.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f5222f9b431867d87d1aa8e3de6cd3c74844b518ff86acf0c62bf00aae6dd6ff/Screenshot-2017-02-06-17.06.48.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6063f2da5e8f392105705daab7af7ea2b70e2179651eb0b1354f3b694582e0df/Screenshot-2017-02-06-17.07.16.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5325f140b5de596e32de772064ce4e913917d15ccc0b809cd2ba398815fde936/Screenshot-2017-02-06-17.09.12.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d281a9ef66f3cc0a9792f8aca6546770bf8c4f022591f60a28c6c236332d6f64/Screenshot-2017-02-06-17.06.59.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ace3805ca813455566d2263a46b2e7e93beefa3a2a1d6510351253faafc959f1/Screenshot-2017-02-06-17.07.40.png)