Improving City of Mesa's Safety Messaging
I redesigned the City of Mesa's natural gas safety letter to clearly and urgently communicate critical safety information to residents.
As a UX Researcher and Content Strategist, my team and I conducted user research, synthesized insights, and delivered strategic improvements. Surprisingly, our assumption that visuals would enhance engagement was overturned when users expressed trust and seriousness toward an all-text format.
TL;DR
- Problem: 100+ hrs/review, error-prone manual data extraction.
- Solution: AI-augmented, spreadsheet-style UI with inline evidence and conflict alerts.
- Impact: 4× faster than any other method, error rate ↓66%, 80% clinician adoption, SUS 85+.
- Next: React MVP, explainability dashboard.
Why the City Reached Out
The City of Mesa Energy Resources Department had a concern: they were distributing a natural gas safety letter to thousands of residents but were unsure whether it was actually working.
Were people reading it? Were they absorbing the safety guidance?
That uncertainty became the foundation of our work. We were brought in as UX consultants to answer those questions and improve the letter if needed.
Working With Constraints
The City’s initial brief was broad — “Is this letter working?”
We had to define our own scope, propose a research plan, and interpret open-ended insights into concrete design actions.
Our Timeline
This project followed a structured, multi-phase process. We began with client conversations and persona building, moved into designing and conducting user tests, and ended with a redesign, mockups, and a formal presentation to the City of Mesa. Each phase built directly on the one before it, shaping both our understanding of the problem and our solution.
Planning Our Approach
Early in the project, we created three personas to guide our focus and align with Mesa’s community. These personas helped us anticipate resident behaviors, identify potential comprehension barriers, and structure our testing for maximum relevance to the Mesa community. By grounding our plan in these user types, we ensured the project remained human-centered from the beginning.
Links to detailed personas and reasoning: Juan | Maria | Sarah
We then created a structured interview protocol. The core of our methodology was a think-aloud usability test, where participants would read the letter and verbalize their thoughts in real-time. Our goal was to catch breakdowns in clarity, flow, and attention.
To get there, we went through several draft iterations. Our early scripts focused too narrowly on general impressions. Over time, we refined our tasks and questions to target specific touchpoints in the letter: gas leak detection, 811 protocol, and notification transparency.
What People Were Really Feeling
We recruited five participants (four completed testing) from across Mesa and San Tan Valley. Each represented a different demographic profile. Using think-aloud methods, we observed that most participants skimmed or ignored large portions of the letter. The introduction was too dense, and safety steps were often buried midway through the document.
Participants stressed the importance of emergency information being placed at the top, especially steps like recognizing gas leaks by smell, sound, or sight. Many requested stronger visual emphasis through spacing and bolded text.
Initial Assumption → Contradicted by Research
Contrary to our expectations, users did not prefer infographics or icons. They felt visuals made the letter seem less serious. Instead, they valued clear, bolded text with a formal tone. A few also noted a lack of clarity around how the city would notify residents in case of an emergency—this gap stood out as an opportunity for improvement.
Key Insights
Users valued clarity and urgency. The redesigned letter needed to open with actionable steps and simplify all supporting information. Emergency instructions like “Smell. Hear. See.” were highly memorable, and tone mattered just as much as structure. Visual aids were unnecessary—users preferred clean, text-driven messaging.
Our Redesign Approach
We reorganized the letter to prioritize key emergency content. Safety actions were placed at the top and styled for scannability. Technical background information was condensed, and a new notification section was added based on participant feedback. We also restructured the 811 call instructions to appear after the most urgent information.
Post-Redesign Validation
After the redesign, comprehension improved significantly. Where only 1 of 4 participants recalled key emergency steps beforehand, 3 of 4 did so after. Confidence levels also rose: 3 participants said they felt more prepared to act during a leak, compared to just 1 previously.
Participants found the new structure easier to follow and described the message as more serious, trustworthy, and clear.
What I Learned
Sometimes good design means removing, not adding. We expected visuals to improve clarity, but users preferred simplicity. Listening closely to real feedback helped us create a message people would actually read—and remember.
Outcome
We presented our findings and final redesign to City of Mesa officials. The city is now reviewing the recommendations and considering how to apply them to future public safety communications.