Consult Costa Rican laws and legal articles quickly and easily from your phone.
This app is designed for law students, paralegals, and citizens who need fast and convenient access to official legal documents.
All content is sourced from SINALEVI (http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/), the National System of Current Legislation, maintained by the Government of Costa Rica through the Procuraduría General de la República. The information is public and freely accessible.
Context
Internal product at StarQuantix
Purpose: Help law students and Costa Rican citizens search and understand legal content using an AI assistant designed to be helpful, not overwhelming.
My Role: UX research, interaction design, and front-end development (React Native / Android + iOS)
Challenge
| Problem Area | User Pain Points |
| Search & Discovery | Difficulty locating relevant information in long documents |
| AI Interaction | Complex or unclear responses reduced user trust |
| Interface Overload | Overabundance of information with no clear guidance |
Process
1. User Research
- Conducted interviews with 8 law students members
- Identified key friction points around search, comprehension, and AI trust
- Developed user personas and journey maps to guide design decisions
2. Design and Prototyping of the Law and Article Search Feature
- Creation of wireframes and prototypes in Figma
- Design of the AI-assisted search for documents and articles
- Internal search: Implementation of keyphrase highlighting within documents or articles
3. Ethical Design Considerations
- Use of progressive disclosure to reduce cognitive load
- Adjustment of AI language to ensure it is natural and respectful
- Focus on making AI responses clear and transparent
4. Functional Prototype Development
- Selection of development tools
- Data collection by the backend team
- Creation of a functional prototype based on the wireframe
- Implementation of AI-assisted search for documents and articles
5. Testing and Iteration
- Usability testing rounds on each alpha release before the final Beta.
- Significant improvements and adjustments were made in each iteration, along with bug fixes and process documentation
- Accessibility issues (color contrast, navigation) were addressed based on feedback from Google Play Console.
- A requested feature was added to allow students to create citations in Chicago and APA7 formats
Results
- Positive feedback from stakeholders regarding the clarity of results and easy access to information from mobile devices.
- We already have our first version available in Production on Google Play, Feel free to download the app and let us know what you think! Nomothek on Google Play Store
My Contributions
- Led user interviews and research analysis
- Designed user flows and prototypes
- Developed components using React Native
- Supported Firebase integration
- Advocated for ethical design principles, ensuring users had options to exit or choose alternative paths, giving them freedom and control
What I learned
- How to balance technical complexity with usability and user needs
- The value of interdisciplinary collaboration in agile environments and the importance of effective communication
- We followed the Material Design 3 system, but iOS users follow different interaction patterns and icons. It’s something we need to adapt depending on the platform — or even consider a separate design tailored to that audience
What’s next
- Strategies for designing trustworthy AI systems
- Designing an AI-powered chatbot from the ground up to help users summarize, analyze, and understand Costa Rican laws
Additional Links
- Nomothek in Google Play Store
- Figma Files:
- Miro Board / Presentation including some UX deliverables https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKDDM5Ek=/?share_link_id=974849559108
- StarQuantix https://starquantix.com/
- Nomothek https://nomothek.com/
