Design that serves those the system forgot
A platform that discovers, explains and guides access to social benefits for those who need them most — no jargon, no bureaucracy, no one left behind.
The problem
The benefits exist. What's missing is a human front door
Brazil has more than 15 active federal social assistance programs, with money available and millions of eligible people who never access what they're entitled to.
What exists
Bolsa Família, BPC, Auxílio Gás, Tarifa Social, CadÚnico — all with public criteria and guaranteed funding.
What's missing
An interface that speaks the language of those who need it most. The problem isn't a lack of information: it's an excess of inaccessible noise.
What the user faces today
To find out whether they qualify for Auxílio Gás, a person browses 4+ sites, interprets legal language and has to know which ministry manages what.
Why it's a design problem
The existing channels assume the user already knows what they want. None solves the moment before that: “I don't even know if I'm entitled to anything.”
families eligible for Bolsa Família were not registered in CadÚnico in 2024 — the gateway to nearly every benefit. Source: MDS.
Target audience
Who this user is — and who they're not
Every interface decision was justified against this profile. Conventional UX patterns are suspect until they prove they work here.
Maria, 43
Primary profile · Head of household, Northeast Brazil
Education
Incomplete or complete primary school
Internet access
Exclusively by phone, via mobile data
Relationship with apps
Doesn't install apps — lack of space or distrust
UX reference
Judges by what she feels, not what she knows. Afraid of making a mistake, of being deceived, of losing what she already has.
This user is not
- The user who “learns fast”
- Someone with patience for long onboarding
- Someone who reads running text on screen
- Someone who trusts sites that ask for a tax ID up front
Diagnosis
The current state wasn't designed for those who need it most
A mapping of the existing channels and their main problems.
| Channel | Main problem |
|---|---|
| gov.br | Legal language, confusing hierarchy, requires login before informing |
| MDS website | Information fragmented by program, with no unified view for the user |
| Meu INSS app | Focused on existing beneficiaries — doesn't solve the moment of discovery |
| 121 phone line | Long queue, limited hours, requires stating the question precisely |
| In-person CRAS | Travel, queues, dependence on a weekday and on transport |
Solution
AcessaBR — a platform in three moments
It's not a news portal about benefits. It's a tool for action, designed for the moment before registration.
01 · Guided discovery
5 questions in human language about household composition, income and specific situations. Result: a personalized list of likely benefits.
02 · Accessible explanation
Each benefit has: what it is in one sentence, how much it's worth, who can receive it, what to do. 6th-grade reading level. Icons with mandatory labels.
03 · Action guide
A concrete step-by-step to enroll: where to go, what to bring, which is the nearest CRAS. All inside the platform, no redirects.
Three principles that guided every decision
P1
Ask, don't form-fill
The user doesn't fill in fields — they answer questions one at a time. The interface guides, it doesn't demand.
P2
Result before registration
No tax ID, no login before showing what the person is entitled to. Trust is built with value, not with data collection.
P3
Possible action, not impossible information
Each benefit ends with a concrete “what to do now”. It doesn't open a new tab. It doesn't abandon the user.
UI decisions
What I didn't do — and why
The most important section of the case. Documenting what was discarded and why is what separates senior work from junior work.
Dropdown with income options
The user doesn't know their exact income. I used bands with contextual examples: “Less than R$650 per person (e.g. a family of 4 earning up to R$2,600)”.
Tax ID at the start of the flow
Research with vulnerable populations shows immediate distrust of personal-data collection. The tax ID only comes in if the user wants to save the result.
Free-text field
Typing is a real barrier for this audience. All answers are by button or selection. The keyboard only appears for the postcode.
Icons without text
Label-less icons are a learned cultural convention. For this audience, each icon has a mandatory label beside it.
Percentage progress bar
“67% complete” is abstract. I used “Question 4 of 6” with visual dots — concrete and scannable at any literacy level.
All benefits at once
I ranked by probability and impact. The most likely appears first, highlighted. Information overload paralyzes, it doesn't inform.
Main flow
From entry to result: 5 questions
How many people live in your home?
The number of residents sets the basis for the per-capita income calculation.
What is everyone's monthly income?
By bands with examples. “I'm not sure” is a valid option, with no penalty.
Are there children or teenagers?
Determines eligibility for Bolsa Família age-based supplements.
Do you live with elderly people or people with disabilities?
Opens eligibility for the BPC — a benefit specific to this group.
Are you already registered in CadÚnico?
Defines the “next step” shown in the result: update or register.
Personalized result
A list of likely benefits, ranked by match, with an action guide for each.
Interface states
Documenting states is where junior stops
Each state below represents a distinct screen in the case. Showing only the “happy” state is incomplete.
Empty
First entry, no answers yet. No pressure, no login requested.
In progress
Mid-flow through the questions with an answer selected and visible progress.
Analyzing
A transition with visual feedback — reinforces that the system is working.
Positive result
A family with multiple eligible benefits, ranked by probability.
Empty result
No benefit found — an empathetic message + preventive CadÚnico.
Detail
A bottom sheet with the step-by-step for a specific benefit.
Postcode error
An invalid field with a blame-free message and a suggested action.
Mobile 320px
The smallest popular Android in Brazil — everything has to work on this screen.
Prototype
From concept to navigable screen
The full flow was prototyped: five guided questions, a personalized result and an action guide. The mockups of the key screens occupy the slots below, ready to receive the final captures.
Takeaway
Accessibility isn't an extra feature in the interface. For those the system forgot, it's the difference between accessing a right and giving up on it.
Designing for the user with low digital literacy forces you to justify every decision by the real audience — and exposes how many UX conventions exist out of habit, not evidence.