Overview
Registro Civil is a public service in Brazil, where citizens can request a copy of a birth, marriage, and death certificates from registry offices across the country.
If the citizen don’t know which registry office issued the certificate or can’t remember the exact registration date, they can use the “Buscar certidão” (Search for Certificate) feature to locate it.
Role
User Experience, product optimization, strategic redesign, ux writing, usability improvement
The problem
Users struggled to locate certain service on the Registro Civil platform. Many didn’t know it was possible to search for their existing certificate before submitting a new request. The feature existed, but it was poorly placed and labeled ‘Localizar certidão,’ (Locate certificate) which made it difficult to understand. Even the client expressed dissatisfaction with its presentation.
Goals
The button had to be relocated from its current position and I had to find ways to improve the button’s visual hierarchy so it would stand out and guide users more effectively.
Empathising with our users
The first step was trying to understand the problem better.
Through Hotjar analysis, I discovered that many users were unaware of the existing ‘Locate Certificate’ feature and even suggested implementing it. I also noticed that many users used the word ‘buscar’ (to search) instead of ‘localizar’, indicating that the applied terminology was not aligned with users’ mental models.
Research
I analyzed some of our competitors to understand where their certificate search services were located within the interface and which terms they used. Most of them also chose the term most familiar to users: “buscar”.
Trying ideas
After collecting these insights, I started developing a few ideas to address the issue. I talked with the Product Manager and developers to collect feedback, ideas, and observations. Together with the team, we selected two design options to present to the client for feedback.
Based on these insights, we also identified an opportunity to add a link to the certificate search feature within the replacement certificate request flow. This would help users verify their certificate information without needing to navigate back to the homepage.
To make this option more visible and intuitive, I added the phrase “I don’t know which registry office issued the certificate” followed by a link to the “Search Certificate” service.
Approved idea
I presented two possible design solutions to the client, who approved one of them. The client also approved adding a link on the replacement certificate request screen, as part of the user flow.
Better results and adjusting idea
There was no user testing phase for this iteration, the approved idea was implemented directly. After the release, I monitored user behavior through Hotjar to evaluate its impact. The change on the homepage was successful, with users engaging more frequently with the “Search Certificate” feature.
However, the support team reported that some users were getting confused about when to use the search during the replacement certificate flow.
Based on these insights, I refined the microcopy to: “If you don’t know which registry office issued the certificate, would you like to use the Search Certificate service?” (with a link to Search Certificate service). And adjusted its placement for better user recognition.
This small adjustment helped clarify the process and improved user understanding.
What I learned from this project?
This project taught me the importance of continuous observation and iteration. Even without a formal testing phase, tracking user behavior through Hotjar and listening to support feedback provided key insights for improvement.
I realized that sometimes, subtle changes in microcopy and element placement can make a big difference in how users interact with a product.