LEVEL 4
EVIDENCE COLLECTION
PRESERVE · WEB TO COURT-READY · HURIDOCS
MISSION BRIEFING
| ROLE | LEAD UX / UI |
|---|---|
| PARTY | PM + 3 ENG |
| TIME | 1MO ALPHA + 2MO V1 |
| TOOLS | FIGMA / DEVTOOLS |
| STUDIO | HURIDOCS 2021-25 |
Investigators needed web evidence that holds up in court, captured without leaving the case they were building in Uwazi. I designed a browser extension that grabs tamper-proof evidence in one click and syncs it straight in.
STAGE 1
THE CHALLENGE
Screenshots and manual notes carry no cryptographic proof, so they wobble under legal scrutiny. Existing tools were either too technical for investigators or offered no real tamper-proof guarantee.
The capture had to happen inside the browser and pull more than pixels: metadata, timestamps, and source verification, all synced automatically into the investigator's live Uwazi case, within the hard limits of an extension.
STAGE 2
RESEARCH
We worked with legal experts and investigators to learn what makes digital evidence admissible: chain of custody, verification, and the kinds of online content that actually need preserving.
- Studied evidence admissibility and tamper-proof requirements.
- Mapped how investigators collect online evidence today.
- Explored browser extension limits and security constraints.
- Cataloged the content formats that need to be captured.
STAGE 3
DESIGN
Simplicity and reliability, in that order. Capture evidence with almost no technical knowledge while keeping full legal integrity, with clear visual feedback that behaves the same across every site and content type.
- One-click capture of pages, posts, and multimedia.
- Direct sync with Uwazi documentation and case management.
- Automatic tamper-proof certificates and metadata.
- Built-in chain-of-custody for the legal trail.
- A consistent experience across browsers and websites.
THE EXTENSION
STAGE 4
SHIPPED
The alpha proved both the concept and the technical feasibility of tamper-proof capture inside a browser. It went up on the Chrome Web Store, and every capture drops straight into Uwazi where the case already lives.
BOSS DEFEATED
VALIDATED
- The core concept and technical feasibility are proven.
- Legal professionals and investigators gave positive feedback.
- Non-technical users capture admissible evidence unaided.
- Captures land in the right case automatically.
- V1 turns the proof-of-concept into a production platform.
STAGE CLEAR
High-stakes, regulated work asks UX to hold simplicity and technical precision at once. Done right, thoughtful design makes legal-grade requirements feel effortless, and opens new ground for digital evidence in human rights work.