Overview
What does Boston sound like when you stop to listen?
The realtalk@Boston listening portal invites you to do just that—this public-facing website is a digital space you can listen to hundreds of Bostonians, in their own voices, share stories about their neighborhoods, hopes, frustrations, and dreams for the future of their city.
Designed and developed by the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) as part of the realtalk@Boston project, it is a living record of over 250 recorded conversations across 11 Boston communities. Each conversation feels like sitting in a living room or community center, listening as neighbors open up about what life in Boston is really like. From stories of displacement and the longing for belonging, to questions of safety and care, to who gets to thrive here, these dialogues reveal a city both proud and restless—rich in culture, yet still struggling to make space for everyone.
Artifact: Website
Partnership: MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Role: UI/UX design, Branding
Team: Lucas Drummond (developer), Maya Detweiler (project manager), Artemisia Luk (photography)
Time: April - September 2025
DESIGN QUESTION
How can a website make the richness and complexity of multiple human perspectives come alive?
Each ‘explore page’ weaves together a set of highlights—sometimes aligned, sometimes in tension—into a central narrative. Visitors to the site can “roll the dice” to discover new conversation clusters, each weaving together a mix of perspectives and story highlights.
A “scrollytelling” experience guides users through the AI tools used throughout the project.
The website is optimized for audio storytelling. Throughout the experience, users are guided to listen to highlights from community conversations.
The branding is aligns with the conceptual vision of the project: to find cohesion despite diverse and occasionally clashing community viewpoints.
