The Strategic Designer: Tools & Techniques for Managing the Design Process by David Holston

Author:David Holston [Holston, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781600617997
Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.
Published: 2011-03-30T18:30:00+00:00

CO-CREATION AND PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

The first case of HIV/AIDS in Kenya appeared in 1984. By 2003, the number of Kenyans afflicted with the disease had reached over 6 percent of the population, killing nearly 150,000 people. The effects of HIV/AIDS not only affects individuals, but also impacts the ability of countries to grow economically, strains resources of international agencies, and most devastating, leaves millions of children orphaned. Awareness programs launched in cooperation with the World Health Organization have helped stem the tide of the epidemic. Most significantly, in Uganda the percentage of the population that are HIV positive, which peaked at 13 percent in the 1990s, has dropped to 4 percent since.

Understanding the impact that communication has had on managing the disease, Audrey Bennett, associate professor of graphics at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute, reached out to the small town of Kusla in Kenya, and engaged the people of the town to explore more effective approaches to communicating HIV/AIDS awareness. Bennett’s approach was unique. Whereas most prevention campaigns were developed by government agencies and clearly had western influence, Bennett engaged the audience as co creators in the design of the communication. More than just collaborative, Bennett says that her participatory process “involves the audience directly in the decision-making activities that affect the final output, as well as empower the audience by giving them control over the design propaganda that affect their community.”

Bennett started with field research. Through a virtual studio, she was able to better understand the cultural aesthetics of the people she was working with. Bennett’s process consisted of problem identification, audience analysis, ideation, prototype development and final design development. Each phase went through rigorous steps of hypothesis, selection of an appropriate research method, documentation and analysis. Collecting information in lab books, the Kenyans documented their process from beginning to end, with Bennett’s team of U.S. educators acting as consultants.

After defining the problem, the Kenyans conducted audience analysis to better understand the environment in which they were communicating. They then carried out brainstorming sessions using words and metaphors. Once concepts had been developed, prototypes were created. Copy, visuals and sketches were run through Bennett’s “empirical” process to make sure they were appropriate in tone and message. These prototypes were then reviewed until the strongest prototype was selected.

The Kenyans had no prior graphic design experience, but more importantly had life experience. Several of the participants had dealt directly with the death of parents and siblings, poverty and cultural challenges. With Bennett’s team as guides, the Kenyans developed their own concepts using visuals and language that were culturally meaningful to them.

“Had we not used a participatory design approach,” says Bennett, “we would have used an intuitive approach which may have yielded aesthetically pleasing graphics that did not communicate effectively to the Kenyans. With a participatory approach, we yielded effective cross-cultural graphics, though the final aesthetic outcome might not measure up to the western graphic design standards.”

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