CoDesign Process Creates COVID-19 PSAs

Accurate, understandable and targeted information is crucial to prevent the spread of the virus and keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic has affected everyone, some groups and individuals have higher risks and different precautions to keep in mind and practice.

The Arnhold Institute for Global Health at Mount Sinai in New York City and the Rafiki Adolescent Clinic in Kenya identified a collaboration opportunity to design public service announcements (PSAs) that respond to the realities and different needs of various audiences.

The final four PSAs focused on mask-wearing, hand washing, disinfecting and social distancing in a colorful and straightforward way. The final pieces are an interpretation reflecting the work of the adolescents themselves, who sketched images, ideated concepts and composed the main messaging.

Using a Human-Centered Design process with Participatory Design methodologies, the AIGH team worked with the Rafiki clinic and a group of their peers to co-design COVID-19 PSA materials for adolescents living with HIV and other immunocompromised conditions.

The Design and Informatics team at the Institute facilitated dialogue and creative process to identify the most critical aspects that this group of young boys and girls face throughout the pandemic. These findings, along with their insights on language, pop culture preferences, habits and values were the basis to co-design visual communication pieces that inform in an engaging, uncomplicated and optimistic language for their communities.

Development of the PSAs involved a six-step process:

·         Discovery Workshop

The discovery workshop involved community members, designers, and partners' representatives to understand the intended audience's needs and assets. Based on this exploration, the participants develop initial themes to build as PSA material.

·         Prototyping Workshop

During this session, the participants had the opportunity to sketch initial ideas and concepts for collateral design. The workshop's purpose is to explore the visual language of the community members and audience, determining the final pieces.

·         Concept Interpretation

After working with the community members and stakeholders, the Design + Informatics team at the AIGH worked on designing the pieces based on the content, concepts, and visual language explored.

·         Feedback Focus Group

The feedback focus group gave participants the opportunity to react to the pieces designed by the AIGH'S Design + Informatics team, based on the previous collaborative work. During this session, the materials are subjected to revision for correction, improvement, or redirection.

·         Iterations

Once the feedback on the pieces was collected, the Design + Informatics team at AIGH incorporateed the discussed changes and works on new directions, if required. Depending on the changes' nature and extent, the latest iterations might require either a new focus group or a quick revision.

·         Finalization

After agreeing on conceptual directions and incorporating changes and corrections on the pieces, the participants and decision-makers approved the materials' release and distribution.

Participants from Rafiki endorsed the process and contemplated other ways it could be applied. One participant said, “I would like this activity to not only apply to the COVID-19 situation, but also to other factors like pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, family planning methods, drugs, mental health, and other chronic disease posters. This will highly help many of the people of this place we live on.”

Another participant said, “I’d like to share and enforce what I’ve learned and also enlighten and empower those who didn’t get to be part of the process. I think the process was empowering and very resourceful.”

“In the future I would engage the community members. Going to the field would highly help on getting more ideas from my fellow people and come up with great ideas,“ added another.