It is creating something new in service of people using their whole capabilities. Designing and making are wide ranging inclusive of things from scratch, adaptations or re-creations.
Our most common requests are addressing aspects of, challenges within, or support to:
- Program, project, or initiative materials—curriculum, social behavior change communication, manuals, etc.
- Procedures, experiences, or program implementation
- Capacity-building and adult learning
*We have a particular heart for and love of designing and making for communities in which a lower level of literacy is a feature.
Designing and making is useful when…
- Serving populations with lower literacy
- Finding new ways to get from point A to point B
- Making a new curriculum, combining curriculums or adapting an existing one
- Solving a specific, practical challenge in implementing on your theory of change
- Program roll out within informally trained communities
- Building local capacity as you go
How we approach designing and making…
The methods and processes we use are echoed in the solutions and tools we create: participatory, inclusive, evidence-based, simple, expansive. We draw heavily from participatory design approaches, such as human-centered design (HCD); applied learning theories, for example experiential education and learner-centered teaching; behavior and social change models; user-centered design, graphic simplification and the information design and data visualization movements; participatory, action and transformation evaluation.
When designing and making we always center our work on the primary users, and the ways they will interact with (use) the solution. Our co-creative approach begins and ends with the primary users, first as key informants, either through design labs or through ethnography (or both!) and then as solution testers. This naturally requires an iterative process of making and refining, using immediate and direct feedback from the primary users.
This includes…
- Curriculum and Learning Products
- Program Delivery activities and tools
- Interpersonal interaction design
- Social and Behavioral Change interventions
- SBC / Communications
- Training and documentation
- Facilitation, Group Processes
Design for low literacy
Designing for low literacy contexts is a passion. We are happy to share some tips with you. We can assess materials for low literacy contexts, and consult with you as you design interventions. Learn and Learn more about low literacy design.
Are you developing materials for a low literacy context? Download our free design checklist.
