Design Challenge
#2: How might we encourage our community to support one another and look out for those who are socially isolated?
Project Description
An educational, illustrated webpage that hosts infographics that highlights lesser-known issues prevalent in underprivileged communities. The centralized landing page will display tabs that lead to infographics that expand on specific issues such as internet equity, food stability, homelessness, or accessibility. The aim is to provide both statistical data with the use of graphics and supporting source material to bring these topics closer to those who do not participate in these lived realities.
Criteria #1: Value
We hope to use a well-designed website to educate individuals about issues they might not even know persist in Singapore. We hope it will also redirect people to support these organisations who work with these communities and provide aid where they can. If we can work with NGOs, we might be able to see if we can have primary sources (pictures, audio notes) from those who are experiencing these issues and embed these in the topic that incorporates the infographic and the information, and possibly GIFs or illustrations to accompany them. Illustrations help to preserve the intrinsic human narrative while giving anonymity to real stories.
Criteria #2: Inspiration
During this season of the circuit breaker, text and graphics have been released helping the current crisis at hand. They have served to inform and link aid for the migrant worker community. The media disseminated on social media and text groups have proven to result in concrete help. We hope to engage in a call to action for the underprivileged while there is the motivation for others to do good from their homes. Helping others and keeping educated about else is happening in the lives of others is also a way for Singaporeans to feel like they are connected to each other as a whole while being isolated physically.
Criteria #3: Impact
The target audience would be Singaporeans who feel that they are unable to help or need an extra push to learn more about our fellow Singaporeans in need. The graphics serve to educate and bring conversations into households who might not even realize some of these issues exist in Singapore. The specific infographics can also be downloadable and hosted on social media, and easily spread in text chains. If we are able to, we can see if, via NGOs, we can receive personal stories from these communities to translate into visuals or embedded audio, which can help bridge empathy gaps that descriptors and data might not.
Criteria #4: Timeliness
We operate with a team that will be able to have this running within a month or two, upon the commencement of the project and depending on the number of themes we decide to touch on. We hope to get in touch with NGOs (of which some we have worked with before) for accurate information and access research they have already conducted.
Criteria #5: Systems Thinking
This solution will enable more home visitations to be carried out by NGOs and healthcare teams during the COVID-19 period as they can move to oIdeally, the website can frame legitimate systems that connect people in their homes to the underprivileged who have immediate needs. The infographics created by us will be used to distill information, and contain hyperlinks to existing media material, NGOs, and charities that exist. This website can extend longer than the current circumstances because they are longstanding issues in Singapore that have been framed and heightened by the current crisis. It can act as a foundation for any age who wants to be more aware of the different ways people live in our country, and possibly volunteer their efforts, time, or donate.
