A Human Rights Guide
Our Role
Product Management
Design Management
Product Design
UX / Interaction Design
Prototyping
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Deliverables
UI, UX, Digital Assets
Product
tnchumanrightsguide.org
The Brief
The Nature Conservancy works with indigenous peoples and local communities in 20 countries, with many successful examples of rights-based approaches to conservation rooted in long-term partnerships. To apply this approach more consistently across programs and geographies, TNC has developed this Human Rights Guide for Working with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities as a resource for TNC practitioners and leaders.The Challenge
In its original form the Human Rights Guide is a 136 page text-only Word document. Our challenge was to adapt the document for both a web and print audience in a way that was readable and digestible for different audiences. We needed to anticipate the complexity and density of the content, as well as provide for a substantial part of the audience on the lower end of bandwidth range in remote areas (while still providing enough graphic content to break up the text and increase comprehension).
The Components
One of the first things we did was identify the patterns of information, and develop a structure that improved readability. With long documents finding the parts of the text that are related to each other and creating a rhythm through visual cues is essential.Modular Blocks
Case Studies
One of the unique parts of the document is the set of case studies that accompany the text. The case studies are a fictional narrative about an imaginary European territory, Wenland, where the Wen people are facing many of the common impacts of the legacies and current realities of colonialism on indegenous populations, including displacement, cultural dispersal and territorial disputes. The case studies imagine various scenarios that TNC staff might encounter in their work with communities, national governments and private companies. Each section of the narrative correlates to a particular module, to provide concrete examples.
The case studies are woven into the document and have a different visual feel to the rest of the text to separate the experience. Just like the other components the case studies are available as a single thread in the appendix.
The Illustrations
The client’s brand relies heavily on photography for their visual expression. In this case however there was a need to remove geographic, ethnic and topical specificity from the visuals. We achieved that through the use of two techniques: hand drawn line illustrations (converted to vectors), and stylized photographs. The line illustrations were used within the text to annotate and expand on the technical content, while the case studies relied on a more stylized approach meant to reflect the fictional quality of the narrative.
Illustrations
Print and Web
The document was produced both for the web and print. The visual style was carried through from web to print, maintaining the same ordering and content to provide continuity of the experience. The document is downloadable as a whole or in parts, so users can download specific checklists for use offline. Download PDFCodename Design truly brings the WOW factor. Our colleagues’ immediate reaction to our Human Rights Guide for Working with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities was that of being impressed, engaged and excited to dig in.
While I’m certainly proud of the content of the Guide, the visuals made the first impression, and this was all due to Codename’s thoroughness, leadership and creativity in coming up with an aesthetic that brought the spirit of the Guide to the forefront and represented complex themes in a way that feels approachable and interesting.
Additionally, Codename’s deep experience in web design made the technological side of things easy for us.
In short, Codename’s solid technical expertise, work ethic, quality product delivery, and open communication style made them a pleasure to work with.
Allison Martin
Rights and Equity Advisor, TNC