Graphic Design

I am learning InDesign and also use collaboration-friendly platforms like Canva when graphic design is a necessary part of my social impact design practice.

Graphic Design for Good Data

I combine my skills in research methodology with my budding graphic design practice to create data collection tools with the goal of increasing data accuracy.

I re-designed the data sheets for HIPS, a non profit organization in DC that provides direct services to sex workers and drug users in the District. A primary income source for HIPS is reimbursements from the DC Health Department that are distributed on a service-by-service basis. To receive the money they’ve earned, HIPS must collect and submit high quality data to the Health Department. Many services that HIPS distributed, however, were not being counted due to the poor usability of their data forms.

Original Data Sheets

For years, HIPS tracked the services they distributed on their outreach van through an overly complex system of two different forms that were duplicative of one another and that were difficult for data collectors to read in the van’s cramped, dark conditions.

Design Process

I combined the two data sheets into one and tested each re-designed prototype by printing the drafts and asking people unfamiliar with HIPS services to try filling them out. With each iteration, I improved the clarity of the unified data sheet.

Final Design

This data sheet is currently in use at HIPS. I regularly check in with the manager of the HIPS Overnight Outreach Program to solicit feedback on how data collectors are interacting with the form, making tweaks to the design as needed. The manager reports that data accuracy has improved and that data collectors find the re-designed form much easier to use.

Graphic Design for Sharing Ideas

I used InDesign to create this set of five cards–shown here as 2 page spreads–to inspire caregivers of people with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Graphic Design for Community Engagement

I created these fliers to recruit participants for a sex worker led design team I co-facilitated.