When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, three Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Canada) students joined together, in collaboration with disaster management engineer Owen Lee, to address communication issues around water purification. One of their greatest challenge was setting aside their own inherent communication systems to design solutions that are truly applicable and comprehensible for local communities in Haiti.

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The challenge

Since the earthquake in Haiti, there has been an urgent need for a set of clear instructions for the water purification tablets being distributed. The tablets look like medicine and the instructions are in a language foreign to the Haitian people. When 13 million tablets are being distributed, there is a need to deliver a clear instructions to the recipients so that the tablets are not being accidentally ingested.

The concept

Emily Carr Communication Design student Shay Namazi, in collaboration with Industrial Design student Desmond Wong and Monica Gautier, and with the supervision of faculty Louise St. Pierre, were contacted by Owen Lee, an emergency water and sanitation engineer, to develop and design a set of visual instructions for water purification to be used by the Red Cross in Haiti.


Above: Initial sketches for the water purification instructions

The students worked via daily communication with Haiti to design and develop a set of clear visual instruction to educate people to use the tablets properly. The aim was to create a set of visual instructions without any words, so they had to assume the worst-case scenario so as to ensure people are getting clean water.


Above: Initial sketches for the water purification instructions

The design took more than ten iterative steps, as the drafts were reviewed and tested by field workers in Haiti, who then requested modifications so that the graphics suited the local context.


Above: One possible iteration for the water purification instructions

The challenges

This project was unique because the students had to work quickly and lives were at stake. Without first-hand experience in a disaster situation, Shay, Desmond and Monica had to rely on e-mail correspondence with Owen and his expertise. Upon receiving his e-mails, the students would flock to their sketchbooks and computers to come up with concepts that would satisfy all the needs of the situation. They would print out their concepts and consulted fellow students and instructors for critique.


Above: Another possible iteration for the water purification instructions

What would have been ideal was to get first-hand insights from the locals in Haiti. Owen was the closest person they had, and so the students had to trust his insights. With this in mind, they also expected that things would change very rapidly and that they would need to come up with new solutions at a moment's notice.

Throughout the process, these three students learned that they couldn't design relying on their own understanding when designing for a different culture, but needed to think about how other people understand information. The students had to have the willingness to abandon their own ideas and learn to listen to others.

The outcome

The most current draft of the visual instruction system has been approved by the Canadian Red Cross and the Haitian Red Cross, and is now being reviewed by the International Federation to see if it can be used by all Red Cross Agencies operating in Haiti (i.e. the French Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, etc).


Above: The final set of instructions, made without text to permit the addition of any language.

Currently, the Aquatab instructions is without written words so that Owen can make modifications with various text and languages. Owen has identified 500 families who do not have access to potable water to be the first to receive purification tablets and test the instructions.

Up to date, it's difficult to know how well the instructions are working, but Shay, Desmond and Monica are on standby in case a situation arises.

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For more information, please contact:

Shay Namazi
4th Year Communication Design Student
E:

Monica Gautier
4th Year Industrial Design Student
E: monica.gautier@gmail.com

Desmond Wong
3rd Year Industrial Design Student
E:

About Emily Carr

Established in 1925, and based in Vancouver, Canada, Emily Carr University of Art + Design one of Canada's premier, post-secondary universities specialising in undergraduate and graduate art and design education and research. www.ecuad.ca