Infographic telling the story of an Alberta Health Services Indigenous Wellness Core (IWC) initiative, supporting understanding of a service for an Indigenous community audience.
PROJECT Course work for Visualizing Information at Mount Royal University
PARTNER Alberta Health Services, Indigenous Wellness Core (IWC) - Kienan Williams
SKILLS Research, Data Analysis + Visualization, Information Architecture, Typography, Storytelling, Illustrating
TOOLS Adobe InDesign, Illustrator
DATE 2022
Infographic Design for AHS Indigenous Wellness Core Four Winds Initiative: 'Together We Protect'
BACKGROUND
Working closely with the AHS Indigenous Wellness Core (IWC) to transform information and data surrounding budding initiatives into digestible, easy to understand visualizations for an audience directly involved or affected. My chosen project pathway was the Four Winds initiative, which supports Indigenous patients and families as they navigate through the complexities of the formal health care system, in and out of care. Taking into account my personal connection as a Métis person with first-hand knowledge of barriers to care and its impact, I chose to speak directly to an Indigenous audience within my infographic.
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VISUAL STORYTELLING
With a community audience in mind, I applied visual metaphor to communicate intention and aid in the comprehension of the Four Winds initiative.
Visual story, as told by the infographic:
The dreamcatcher acts as a protector. The hoop is a circular shape, representing the circle of life (cyclical patient journey). The web (levels of support) catches bad dreams (barriers to care) and lets good ones filter through (positive experiences within care). Beads are used to represent good dreams caught (IPN services). The feathers are a soft path for the good dreams to filter down into the individual’s mind (patient stories). Bad dreams caught in the web are said to burn up in the morning light. The IPN is set in place to act as a mediator between barriers and the experiences of South Zone Indigenous Peoples when accessing care. They are there to take care of the bad, so patients may wake up to a world with more of the good.
Final Infographic - Four Winds Initiative, Indigenous Patient Navigator: Together We Protect
DESIGN THINKING
The audience has a personal understanding of the dreamcatcher as protector. Weaving in patient journey, barriers to health, and levels of IPN support work to inform them on how their journeys can be reimagined. Lower level infographics support the central graphic. Quantitative information displays the foundation of need for a culturally-strengthened approach through the transition phases of Indigenous Peoples pathways to care, displaying the rates of their interactions when accessing emergency department services. The tree illustration grounds the central dreamcatcher infographic, and is home for patient stories meant to draw in the audience. Bright, earth-based colours were intentional, along with soft, curved shapes based on IWC's guidance and consideration of Indigenous Peoples as my audience.
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*Goal was to create the visual feeling of a safe space to confront harmful barriers intertwined within the lived experiences of Indigenous communities in Alberta and Canada-wide. This purpose drives every element, and together they work to validate feelings and experiences, while encouraging confidence in seeking care in the future.
Project Rationale & Concept Statement
