Early Childhood Options
The Challenge.
I was assigned the responsibility of designing an A1 poster on a topic of my choice. The task involved conceptualizing a scenario where information design could streamline a process. Alongside the poster, I crafted a comprehensive case study to elucidate the concept.
Client
University design challenge
Time Frame
3 weeks
My Role
Research and design
My Tool Kit
Framing the problem:
As a foreigner on the brink of motherhood, I was compelled to explore how individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds understand the early childhood education system in New Zealand and navigate the process of finding suitable childcare centers for their children.
How the early childhood system works?
Where parents send their children?
How, as a foreigner, can you get the information?
What are their concerns? How do they manage them?
Final Infographic
What I learnt...
Democratise information
After this project, I realized information design's potential to democratize access to knowledge. It levels the playing field, ensuring people from diverse backgrounds can access and understand information equally, thereby creating opportunities for all.
The fine line between
messy and fun.
I think during the project I walked the line between a "messy" style and a functioning design without becoming overwhelming. This last point can produce the risk of misunderstanding or a lack of engagement.
The importance of accessibility.
Accessibility testing is crucial when it comes to information that is going to be shown for different people with different necessities.
"Knowledge is power” (Hobbes) And I would like to give that power to as many people as I can.
How I got there?
Approach
General information:
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They all live in New Zealand
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Level of English: Medium to advanced English
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Age: late 30s to late 40s
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The interviews were with heterosexual partners.
One
My initial objective was to assess the information available on the Ministry of Education's website regarding early childhood education and its accessibility.
Two
I aimed to turn my assumptions into questions to better understand the process.
Three
To learn about the enrollment process, I interviewed three Argentine mothers to identify common experiences.
Four
I then expanded my inquiries to two U.S. mothers and one from New Zealand to see if their experiences aligned with those of the Argentine mothers.
Insights
Sexual abuse is a concern for all the different nationalities.
The biggest worry is in Argentine culture. While the mothers from other nationalities didn’t mention it until asked. This is because, in the Argentinian context, sexual abuse in educational places is unfortunately quite common. To appease the mothers’ concerns about the sexual abuse, they check their children’s bodies, observe the behaviour of the teachers when they go to pick up their children and talk with the children about what is not ok in relation to their bodies. There is only one common factor for all the nationalities, which is a heightened alert if the teacher is male. Also, all of the mothers thought this automatically, saying afterwards how sexist that thought was.
Hover on the squares to read more about each insight
Mothers who are not from
New Zealand find it hard to understand how the ECE works. Mothers from New Zealand do not have this problem.
Mothers from New Zealand are familiar with the education system and available options, as they grew up here and experienced them firsthand. In contrast, mothers from other countries often rely on community or neighbours or recommendations, with some also conducting online research.
Sexual abuse is a concern for all different nationalities.
In Argentine culture, concerns about sexual abuse in educational settings are common, leading mothers to closely monitor their children’s well-being. They check their children’s bodies, observe teachers' behaviour, and discuss boundaries with their children. While mothers from other countries didn't mention this concern unless asked, all mothers, regardless of nationality, expressed heightened alertness when the teacher was male, later acknowledging the sexist nature of this reaction.
The child’s needs are important at the time of deciding the ECE centre.
Issues such as infrastructure, knowing what kind of space the child needs, the type of philosophy that is in the place and the child's participation in the choice are important when making a decision.
Different factors influence the final decision.
Observing the interaction and responses from the teachers to the children and parents. If there is inclusivity of different cultures and also, intuition plays an important role.
Mothers are the ones who lead the research.
All the mothers, from all the countries, said that they are the ones who start the research while later they share it with their partners who will check what they did and say if they agree or not.
Plan and Inspiration
The poster aims to provide clarity and guidance on selecting an ECE centre for international residents in New Zealand. Given diverse English proficiency levels among the audience, the vocabulary is tailored to ensure ease of comprehension.
Testing and Accessibility Testing
Easy to understand
All the participants said that it was easy to understand what the poster was about and to follow the order.
The person with a low level of English said that while she was reading more her understanding was increasing. There were only misunderstandings with te reo Māori words.
Not feeling alone
The soft information about times and possible behaviours of the children created a feeling of accompaniment that created the sensation of not being alone during the process.
Too busy
The previous poster (that you can see below) was too overwhelming for some people. Changes were made.
"Made me feel that I'm not alone and what I can expected"
Note: Some testing participants were non-parents from different countries, unlikely to have prior experience with the NZ ECE system. Including them ensures information clarity from the start. English proficiency levels—low, good, high—were considered.
Additionally, two participants resided outside New Zealand. This aims to assess the poster's universal vocabulary suitability for newcomers unfamiliar with the language or terminologies.
Accessibility testing
Below you can see the previous poster and the changes made.
Previous poster
The fine line between funny and messy
"Avoid highly stylised or simulated handwriting and typefaces."
Fonts were changed to a sans-serif font.
"The human eye recognises the shape of words and a word in all capitals is harder to recognise."
The font in the boxes was changed avoiding the capital letters.
"Typefaces are available in different weights. Avoid light options as there is less contrast between paper and text."
The font was changed to medium
"Avoid italics, which can be difficult for some people to read."
The font was changed to medium
Other changes:
- Colours were changed after testing in Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA) as darker shades options are more suitable for accessibility.
- Stars and arrows were removed so as to not overwhelm the reader.
- Layout was changed to allow "left to right" eye reading.