Author: Meagan Hein

When you design for everyone, you design for no one.

...so the saying goes.

And we often find understanding the variety of audiences and media for a project can lead to efficiencies in designing the same content speak across multiple audiences. By tailoring a design approach to suit the preferences, background knowledge, and expectations of different groups, —even while using the same content— we can enhance engagement, strengthen connections, and achieve communication goals.

The following case studies show the importance of selecting the appropriate communication method for a variety of target audiences and strategies for effective communication across different platforms.

Great Plains Institute (GPI)

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

OVERVIEW

• Audiences: Regional & international policymakers
• Deliverables: Overview + conclusion infographics, infographic series for country-specific data, social media motion graphics
• Unique challenges: Some data points not available consistently from one country to the next

We were conscious of the needs of the audience (regional & international policymakers) when we designed the infographics summarizing findings of a report with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

The series of infographics contain details on democratic innovation across 10 countries from the Asia and Pacific region and the audience needs both country-specific details as well as the ability to compare countries to one another. Our templated design facilitates this comparison and is structured so that data unavailable in some countries (due to the nuance of the information) doesn’t appear as a missing hole.

The infographics were developed so that a slight customization helps them work as both static graphics (for the report and presentations) as well as animated social media posts.

These 2 case studies demonstrate how –while it's impossible to design well for everyone– we can consciously design information and data to inform a variety of related audiances in an effective and budget-efficient manner. 

Climate change has led many people and organization to explore how we can pull more carbon out of the atmosphere and store it (carbon sequestration). This carbon collection can happen in many forms, and growing plants are one key method for storing carbon. Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to grow, and they release oxygen as their “waste product” - the opposite of animal metabolism. Carbon sequestration is more complex than just planting trees. Background Stories recently partnered with Dovetail Partners to visually show how humans can more effectively support carbon sequestration while also meeting human needs for forest products.