Human Centered Design: Manit is the Motive
This collaborative project with the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese (ACOM) and the Graphic Design program, The Department of Art, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville worked to understand the difficulties that the Marshallese population has in the Northwest Arkansas region. Our group focused on an educational outlet—how Marshallese high-schoolers, as individuals transitioning either to higher education and/or into the workforce find the information/resources they need and feel comfortable in contacting these resources. With an academic approach, we believed students, especially third–fourth-year high-schoolers and early college students, could influence how the rest of the region develops with the Marshallese community considered.
Personas
We created a student persona based on communications with Marshallese students from the Northwest Arkansas Community College and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville as well as mentors and professors from Northwest Arkansas area. With regards to the student, design artifacts should aid in breaking down educational barriers and create a comfortable and convenient pathway to contact friends and mentors. These are bright individuals aware of available resources but also deterred by cultural and societal dissonance.
The teacher persona used college professors and high school teachers and counselors as a basis to ask what they perceive as hurdles for some students—physically, scholarly, socially. One interview with a high school teacher gave us insight into possible definitions of cultural "success" for outgoing high-school students, their concerns in balancing family, school, and work as well as goals to enriching their community.
Research Analyses
Large Format Broadsides
Print Artifacts
The artifacts below include a transit bus map designed to help, primarily, Marshallese students along two bus routes that run by multiple points of interest—community hubs, schools, and stores—and a resource brochure for high school students and parents with general tips. We hoped the artifacts could aid Marshallese youths but also extend communication to inclusive families in general. The information emphasized accessibility and closeness, with elements of Marshallese visual culture and language throughout in an attempt to speak with the Marshallese community in Springdale, Arkansas.
