Project Overview:
Information Design Poster:
Project Name: Sexual Minorities’ Trajectory to Homelessness
Objective: For this project, I designed a 24x36” information poster as part of my senior design exhibition at Seattle University. My goal was to illustrate the critical and often overlooked pathways that lead sexual minorities to homelessness.
This poster aims to succinctly communicate the challenges faced by queer youth, focusing on how family neglect, the aging out of youth services, and bullying in schools contribute to the homelessness crisis within this demographic.
Audience: Considering that viewers would likely spend 2-4 minutes engaging with each piece at the Nova Design Exhibition, I focused on delivering a clear and impactful message quickly and efficiently.
Conceptual Framework:
The poster’s concept revolves around a three-tier framework that outlines the theoretical concept of turning points for sexual minorities. These include:
Experiencing Family Neglect: Highlighting how 1 in 4 youth face rejection and potential abuse after coming out, leading to homelessness.
Aging Out of Youth Services: Discussing the significant number of LGBTQ+ youth who run away or are ejected from the foster care system due to their sexual identity.
Fleeing Bullying in Schools: Illustrating the increased risk of bullying faced by queer students and the legislative gaps in protecting them.
Design & Development Process
Layout and Structure:
The layout was structured as a roadmap, literally, guiding the viewer through the three trajectories with a clear visual flow. This design choice was intended to reflect the journey and progression of challenges faced by sexual minority youth.
First Iteration (Before Peer Review)
Design Elements and Visualization
The design needed to be engaging and easy to navigate, allowing viewers to grasp the essential information rapidly.
Key design elements include:
Color Palette: The use of bold and contrasting colors to draw attention to different sections and make the information pop.
Typography: A clear and legible font choice was made to ensure readability, with variations in font size and weight to emphasize critical data points.
Infographics and Icons: These were used to visually represent the data, such as the proportion of LGBTQ+ youth in different trajectories, and to symbolically depict concepts like family neglect and school bullying.
Final Outcome:
The completed poster effectively communicates the complex issue of homelessness among sexual minorities through a visually compelling and informative design. It combines clear data visualization with a narrative structure that emphasizes both the challenges and potential solutions. This piece not only raises awareness but also invites viewers to consider their role in addressing these systemic issues.
Reflection and Next Steps:
Creating this poster was a deeply personal and educational experience. It reinforced my understanding of how visual design can be a powerful tool for advocacy and education. Moving forward, I plan to continue exploring ways to use my design skills to address social justice issues, particularly those affecting marginalized communities.
Feedback and Iteration:
After creating the initial draft (see above), I sought feedback from my peers. Their insights led to several iterations, including:
Enhancing the clarity of the infographics.
Adjusting the color contrasts for better visibility.
Changing my layout to a vertical poster to better utilize space for readability.
