A presentation at She Code Africa: Nairobi by Eriol Fox
Becoming a designer for humanitarian technology and open source software. Design Journey Humanitarian design Open Source Design https://bit.ly/SCA-design @erioldoesdesign
Hi, I’m Eriol. (ehh-roll) I’m a human rights centred designer. Lead designer at Open Food Network. PhD student researching Humanitarian OSS + Design. 10 years in digital product design & UX. 7 years in humanitarian sector 2 years in (FL)OSS. @erioldoesdesign
From artist to designer. I started out focusing on art in school…. …but I also loved computers and what they could do. @erioldoesdesign
@erioldoesdesign
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From artist to designer. When I started to move towards design I got strong signals from the design community that I ‘was not welcome’ because I had not studied design. @erioldoesdesign
How exclusionary! This will be hard! Can I be a designer if I didn’t study it? Where do I start to find my place in design? @erioldoesdesign Will everyone in the community be like this? Who will help me? How can I get a job in design? Will I ever be ‘good?’
I’ll do it anyway! @erioldoesdesign
I looked to my community work for opportunities. I created two projects around mapping that helped me build my design skills. @erioldoesdesign
From I can be an artist to and a designer if I want! Design is no longer a place where only people who have studied design in school and university can thrive. @erioldoesdesign
Community helped me get where I wanted to be with my career. @erioldoesdesign
People from varied backgrounds/subjects make amazing designers! @erioldoesdesign
Psychology. Writing/English. Social Science. Science. Teaching. Art. Engineering/Computing. Marketing. Journalism. @erioldoesdesign
Design still has problems with competition vs community and supporting each other but it’s changing rapidly. @erioldoesdesign
The four key skills/ attitudes I think designers need to thrive are… @erioldoesdesign
Everything else will come with time and practice. @erioldoesdesign
Software. Team work. Research skills. Intervi techniques. Vector SVG. Layout. Grid system Print. Logos. Design systems. UI. accessibilit SASS. CSS. HTML. Wireframing. Prototyping. Personas. Design Ops. Service Design. Branding. Kerning. White Space. Minimalism. Maximalism. Data Visualisation. Infographics UX Design. Motion Graphics. Sound Design. Immersion. Gamification. User Journey. Personas. Documentation. Info Architechture @erioldoesdesign
Humanitarian Design? Mixing my love of community development and design. @erioldoesdesign
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It is possible to work on projects for good as a designer. But it’s deeply challenging as a person. @erioldoesdesign
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User journey maps A typical design activity used to better understand what people are doing over a period of time that your trying to solve a problem for. @erioldoesdesign
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Human rights needs designers. Understanding the problems faced by those in difficult and dangerous situations is key to solving those problems well. Designs work with the people affected to understand and communicate the needs and guide solutions. @erioldoesdesign
Designers are human. When working with humanitarian, ‘for good’ projects understand that the rule of self-care applies. You can only design well for others if you, and your company/organisation are taking care of and supporting you. @erioldoesdesign
Open Source Design How I found a new community. @erioldoesdesign
Open Source Design How I found a new community. @erioldoesdesign
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Final Advice. @erioldoesdesign
Get Paid. @erioldoesdesign
Get paid what your worth and you are worth more than you think you are. Including all y’all juniors, interns and students. Get paid! @erioldoesdesign
@erioldoesdesign
Eriol fox talks about their journey into design, humanitarian work and the open-source space with the She Code Africa: Nairobi community.
for free. You
can too.