Project Overview
New York State Office for People with Developmental DisabilitiesNiki Jones Agency was part of a strategic partnership selected by the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to develop culturally and linguistically competent materials for Spanish and Mandarin or Cantonese speakers to increase participation in their Front Door program. Building trust with these communities through accurate physical and verbal representation was a priority for this project.
Brief of
Design Journey
Based on feedback from the Community-Based Organizations our team surveyed, we knew that representation of diverse peoples was critical to this project. The OPWDD requested a repeatable design template to unify the 10-video suite in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese. Niki Jones Agency, Inc. worked closely with the CBO partners to animate the videos in all three languages, using OPWDD’s brand guidelines to determine color and font choices.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We also created a portfolio of templated social media graphics to respond to Frequently Asked Questions among Spanish- and Chinese-speaking communities. We used feedback from focus groups and surveys to determine the most common misconceptions or points of confusion among individuals and families seeking OPWDD services. Then we created a flight of custom designed “Did You Know”, “FAQ” and general social media graphics to provide answers for these questions.
Results
Our work with the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities earned a personal thanks from Commissioner Kerry Niefield, who wrote:
“We have already received positive feedback on the videos and this new informational format. These videos represent an important milestone in our commitment to cultural and linguistic excellence. We could not have accomplished this without your dedication to this project.”
