DIGITAL & STRATEGIC
UX DESIGN PRACTICE
DIGITAL PRODUCT
Digital alternatives to report writing
Creating project outputs better suited to be useful to communities.
Enabling community members to engage with the content of a formal written output in a digestible, accessible and playful way
Date
Location
Infrastructure projects have the potential to have beneficial impacts beyond their function if co-created with communities. We identified key information from the SuDS+ report and designed a website that would not only enable, but encourage users to explore, engage and understand the information put in front of them.
The Digital Narrative: SuDS+ website aims to widely share the findings of phase 1 of the multi-phase SuDS+ project and to raise awareness about it. The site is also a best-practice guide for other practitioners, prompting thoughts on how this innovative, community-based approach can be transferred & lead to the reimagining of other infrastructures.
“Working with the Digital and Strategic UX practice on the SuDS+ project has changed how I think about water infrastructure and how it shapes people’s local lived experience. By taking a human-centred approach to understanding the role & impact of water infrastructure on daily lives, they created a shared vision for the future where their community spaces are functional: reducing flooding; sequestering carbon and increasing biodiversity as well as a shared space for building community. The SuDS+ website was designed with the same philosophy of empowering the community to engage with decisions around infrastructure in an interactive and accessible way.”
Project manager for SuDS+
The Digital Narratives: SuDS+ website comes from a desire to develop a new way to use the web to better communicate Arup’s specialist domain knowledge to clients and stakeholders. The SuDS+ project, and its outputs, were identified as an ideal pilot for this new service due to the close engagement with communities in the discovery phase and the production of a report as final output.
Early in the process it was decided a website would be an ideal way to create an engaging and accessible version of the ‘classic pdf’ report produced. It was also identified that it would ensure transparency and open communication about the project's principles, methods and tools, support future community engagement efforts as well as promote the idea of community-led approaches to water infrastructures.
An iterative design and development approach was adopted which included working collaboratively with domain experts and clients, tailoring content to the need of a non-linear online format, and creating content-appropriate interactions and designs.
Throughout the process the team carefully considered the following:
- Make information accessible and inclusive
- Create interactive illustrations and animations to explain the process more effectively than with static images
- Write in plain English & use tooltips for definitions of terms that are not commonly known
- Consider web accessibility, such as colours and keyboard navigation
- Using bespoke illustrations from SuDS+ phase 1 throughout the site to create a consistent and recognisable project identity across engagements
- Keeping users engaged by creating animation easter eggs to surprise and delight
- Avoiding text overload by breaking up information into interactive cards and popups
Explore the website here and read more about the SuDS+ project here.