4 =a mnmyvwx Cc Oo

Se il medico dice che é megli
aspettare 2-3giorni

c'che Fantibitico non serysiema noi
leh aes

prerde il nome He esi": ¢ Ja sclta migio e 6a Ero-
co Tattesa non Psctio per lesalute, non

Uantibiotico pud causare otfetti indesiderail Usato a sproposito, pué perdere efficacia

‘Ad-esemplo gil antibiol sal batten util
pres

mo Mm wm Hw

Sono una e per molte

infezioni, pero usati a sproposito
possono perdere il loro potere.

Questo potrebbe essere un
grande p

Figure 6 “Antibiotics” “Solution or problem?’ “They
are a solution for many infections,” “but using them
wrongly can make them lose their power.” “This could

become a big problem.”

pharmacies, and c) a poster - in two sizes - for
pharmacies and waiting rooms).
5. Design prototypes and evaluate them with the
client and the public.
6. Implement and measure the impact by
means of: a) comparing the average number
of antibiotic prescriptions issued in the three
months preceding the intervention, to the
average number prescribed during the three
months of intervention; and b) measuring the
reduction of prescriptions in a control zone of
a similar region where the intervention did not
happen.
7. Results showed an 11.9% reduction in the
intervention zone, as opposed to a 7.4% reduc-
tion in the control zone (demonstrating that
there is a generalized interest in the topic in
the whole region but that the intervention area
showed a stronger change), and a3.2% reduction
in the rest of the country (demonstrating that
the region in which we worked was a leader in
the efforts to reduce antibiotic abuse).

Graph below shows another way of summariz-
ing the design process very briefly:

ale
te tingsbeanign

i, anche gravi reazion!
ipisco7w le alte vie resp rato-

-yeotd),

ndono @ cid rerde

watilmente, quando servira

Gavvero potrebbe nen funzionare pide

Figure 7 In here, too many units of information do not communicate with clarity that the patients confront

three possible scenarios, even if the shapes of the layout create three areas (of uneven size).

‘Ma Solo sui batt
. ter,
jatterie Virus sono molto Aiversi fra loro,

mi
'@ Possono provocare gli stessi sintomi,

Molto

Quando é meglio
aspettare 2-3 giorni

Quando
lantibiotico serve

antibiotic quando

ud suggerire di attendere 2.0 3 giorni

Questo periodo prende il nome di
“vigile attesa.”

ie

" un batterio. In questo
“inh
caso Vantibiotico @ necessario per guarire

sisogna ispettare alcune regole per asscurarsi
na guarigione completa e senza ricadure.

nelle dosie agli orari

Tesplratorie sono causate da virus (come. ad
¢sempio raffreddore, influenza, mal di gol
bronchite acuta).

non ritarda i tempi di guarigione, anzi pud aiu-

tare a decidere la terapia migliore.

limedico sapra dare i consigli ela terapia pit

antibioticl servono oppure no,

indicata per
giori di attesa.

che ha indicato il medico.

Non saltare delle dost

+ Completare tutte le dosi anche se dopo un
paio di giorni cisi sente meglio.

+ Se alla fine della cura rimane qualche
compressa, non va rutilizzata senza

consultare il medico.

Anche quando gli antibiotici non servono,
ilmedico dara i consigli e la terapia pit

Lo

* Contattare il medico se compaiono effetti
indesiderati (diarrea, vomito, macc!

Figure 8 The brochure showed the three possible scenarios, and also included a page for prescription and notes, so

that it became an educational tool that the patient took home and kept until the treatment was completed.

In addition to the specific results achieved, the

project proposed a more ethically-oriented

model of relation between people and informa-
tion, as well as between people and people. This

is what can be seen as an act of positive social

innovation at the micro-level, thanks to seizing

the opportunity offered to information design by
a healthcare need.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE

Some times, as Mies van der Rohe said, “God
is in the details.” Establishing the right tone of
a message so that people adhere to recommen-
dations is key to gaining attention, acceptance
and use. Ina recent project that Guillermina and
I worked on designing a medical document, the

original text read:

“4 days before your test”
“Start the low-fibre diet”

We changed it to:

“4 days before your test”
“Please start eating low- ibre foods

and keep eating them until one day
before your colonoscopy test.”

@
NP yar®

XS
«ge? os® ee

In both documents there is a list of low-fibre

foods to eat and foods to avoid. In our re-design

the low fibre foods were illustrated by a photo-
graph, reinforcing the verbal message. The

more conversational tone of our text is welcome

by patients.

CONCLUSION

When information design is focused on the
users’ needs, is ethical and practical, it respects
people and helps them in their daily life. Access
to information should be regarded as a human
right. Information design should not be seen as
an option, but as a necessity. [32]

Information design is not only hard, focused,
precision-driven, cognition supporting work:
it is also joy. The joy of learning more about
people and communication with every project,
is the joy of helping people achieve their
goals. But this requires two conditions: 1) The
will to help others (an ethical motivation);
and 2) Sufficient knowledge to be able to do it.

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