Annual Report
Closing the digital divide among the world’s youth
With Digital Opportunity Trust
4 characters were developed as part of the report to help characterize the different levels of digital literacy and accessibility among the world’s youth.
Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) is a youth-led movement of daring social innovators who have the tools, knowledge, and networks to create opportunities and transform their own communities around the world. DOT supports youth to become innovators and leaders by creating and applying digital solutions that have a positive impact in their communities.
In 2016 we collaborated with DOT to design a publication for a groundbreaking global study about youth and digital livelihoods. The Youth Voices report took a locally driven research approach to explore how youth use technology in their daily lives, what technology youth have access to and how that access varies across socioeconomic, geographic, and demographic categories.
The report was designed for print and digital use, ensuring it was accessible for audiences around the world.
The report is punctuated with SMS conversations from youth around the world to demonstrate the findings in a more human way.
Our Approach
As a youth-led research publication, the design needed to represent a global network of youth through and through. It was also important to demonstrate clarity and credibility, as the report was being presented to the United Nations.
Our process began by diving into the research and insight uncovered by the youth during their study. We spoke with the DOT team to understand the core messages, perspectives, and outcomes that the report needed to convey and worked together to build a cohesive and youth-centric aesthetic.
It quickly became clear that there was an opportunity to develop a story about youth technology usage by designing four characters that align to different technology contexts: The Infrequent Technology User, The Connected User, The Entrepreneurial User and the Change-maker User. Each character was designed using a bold colour theme that would represent them throughout the publication and designed to be representative of different gender identities and global locales.
Key impact statements were given special treatment in the publication with ample white space for added impact and focus.
Making Data Fun
The publication was designed to provide a human-centered, data-driven experience. Bold infographics including stylized SMS conversations help bring the data to life in a way that is youthful and technology focused and allow the reader to absorb key messages and findings in a genuinely engaging way.
In addition to each of the four characters, each characterization had a colour association which helped to make the report easy to navigate.
The report uses custom infographics and data visualization to highlight key findings.
From Empathy to Impact
The Youth Voices report is a vital glimpse into the digital divide and provides insight into how we can create a more tech-inclusive world for youth. The report and its findings were presented to the United Nations.
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Cutsom infographics designed for the Youth Voices report.
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Youth participated in the development of the Youth Voices report.
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Country profiles are represented in the report.
Thank you DOT.
