UNICEF

Designing a new venture to encourage creativity across Africa.

arrowDown

Partnering with Unicef HQ in New York to create a toolkits that unlocks creativity in adolescents.

Engagement

2014 - 2016

Challenge

Matter Of Form worked with UNICEF to design, develop and produce the Adolescent Kit for Inspiration and Innovation; a physical and digital service provision purchased by Program Coordinators and delivered by local facilitators - with the core goal of boosting creativity and entrepreneurialism amongst the world’s most impoverished young people.

After an initial successful version one launch across Africa and Asia, work on version two has just been completed, and is now in the process of rolling out worldwide. When MOF were commissioned to work on the project, the Adolescent Kit had already been in development for over 5 years, yet remained in a fairly prototypical state. Unfortunately, the UNICEF team now found themselves in a seemingly impossible situation, as the deadline for delivery loomed only 4 months away.

The original ‘version one’ agency brief was therefore pretty clear: Help UNICEF turn the numerous ideas, drafts and prototypes circulating the New York office into a powerful set of tools and communication materials that program coordinators will want to order; facilitators easily deliver; and adolescents find fundamentally valuable and inspiring.

The Process

To better understand the wealth of materials and ideas on offer, the MOF team worked with UNICEF’s design coordinators to set up a new file sharing and prioritisation protocol, allowing the New York team to supply assets and communicate ideas to the London team easily and without delay.

Whilst final copy and prototypes were written and tested, MOF devised a new brand identity for the Adolescent Kit, based on the UNICEF guidelines, but adapted to appeal to adolescents in multiple geographies and from a diverse range of backgrounds and life circumstances. This new language brought together cutting edge behavioural insight with innovative graphic design techniques to produce a versatile, highly accessible platform for information presentation, which when employed increased comprehension and application of difficult concepts across a very diverse range of stakeholders.

The Output

The original Adolescent Kit consisted of numerous digital and physical deliverables, from training videos, inspiration cards and posters, to a 278 page interactive guide.

After the initial version one launch, MOF were then asked to help UNICEF improve the Adolescent Kit, using both feedback from the field and their expertise in service design and digital transformation. This process included deep dive audience exploration, persona development and service journey mapping; enabling MOF to define a short, mid and long-term innovation agenda that will see the Adolescent Kit pave the way to become the first of many ‘smart kits’ across the organisation’s portfolio.