Aug
29
Aligning science + practice + policy to advance health equity for kids

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently released a report on the application of the science of prenatal and early childhood development to policy, program and systems changes.

Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity

Implementing programs aimed at people in crisis alone will not advance health equity—those programs are important for addressing immediate needs, but until the systemic roots of inequity are addressed, there will likely be another set of crises around the corner. Reducing health disparities by addressing their systemic root causes, including poverty and racism, is foundational to advance health equity. The science-driven recommendations provided in this report lay out practice, policy, and systems changes needed to close the health equity gap and nurture vibrant and healthy children.

The social video for the project was designed and produced by LeAnn Locher & Associates, and used across multiple social media platforms to communicate the top level findings and messages. We emphasized the positive outcomes and strategies, specifically the science-driven recommendations, with a call to action of downloading and reading the report on the National Academies website.

Social videos are highly effective in communicating across platforms for attracting and engaging readers. Social video generates 12 times more shares than text and images combined (via social media analytics: Simply Measured) and according to Buzzfeed, video creates 59% more engagement than any other type of post.

Social video created by LeAnn Locher & Associates for the release of Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity
Jul
26
Designing with data: understanding issues of poverty in Washington County

Understanding why people struggle with poverty means understanding the many issues of poverty in our communities. It means seeking out the data, identifying trends and connecting the dots: poverty is a broad and pervasive issue. Data is powerful. It often tells us things we hadn’t even thought to ask and it serves as a red flag for areas of focus. Data is needed to write grants and to give validity for our neighbor’s hardships. Data storytelling helps us understand complexities from a fact-based perspective.

Every year, Community Action compiles data from a wide variety of sources to examine the complex and interrelated causes and conditions of poverty, including demographics of the quickly changing communities of Washington County. Issues include health, housing, education and employment and a range of circumstances throughout a lifetime. The report compiling this data, Issues of Poverty, includes a breakdown for each of the cities and communities within the county, with deep information and statistics.

LeAnn Locher & Associates worked with Community Action to design the report with an approach and format to give justice to this vitally important data, knowing that the charts and data included in this report are widely shared by other organizations and leaders, as well as by Community Action. This year’s report came in at over 48 pages, with 20 figures in just the main body of the report alone, and additional breakdown of data for each of the towns within the county. The report is designed to be clean, clear and to deliver data in branded and shareable elements, alongside narrative to dig deeper and give context.

The research and analysis in Issues of Poverty is phenomenal. This work deserves design justice to reach the people who need to read it.
—LeAnn Locher

In addition to the design of the report, we produced a series of short promotional videos as a way to distribute key findings, and to encourage downloading of the report from the Community Action website. These 40-60 second videos highlight different areas of the research, and invite participation in upcoming community conversation events—opportunities to discuss in-person with the researchers and fellow community members. The videos can be shared on all social media sites for cross promotional use.

About Community Action: Community Action comes out of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty and from the advocacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the Community Action Network of national and locally-focused organizations that connect millions of children and families to greater opportunity. Since this founding, Community Action of Washington County has continuously provided crucial services to help economically disadvantaged people achieve better lives, and increase opportunities for their children to thrive at home and in school.

May
13
The art of telling a story with the design of an infographic

For the recent landmark report “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine” issued by The National Academies of Science, LeAnn Locher & Associates was charged with how best to visually tell the report’s complex definitions of sexual coercion, sexual harassment, and gender harassment. This aspect of the study is crucial to understand, with gender harassment being much more pervasive and deeper reaching, yet mostly running under the radar of what we normally think of when we think of sexual coercion.

An iceberg is a useful analogy in thinking through this story, with only a bit of it visible above water, and its massiveness and danger lurking for miles, deep underneath the water’s surface. In addition, unwanted sexual attention runs across both above and beneath the waterline. Underlining all of this, is gender harassment: the root base for sexual harassment.

Infographic designed by LeAnn Locher & Associates

Examples of these specifics were not suitable for personification or illustration, but concise content makes clear the actions and words that make up sexual coercion: obscene gestures, nude images posted at work, sabotage of women’s equipment, etc.

In addition, the design analogy lends support to storytelling and educating about sexual harassment, with phrases such as “the tip of the iceberg”, “freezing women out,” and “above and below the waterline” lending support to the narrative.

The infographic has been shared and published broadly, including in The Washington Post and many leading scientific publications. Read more about our work on this project here.

Apr
29
Creative campaign for LGBTQ workplace equity

In 28 states, you can be fired from work based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But last week, the Supreme Court announced they will consider if the 1964 Civil Rights Act “on the basis of sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The court is scheduled to hear three cases for the term beginning in October, with a decision expected early next year.


Recently, LeAnn Locher & Associates designed messages and visuals for a public awareness campaign led by Conway Strategic, on behalf of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the world’s leading organization dedicated to achieving LGBTQ workplace equality. The theme, language and visuals we designed were to both celebrate Out & Equal in their 20th year, and to lay the support for a 6 month campaign of raising awareness of their work. Our designs focused on the split lives employees live when they cannot bring their whole selves to work. This duality of home & work, then & now, today & tomorrow, you & I, were built in mirroring the ampersand in Out & Equal while emphasizing the need to do this work together. With twenty years of incredible, hard fought wins, there is still so much to do.

As Selisse Berry, CEO and Founder of Out & Equal says, “Currently, there is no federal law barring employment discrimination on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity, and it’s clear that state laws are inadequate. In 28 states, you can get married on Saturday and fired on Monday just for being lesbian or gay – in 30 states you can be fired just for being transgender.”