Buscando Refugio (Seeking Refuge) aims to disseminate information about conditions faced by asylum seekers from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This is a joint project by Temple University and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) to compile resources supporting these asylum claims. This program is a collaboration between Temple Law faculty member Jaya Ramji-Nogales, Linh H. Nguyen, Emily Alvarez and Bryan Satalino’s Senior Design Workshop class from the Department of Graphic & Interactive Design at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Background
Professor Ramji-Nogales’s law class wanted to provide a platform for disseminating this evidence in the form of a print publication, a mobile website prototype, and an informational wall exhibition. Professor Satalino’s Senior Design Worshop class was divided into three design teams: the Print Team, the Mobile Website Team, and the Exhibition Team. The Exhibition Team was also under the direction of Robert Blackson, Director of Temple Contemporary, where the wall is installed from November 12-December 13, 2019.
After a process of review and refinement, the Senior Design Workshop class settled on the selected styles curated by the Mobile Design team lead Nya Ridley, with an additionally selected illustration style by Exhibition Design team member Lisa Sul. This guide is used as a system for the print publication, mobile website, exhibition wall, and poster design.
Prompt Problem
The southern border is currently in crisis due in large part to unrest in Central American countries: El Salvador, Hondurus, and Guatemala. Migrants are seeking asylum from terrible conditions back home, such as, domentis abuse, gang violence, and LGBTQ+ persecution. Seeking asylum is no easy task and these migrants often fail in their efforts due to being completely uninformed about the process traveling, facing Border Patrol Agents, and communicating in a nonnative language. One incredibly important part of the asylum application process is providing evidence that they are in imminent danger in the country they are a citizen of. The goal of the project was to prepare and deliver pro se (self-representative/without legal counsel) materials to asylum seekers so that they could represent themselves efficiently in their asylum hearings.
The Exhibition Team designed a wall in Tyler Contemporary with the help of Robert Blackson, Director of Tyler Contemporary. First, they researched how to present the humanitarian situation at the border. They wanted to show the terrible conditions asylum seekers face at the border. After the team designed different proposals for a month, Emma Coath’s concept was chosen. Her concept used photos and quotes from those affected to be used in the final design. The accordian panels reflect stark images of what is happening now with quotes speaking to the viewer. With the help of the team members, Lisa Sul made a 3D mockup, Spencer Smith created the panels, and Azaria was in charge of printing. The Exhibition Team worked with the Print Team to build a shelf and personal plaque, and the Mobile Website Team to have an ipad stand playing the video to complete the exhibition work.
The Print Team focused on making a document to disseminate to refugees at the Southern United States border. The packet had to be simple in its language, easy to take pages from, and offer resources to asylum applicants inexperienced with the law so that they may make their case to an immigration judge should they not find suitable legal representation. To such end, the Print Team devised a system with an instructions page, a form for the asylum seeker to write about their experiences, and articles with examples of the types of persecution they may be fleeing from in their home country. Each page is perforated for easy selection and removal.
In order to reach as many people as possible, multiple versions and/or subgroups were created for the packet. In the field, there would be nine dedicated packets for LGBT+ individuals, women and children — all fleeing from targeted violence in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. In addition to each subgroup, the Print Team devised a low fidelity Microsoft Word template that would be widely accessible by any legal professional looking to draft their own specific packet. For the purpose of the exhibition, the Print Team created a cursory packet for the specific subgroup of Women from Guatemala, in a fully designed and templated form.
Within the final design, there were roughly three to five templates. Two for the story/user response area, two for the articles, and one for unique pull quotes. Each packet has four to six pages of questions for user response, and each article would have its own pull quote.
The Mobile Website Site Team had a unique UX/UI problem. How do they disseminate information to people who are of diverse backgrounds, might speak little or no English, and may not be power users of the internet? What angle should be taken to get the information they need for the asylum process into their hands? The Mobile Website Team prepared similar information from the Print Team in mobile website format. They designed the wireframes based on the required personal user profiles that need this information the most. The articles picked for the user based on the profile settings. The next step would be to make this a working website for everyone to read and use.
