Redesigning a Two-Colour Handwashing Poster for Low-Literacy Clinics
A district health office asks you to redesign an A2 poster on handwashing for rural clinics. It will be printed in two spot colours on uncoated stock and viewed from 2–4 m. It must carry the state logo, a 12-word slogan in the local language, and three key behaviours. The current draft uses a stock photograph of a smiling child, seven bullet points, five colours, a thin serif typeface at 18 pt, and places the logo at top right. Clinic staff report that people glance at it while waiting and that many have low literacy. The printer can hold registration but warns that large solid areas may mottle on the uncoated sheet. The health office wants 'a modern look' and fears a 'too plain' poster.
1. Critique the current draft against design principles and the production constraints. Prioritise the problems rather than listing everything.
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The first problem is hierarchy. Seven bullet points give seven equal claims, so a glancing viewer has no entry point. The second is legibility: 18 pt thin serif type is too small and too delicate at 2–4 m, especially on uncoated stock where dot gain softens edges. The third is relevance: a stock photograph of a smiling child does not show the three behaviours, so the image occupies the most valuable space without teaching anything. The fourth is production: five colours cannot be printed in two spot colours without halftones or extra passes, and large solids may mottle on uncoated paper. The fifth is unity: the logo at top right competes with the headline before the viewer knows what the poster is about. The design is not 'too plain'; it is too busy and too weak in hierarchy. The fix is not decoration but a clear sequence: one dominant behaviour image, one slogan, three numbered pictograms, and a small logo.
2. Propose a layout, type hierarchy and image strategy that work in two spot colours. Give approximate sizes and explain how the design stays 'modern' without becoming fragile.
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Use a single strong field of one colour, with the second colour reserved for emphasis and the three behaviour icons. Keep large solids away from the sheet edges and use tints or a paper-coloured background to reduce mottling. Layout: slogan at the top in 48–60 pt sans serif with a high x-height; one large image of hands, water and soap occupying the middle third; three numbered pictograms across the lower third, each with a short phrase at 24–28 pt; logo at the bottom, no larger than 8–10% of the poster area. The single image should show the behaviour, not a mood. Use simple silhouettes or high-contrast photographs that reproduce well in two colours. Numbering gives sequence and helps low-literacy readers. 'Modern' comes from strong cropping, generous white space and a limited palette, not from thin type or pale tints. Check the layout at 4 m and in grayscale; if the slogan and the three behaviours do not read, the hierarchy has failed.
3. Design a quick field test with about ten clinic users. What will you show, what will you ask, and what result would make you revise the poster?
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Test the printed or full-scale proof at the actual viewing distance, 2–4 m, in a clinic waiting area. Show it for about five seconds, then ask: 'What is this poster asking you to do?' and 'What are the three things?' Do not prompt with the answer. Then ask users to point to the first thing they noticed and to explain each pictogram in their own words. Ask whether anything is confusing, offensive or culturally inappropriate. Record answers individually so one person does not lead the group. Revise if fewer than eight of ten can name at least two of the three behaviours, if the slogan is misread, if the pictograms are interpreted differently from the intended meaning, or if users notice the logo before the main message. Also test a grayscale version and a version with the second colour removed to check value contrast. The test is about comprehension, not taste.