All work
All work
Relationship
Check
A digital risk assessment tool that provides a safe space to help potential victims check for and understand the signs of an abusive relationship.
( AGENCY )
Chrometoaster
( CLIENT )
Ministry of Social Development
( Role )
Visual Designer
( THE MISSION )
Domestic violence can take on a variety of forms that aren’t always easily identifiable, and victim-survivors often downplay, minimise or deny the realities of their everyday lives. The purpose of this tool is to reveal the many ways in which abuse can manifest in relationships, helping the user understand their immediate risk and what actions they can take to address it.
( VISUAL DESIGN )
Creating a safe space
Due to the triggering nature of content, the solution needed to feel calming, non-confrontational, and safe to avoid overwhelming those it seeks to help. From a visual perspective, we utilised GT Maru as a friendly but clear typeface, combined with smooth and subtle abstract animation to promote an overall feeling of calm across the interface.
( TONE )
Making it victim-survivor centric
Careful use of gentle and encouraging language, such as leading with the questions with “I feel” endorses that the users feelings are valid and also assists users to identify with the situation by focusing on how they feel, rather than interpreting the actions of others.
( CONTENT )
Providing context
Providing victims with examples to identify with helps them reflect on their own situation and determine whether or not it is subject to a specific form of violence. Offering content in multiple formats, such as video and text conversations, helps to provide a comprehensive picture from different perspectives, and assists those who may be less literate.
( PRACTICAL ADVICE )
Actionable next-steps
For victim-survivors, coming to the realisation that they are at risk in an abusive relationship can be relieving, but will likely be followed by a whirlwind of emotions. It was important to reassure and promote a sense of control, by providing support and advice around processing this new information, while offering practical next steps about what to do next. Next steps were tailored to the user based on their specific situation.
( RESEARCH )
Testing with survivors
Testing was conducted by an external agency with 36 respondents across a variety of demographics, all of whom had personal experience of domestic abuse.
