Calling Graphic and Communications Designers!
Applications accepted until enough designers are identified for the project.
CREATEd is seeking several free-lance graphic and communications designers to support project teams in imagining and designing usable research-informed, equity-centered products using equitable and inclusive processes.
Collaborative design, or co-design as we call it, is a participatory approach to designing solutions for complex problems used in many fields and industries. A key feature of co-design is that those most impacted by decisions are treated as equal collaborators in the design process, addressing power imbalances in decision-making. Co-design has been applied in education through research-practice partnerships, curriculum development, and the design and implementation of reform initiatives to generate equitable and impactful change.
The CREATEd co-design process is an 8-step interactive process that is:
- Highly facilitated
- Allows research ideas and practice ideas to come together in real time
- Scalable
- (Will be) free and publicly available
- Leverages the knowledge and experiences of researchers, educators, communication and design experts, and other stakeholders
- Leads to resources that both draw on high quality research and are useful and relevant for achieving greater equity in educational policy and practice
During the Fall of 2023, CREATEd Fellows will facilitate the co-design process by bringing together stakeholders to transform research into practical tools and resources for policy and practice. The role of the project team is to transform concepts and findings from research reports into usable products for practitioners and policy makers. This will require the creativity of a designer who can both work with a team to determine an appropriate product idea that will communicate the research findings, and who can execute a professional and aesthetically pleasing design solution.
CREATEd is seeking graphic designers who will:
- Actively participate in the virtual meetings of the co-design team by asking questions, engaging the creative thinking of others on the team, and indicating expectations of other team members to provide necessary content for the final product
- Conduct basic research necessary to understand the needs of the audience for the final product
- Make sense of the research findings to make recommendations for a usable, actionable product that could be used by practitioners and/or policymakers (product type will vary depending on the research study)
- Forecast time and costs required to create the desired product, and keep the facilitator informed of budget status during the design phase
- Create a prototype of the end-product
- Create the final end-product that meets the needs of the audience and at the same time addresses the equity through design principles (language, representation, etc.) and the equity issues related to the research
- Create graphic assets that can be used in social media posts and on a website disseminating the product once the design is complete
- Maintain organized source files and assets for the project for eventual turnover to the University of Delaware for long-term maintenance and archiving
The co-design teams’ meetings and activities will be occurring virtually. The co-design team may meet 2-3 hours each week for several weeks or 5-6 hours over several weekends.
In total, team members should anticipate spending about 15-20 hours in co-design sessions and as the designer, another 20-40 hours on creating the product. Meetings will be held at mutually convenient times for all the participants involved (during the day, during evening hours, or on weekends depending on the team’s schedule). This is a pilot trial of the co-design process. Participants will be asked to participate in a formative evaluation of the co-design process.
After the team has met several times to define project goals, scope, audience, and other factors, the designer will be responsible for creating a prototype of the project deliverable in Stage 4 of the Co-Design Process. Following feedback on the prototype, a final product will be created. While the team facilitator will archive meeting notes and manage the project overall, the designer will lead discussions on possible products and solutions, creative direction, and assets and facilitate input needed from the team or additional experts for the successful development of the final product.
The product(s) generated will be considered work for hire. Work products can be displayed in the designer’s professional portfolio.
This project is grant-funded. Designer will invoice at the end of the project and is expected to track their time hourly. Payment will be made upon invoicing after the end-product is submitted.
To indicate interest in this opportunity, please:
Send an email to irmc@udel.edu with the subject line “CoDesign Process Graphic & Communications Designer.” Attach the following to the email:
- A letter of interest. In the letter indicate a) your experience of doing this type of work, b) why you are interested in this opportunity, c) description of your qualifications, d) hourly rate charged for this type of project, e) preference for meeting with a team over several weeks, over several weekends, or in one weekend; and f) any questions that you may have related to this opportunity
- a resume
- a work sample or portfolio including 2 or more projects that address issues in the education or social sciences sectors. Particular interest will be given to projects that address issues of equity. For each sample project, please include a description of the final cost (a range is acceptable) for the design, and the year each was completed.
- names and contact information for 3 clients whom we could contact for a professional reference. References will only be contacted for candidates seriously being considered following an interview.
Please send materials to irmc@udel.edu soon.
This opportunity will be available until enough designers are identified for the project.
If you have questions, please email irmc@udel.edu