Multimedia Design for Arcigay

The Arcigay association works throughout Italy to gain equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

In 2003 Arcigay contacted me to create a guide in multiple media (booklet, CD-Rom, website, PDF) directed towards doctors regarding the health-related needs of the gay/bisexual community.

CD-Rom intro (part.)

The guide was part of the project “Assessment of persuasion techniques aimed at reducing the risk of HIV within the gay community: creation of audiovisual materials” undertaken by the National Arcigay association with the support of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Health Institute) national AIDS project – IVth Project for research of ethical, social, behavioural, and aid-related aspects as well prevention of HIV/AIDS.

The intention of the guide was to provide suggestions for a patient-centred health care approach that would be sensitive to individual differences, and to provide doctors with a tool for gaining more information and improving the quality of their relations with patients.

Booklet Pazienti Imprevisti – Unexpected Patients (pagg. 28-29)

With a large amount of documentation to include and a limited budget, I needed to optimise costs while ensuring quality and meeting the defined goals by producing the various different media required, in the time allowed by the project.

Following several meetings with the Arcigay team, composed of two psychologists and a sociologist, who provided me with the context of the project, its contents, and the basic structure for the various formats, I began my research into informational publications directed at doctors.

After defining the technical requirements and the production costs for the different media, I moved to the design phase in which I defined formats, layouts, colours, and made strategic technical choices for each media in an effort to reduce costs and maximise results.

Arcigay – CD-Rom/website Salute e orientamento sessuale – Health and sexual orientation

For the print booklet, the choice of a combination of just three colours together with an adaptation to the PDF format allowed for a considerable reduction in costs along with the possibility to distribute the brochure over various channels. For the CD-Rom, the choice to build a HTML hypertext structure allowed for the inclusion of a large quantity of documents, the creation of an easily navigable system that followed principles well known to users, and the possibility to be viewed on various operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux) as well as online, thus maximising visibility.

Both the brochure and the CD-Rom were produced and distributed within the initially defined timing and budget.

Booklet Pazienti Imprevisti – Unexpected Patients

CD-Rom and website Salute e orientamento sessuale – Health and sexual orientation

The booklet “UNEXPECTED PATIENTS – Medical practice and sexual orientation”, also available as a PDF, containing 44 pages rich with indications, testimonials, advice, studies, and resources, gained wide distribution throughout Italian hospital and clinical settings and is still today used and referenced by doctors, associations, and health professionals.
In 2008 a second edition was printed.

The CD-Rom and website “Health and sexual orientation, Promoting health and reducing the risk of HIV in the gay, lesbian and bisexual community”, include the contents of the “UNEXPECTED PATIENTS” booklet in hypertext format, widening the context by providing data, research, communication techniques and analyses of information campaigns, thus adding resources useful to all those working to prevent HIV/AIDS and promote sexual health.