ABOUT:

​

These data visualization posters were created for an NGO working with refugees in the UK called Salusbury World. The project titled 20:20, Stories of Moving Lineage explored the charity’s work from 1999-2019, through the collection and interpretation of oral testimonies and ephemera of 14 ‘grown up’ Salusbury World children to mark their 20th anniversary.

​

20:20 explored the impact the charity has had on the children’s lives and includes memories of homeland, reasons for exile, exploring their own resilience and social agility and celebrating their achievements as young adults now.

​

The children featured in the stories attended Salusbury Primary School from 1999 onwards when the school leadership team created a bespoke refugee centre, Salusbury World, in response to growing numbers of new-arrivals presenting with complex needs in the wake of the Kosovan war and other major global conflicts.

​

THE APPROACH:

​

The goal of the infographics was to portray the refugees not as mere numbers or data, but rather to bring out the complexity of emotions felt while being forced to leave one’s home country. Hence, the posters use qualitative instead of quantitative data to create the visualisation.

​

Each refugee was asked to pick one cherished object that has been with them through their journey. The posters use elements of the chosen object to represent the data.

​

The emotions written on each poster are emotions felt by the refugee while leaving their home country and settling in the UK. Every emotion is further colour coded as positive or negative to make the reader empathise with their hardships at a glance. The poster also features a quote which stood out from their oral history.

​

THE EXECUTION:

​

The posters were printed on old metallic letterpress plates from the Letterpress at the London College of Communication.

​

THE IMPACT:

​

The posters formed a part of the travelling exhibition and launched at the London Design Festival on 19th September 2019. The humanisation of the data led to a set of 14 unique posters, each customised according to every refugee’s personal experience. The visualisatons formed a unique symbol for each refugee, acknowledging their individual experiences.