Human Rights explainers

Human rights is a complicated issue. Too complicated for many, in fact. And there’s an avalanche of (mis)information.

That’s why human rights barrister Adam Wagner founded EachOther (formerly called RightsInfo). He particularly wanted to make sure that complex human rights issues could be understood by anyone and to dispel many of the myths that surround it.

To engage an audience who could easily be overwhelmed by this subject, we did three things. We sought out the most compelling stories. We designed our content to be rich and interactive. And we kept the words as simple as possible, to hook readers’ attention and keep hold of it.

One signal of our success? The pieces won the Plain English Communicator Award in 2015.

From timelines to posters to cards, we used a lively mix of devices. And all were illustrated in the same bright, punchy, modern style.

This instantly saved the content from feeling dry, worthy or unapproachable, instead making it warm and inviting.

The light, quirky illustrations also made the pieces easy to understand and fun to read.

The timeline ‘Everything you need to know about human rights’ started way back with the signing of the Magna Carta. It showed that human rights are not a ‘new thing’. That, in fact, they really began back in 1215 with the right to a fair trial.

The timeline covers acts, conventions and charters, coming right up to the legalisation of same sex marriage in 2014. Everything was illustrated in the same modern, breezy style across a colourful spectrum.

What’s made the biggest difference to the Brits? We presented the ‘50 human rights cases that have transformed Britain’ as interactive bubbles. Users can explore more detail about each case – from most influential to most important, by rank. The full stories were linked for anyone wanting a deeper read.

We knew we wanted to bust some of the worst myths about human rights. Remember the one about the man who couldn’t be deported because he had a pet cat? Presented as fact in parliament, 2011? Not actually true.

We used plain English to describe the reality behind 14 headlines. Again, full links to sources were added so people could delve deeper if they chose. Card-style modules kept the stories contained, and added movement and interaction to the pages.

Lastly, we created 16 posters that laid out an incredibly complex subject matter in straightforward language. These posters gave readers an at-a-glance guide to every single one of our human rights. Like no slavery. Like the right to education. And the right to no discrimination.