International Disability Alliance — Nothing about them without them

IDA were looking for a creative solution to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. Following the publication of a report setting out new ways to enable them to live as full citizens, the organisation was looking for help to promote their messages.

Cartoonbase was called on to create visual content making key information both accessible and understandable to a large public.

The report spans many pages and is filled to the brim with key information and insights.
We needed to take all this and turn it into a communication plan that simplified it all, without dumbing it down.

One of the reasons IDA chose to work with us was the extra attention we paid to giving persons with disabilities a voice as equals, without stigmatising or patronising them.

Four tales: We transformed the report into four short videos. In each of the four stories, we walk the audience through a real-world problem faced by people with disabilities and outline the way ahead. Creating these narratives required us to gain a deep understanding of the content to be able to select the information to highlight.

Above all, Human: It was incredibly important to us to display persons with disabilities as individuals – human among humans, equals in all our diversity. This is why we chose to feature all the characters as diverse shapes. This approach offered us (and the audience) a new way of understanding disability.

Inclusivity is Key: In order to practise what we preach, we followed colour rules to ensure visibility for people with visual impairments. We also made sure the videos were designed to allow for IDA to add audio-description and signed translation.

Our content was bundled into a handy press pack, making it easier for IDA to share their report globally.

The videos were well received by all audiences, including UN entities, experts and organisations dedicated to the rights of persons with disabilities.