Web design, information design, and brand design for online reference guidelines for asylum lawyers
The Legal Aid Board aimed to update and redesign its best practices guideline for asylum lawyers into a website. The original guideline was a 300+ page hardcopy book rewritten by a group of expert asylum lawyers.
The guideline aims to inform and instruct asylum lawyers about the rules regarding their role towards asylum seekers.
Additionally, it will communicate important ‘do’s and don’ts’. As a result, the guideline will change from a guide of minimum standards to a guide of ‘best practices’. Reducing the page count was also a priority (which resulted in going from 300+ pages to 230+ pages).
The main goal was to create a format that was more easily accessible, that would provide more information through links to other sources, and to ensure a better, more up-to-date version as changes occur rapidly in the field of asylum.
This translated into creating a website and separate branding, including infographics, to make the best practices guideline easy to use, clear, and attractive. The designs should clarify the content, improve navigation, and make the content easier to remember.
The reader should be encouraged to keep reading and be able to scan the key points per topic quickly. We use a combination of style, layout, visualisations, and text formatting to achieve this.
The Legal Aid Board, together with experts and authors, researched what information should be included in the new guideline.
We first designed new branding for this website, as this project is separate from the Legal Aid Board’s own website. The branding was tested with online video call test sessions and iterated accordingly.
Subsequently, we designed the website’s layout and all individual elements. After creating the homepage and six chapters, we tested the website with test persons during one-on-one tests. We focused on navigation, comprehension, and website usability in general. We also tested the infographics’ comprehension.
The development of the website was skillfully executed by Henny Palmen and her team at IPROX (https://iprox.nl).
The Best Practices Guideline for Asylum Lawyers was published in July 2024 and is currently being used by asylum lawyers.
We went from an original 300+ page written document to an interactive, visual, and modern website that is easy to navigate and maintain.
“It’s remarkable how we can create something beautiful together. This is a true collaboration, with everyone playing the role that suits them best.”
– Michelle van de Scheur
Legal Coordinator Asylum, Legal Aid Board
Visit the website:
“We were able to brainstorm constructively with Anna, and she actively contributed ideas about what would be helpful and desirable for the design's usability. Anna also had a great sense of how to incorporate the feedback from the lawyers' initial screening into a design that was unanimously appreciated as (very) pleasant.”
“What we liked most about working with Aclara were their expertise, thoroughness, and execution. We redesigned a substantive document into an accessible, user-friendly website that the target audience can efficiently use. The project was also finished within the set deadline. We're happy with what we've achieved together.”
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