Freedom United

The people, mission and context

Freedom United is the largest modern anti-slavery community in the world. Their mission is to mobilize a united community to create power for change by making the public stakeholders in ending modern slavery. Their ultimate vision is to equip millions of supporters with awareness, education and ways to take action to drive real change.

The problem

For this project, Freedom United wanted to focus on the awareness of human trafficking and what is needed to do to help engage more of the general population for awareness and activism. With growth in engagement, Freedom United can then increase online and local advocacy to help with petitioning and campaigning efforts. 

The solution

After conducting user research and stakeholder interviews, the team quickly came to the realization that Freedom United’s current outreach to target audiences needed further exploration. Rather than relying on traditional communication strategies (automated emails, reactive website views), the team devised a plan to help design a more interactive and engaging experience.

A phased-approach experience was outlined by the design team: During the first phase, short but impactful video narratives are sent to e-newsletter subscribers. Wearable artifacts like stickers are produced and distributed to increase awareness in the public sphere.

In the second phase, the public is engaged via online petition walls and maps for supporting remote and local events. These experience bring the movement to life by visualizing the sheer numbers of people willing to stand up against modern slavery.

Phase three of the design included full-blown public displays including pop-up interactive maps in public places to bring awareness to individuals who are not already engaged via Freedom United’s web campaign.