Planned Parenthood

About the Client

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides reproductive healthcare, sex and health education worldwide. With a focus on prevention, Planned Parenthood claims that 80% of its patients receive services to prevent unintended pregnancy.

The Problem

Many people are not well-educated about topics related to sexual and reproductive health. This is a product of the stigma that exists surrounding the subject matter, and individuals may feel a sense of shame and embarrassment, thus deferring them from wanting to learn more. This lack of knowledge may result in negative effects to sexual and reproductive health, as individuals will be uneducated to make the right decisions about their sexual health and safety.

How can we better educate individuals, who have fallen victim to the stigma and shame related to sexual and reproductive health, about various contraception measures?

The Solution

Creating a visually inconspicuous brochure ensured that the audience would not feel like their interests and issues were being publicized when picking up the brochure, and to not shy away from learning more. As a result, I opted on using a smaller, circle-locked gate brochure fold and minimal exterior design to emanate the feeling of security and subtlety.

Front panels of brochure.

To add on to the unobtrusiveness of the brochure, the exterior panels consisted of minimal design by placing a focus on white space. Both left and right outer panels contain no text and only two symbols of a sperm and an egg, to communicate the subject of fertility and reproduction. The two symbols are on each side of the circle, creating symmetry and balance. When the brochure is opened, the panels move in opposite directions, and the sperm and egg are separated, which reinforces the action of prevention.

Back panel of brochure. Contains information about the organization's value and goals.

Inner panels of brochure. Content is divided into three main sections:
Purpose of birth control
Several common fertility control methods
Emergency contraception

Reflection

After printing the physical prototype of the brochure, I believed that the design of the brochure's exterior panels succeeded in its ability to be subtle and inconspicuous. The inner panels provided sufficient information to educate the reader on the subject matter, and is designed in a manner that isn't overwhelming for them. This project enabled me to learn about the importance of researching the client, and to design in accordance to their needs and their brand identity. It challenged me to work with a smaller medium, and to strategically convey only the information that was necessary by eliminating jargon.