A practical and principled framework for inclusive, bilingual and gender-affirming communication in both English and French.

Our role was to translate these powerful principles into visual form, designing a publication that embodied the politics of inclusion while feeling warm, accessible, and deeply West African.

• Reflect regional aesthetics using patterns, symbols, and textures from West African traditions.
  
• Make linguistic justice feel inviting, not academic—human-first, community-rooted.
  
• Ensure characters and visual metaphors look and feel like they belong to the communities ISDAO serves.
  
• Break away from NGO-standard templates and create a design that embodies liberation.

• Bogolanfini and Batik fabric patterns
• Community craftwork and mural art
• Organic, repetitive textures that echo language rhythms and shared memory


These elements formed the backdrop of each spread, giving the report a distinctly West African visual identity—one that resists colonial uniformity.

2. Representation Matters

Character illustrations were created to reflect a wide range of West African people—across gender identities, ages, abilities, and body types. These aren’t generic stock figures; they’re drawn from the texture of lived reality.


We paid attention to:


• Hairstyles, clothing, and posture that echo regional life
  
• Group dynamics—people working together, resting, learning, caring
  
• Subtle symbols of queerness, fluidity, and resistance

3. Layout Principles

The document is structured for ease, flow, and engagement:


• Clear typographic hierarchy with soft, legible typefaces
  
• Wide margins and spacious layouts to support readability
  
• Pull quotes and tip boxes shaped like speech bubbles and protest placards
  
• Chapter dividers with hand-drawn chapter titles and color-coded accents

• A bold cover with layered symbolism: patterns of voice, connection, and cultural rootedness.
  
• Illustrations showing community dialogues, cross-language conversations, and joyful exchanges.
  
• Visual metaphors like bridges, trees, and spirals to symbolize growth, connection, and transformation.

• High-contrast text and textures for screen readability
  
• Designs compatible with bilingual layouts and translations
  
• Attention to clarity without sacrificing emotional or cultural richness

• The Kuûmã guide was celebrated as both a practical resource and a movement artifact.
  
• Community leaders and grantee partners described it as “something you want to keep and share.”
  
• Its visual design helped distinguish it from institutional toolkits, instead signaling it as a living, breathing companion to justice work.