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This article is written with an understanding that information communication posters are very frequently prepared and used in all types of educational campaigns, but their planning, design and production rarely takes into consideration their effectiveness for the purpose they are prepared. The paper is thus aimed at discussing the essential and crucial design elements that when adhered to, can help in the production and dissemination of posters that are audience or target group centered. Incidentally, appropriate, well discussed and analyzed information on the key elements of design – and for this matter poster design is not readily available as complete whole. The need for such information is even more marked in developing countries, where there are innumerable upcoming governmental, non-governmental and civil society organizations that are involved in educating people using printed visual materials. This treatise contributes towards bridging this gap. In support of the rationale of this theoretical contention the paper presents and briefly discusses how ethics promotion information dissemination posters for Tanzania’s civil service were planned designed and disseminated. This poster production was organized and implemented through a collaborative design project between Tanzania’s President’s Office and the University of Dar es Salaam. The project’s time spine was from January 2004 to February 2005.
The theoretical analysis presented in the paper was of great help in guiding the whole process of planning, designing, production, proper distribution and placement of the posters. This analysis on poster design factors and procedures helped in facilitating very profitable, well informed dialogue with stakeholders that included secondary school students - who did the designs. The discussions centered on analyzing what it takes to produce and disseminate appropriate audience centered posters for effective education. The project involved previously untrained (in design) school going, mostly teenage, children. Subsequent to the well organized preliminary discussions and execution of the project, high quality posters were designed, produced and rightly distributed to their intended sites.
Monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the project is however yet to be undertaken. In this regard the paper concludes by recommending that a deliberate and thorough monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the project be done. The paper does as well suggest that a traveling exhibition of all the produced posters be shown all over Tanzania to emphasize and broaden the project’s impact. |
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